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.
SECTION V. Of the Monsoons, or periodical Winds, with which Ships depart from Place to Place in India. By William Barret.
SECTION VI. First Voyage of the English to India in 1591; begun by Captain George Raymond, and completed by Captain James Lancaster.
SECTION VII. Supplementary Account of the former Voyage, by John May.
SECTION VIII. The unfortunate Voyage of Captain Benjamin Wood, towards the East Indies, in 1596.
SECTION IX. Voyage of Captain John Davis to the East Indies, in 1598, as Pilot to a Dutch Ship.
SECTION X. Voyage of William Adams to Japan, in 1598, and long residence in that Island.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Brief Relation of the Voyage of Sebalt de Wert to the Straits of Magellan.
SECTION 2. First Letter of William Adams.
SECTION 3. Letter of William Adams to his Wife.
SECTION XI. Voyage of Sir Edward Michelburne to India, in 1604.
Early Voyages of the English to India, after the Establishment, of the East India Company.
Introduction.
SECTION I. First Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1601, under the Command of Captain James Lancaster.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Preparation for the Voyage, and its Incidents till the Departure of the Fleet from Saldanha Bay.
SECTION 2. Continuation of the Voyage, to the Nicobar and Sombrero Islands.
SECTION 3. Their Reception and Trade at Acheen.
SECTION 4. Portuguese Wiles discovered, and a Prize taken near Malacca.
SECTION 5. Presents to and from the King of Acheen, and his Letters to Queen Elizabeth. Their Departure to Priaman and Bantam, and Settlement of Trade at these Places.
SECTION 6. Departure for England, and Occurrences in the Voyage.
SECTION II. Account of Java, and of the first Factory of the English at Bantam; with Occurrences there from the 11th February, 1603, to the 6th October, 1605.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Description of Java, with the Manners and Customs of its Inhabitants, both Javanese and Chinese.
SECTION 2. Brief Discourse of many Dangers by Fire, and other Treacheries of the Javanese.
SECTION 3. Differences between the Hollanders, styling themselves English, and the Javans, and of other memorable Things.
SECTION 4. Treacherous Underminings, and other Occurrences.
SECTION 5. Arrival of General Middleton, and other Events.
SECTION 6. Account of Quarrels between the English and Dutch at Bantam, and other Occurrences.
SECTION 7. Observations by Mr John Saris of Occurrences during his Abode at Bantam, from October, 1605, to October, 1609
SECTION 8. Rules for the Choice of sundry Drugs, with an Account of the Places where they are procured.
SECTION 9. Of the principal Places of Trade in India, and the Commodities they afford.
SECTION III. Second Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1604, under the Command of Captain Henry Middleton.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Voyage of General Henry Middleton, afterwards Sir Henry, to Bantam and the Moluccas, in 1604.
SECTION 2. Voyage of Captain Colthurst, in the Ascension, to Banda.
SECTION IV. Third Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1607, by Captain William Keeling.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Disasters in the Outset of the Voyage, with Occurrences till leaving Saldanha Bay.
SECTION 2. Departure from Saldanha Bay, and Occurrences till the Ships parted Company.
SECTION 3. Instruction learnt at Delisa respecting the Monsoon; with the Arrival of the Dragon at Bantam.
SECTION 4. Voyage of the Hector to Banda, with Occurrences there.
SECTION V. Narrative by William Hawkins of Occurrences during his Residence in the Dominions of the Great Mogul.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Barbarous Usage at Surat by Mucrob Khan; and the treacherous Procedure of the Portuguese and Jesuits.
SECTION 2. Journey of the Author to Agra, and his Entertainment at the Court of the Great Mogul.
SECTION 3. The Inconstancy of the King, and the Departure of Captain Hawkins to the Red Sea, Bantam, and England.
SECTION VI. Observations of William Finch, Merchant, who accompanied Captain Hawkins to Surat, and returned over Land to England.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Remembrances respecting Sierra Leona, in 1607.
SECTION 2. Observations made at St Augustine in Madagascar, and at the Island of Socotora.
SECTION 3. Occurrences in India, respecting the English, Dutch, Portuguese, and Moguls.
SECTION 4. Journey to Agra, and Observations by the Way; with some Notices of the Deccan Wars.
SECTION 5. Description of Futtipoor, Biana, &c. of Nill, or Indigo; and of other Matters.
SECTION 6. Description of Lahore, with other Observations.
SECTION VII. Voyage of Captain David Middleton, in 1607, to Bantam and the Moluccas.
Introduction.
SECTION VIII. Fourth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1608, by Captain Alexander Sharpey.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Relation of this Voyage, as written by Robert Coverte.
SECTION 2. Supplement to the foregoing Narrative, from the Account of the same unfortunate Voyage, by Thomas Jones.
SECTION 3. Additional Supplement, from the Report of William Nichols.
SECTION IX. Voyage of Captain Richard Rowles in the Union, the Consort of the Ascension.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Of the Voyage of the Union, after her Separation from the Ascension, to Acheen and Priaman.
SECTION 2. Return of the Union from Priaman towards England.
SECTION X. Fifth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1609, under the Command of Captain David Middleton.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Occurrences at Bantam, Booton, and Banda.
SECTION 2. Occurrences at Banda; Contests with the Hollanders; Trade at Pulo-way, and many Perils.
SECTION 3. Departure for Bantam, Escape from the Hollanders, and Voyage Home.
SECTION XI. Sixth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1610, under the Command of Sir Henry Middleton.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Incidents of the Voyage till the Arrival of the Squadron at Mokha.
SECTION 2. Transactions at Mokha, and Treachery of the Turks there, and at Aden.
SECTION 3. Journey of Sir Henry Middleton to Zenan, in the Interior of Yemen, or Arabia Felix, with some Description of the Country, and Occurrences till his Return to Mokha.
SECTION 4. Sir Henry Middleton makes his Escape from the Turks, and forces them to make Satisfaction.
SECTION 5. Voyage from the Red Sea to Surat, and Transactions there.
SECTION 6. Voyage from Surat to Dabul, and thence to the Red Sea, and Proceedings there.
SECTION XII. Journal of the preceding Voyage by Nicholas Downton, Captain of the Pepper-corn.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Notices of the Voyage between Saldanha Bay and Socotora, both inclusive.
SECTION 2. Of Abdal Kuria, Arabia Felix, Aden, and Mokha, and the treacherous Proceedings of both Places.
SECTION 3. Account of Proceedings in the Red Sea on the second Visit.
SECTION 4. Voyage from Mokha to Sumatra, and Proceedings there.
SECTION 5. Voyage of the Pepper-corn Home to England.
SECTION XIII. The Seventh Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1611, commanded by Captain Anthony Hippon.
Introduction.
SECTION XIV. Notices of the preceding Voyage, by Peter Williamson Floris.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. The Voyage to Pullicatt, Patapilly, Bantam, Patane, and Siam.
SECTION 2. Narrative of strange Occurrences in Pegu, Siam, Johor, Patane, and the adjacent Kingdoms.
SECTION 3. Voyage to Masulipatam, and Incidents during a long Stay at that Place.
SECTION 4. Voyage to Bantam, and thence to England.
SECTION XV. Eighth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1611, by Captain John Saris.
Introduction.
SECTION 1. Incidents of the Voyage from England to Socotora.
SECTION 2. Occurrences at Socotora and in the Red Sea.
SECTION 3. Adventures along with Sir Henry Middleton in the Red Sea, and other Observations in those Parts, with our Arrival at Bantam.
SECTION 4. The Voyage of Captain Saris, in the Clove, towards Japan, with Observations respecting the Dutch and Spaniards at the Molucca Islands.
[Illustration: Map of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope]
HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, AND OF SOME OF THE EARLY CONQUESTS IN THE NEW WORLD.
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.
SECTION 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.]
SECTION 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.
SECTION3. 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.
EARLY VOYAGES OF THE ENGLISH TO INDIA, AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
INTRODUCTION.
We have now to record the early voyages, fitted out from England, for trading to file East Indies, by THE GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF MERCHANTS OF LONDON, TRADING INTO THE EAST INDIES.[75] By which stile, or legal denomination, George Earl of Cumberland, Sir John Hart, Sir John Spencer, and Sir Edward Mitchelburne, knights, with 212 others, whose names are all inserted in the patent, were erected into a body corporate and politic, for trading to and from all parts of the East Indies, with all Asia, Africa, and America, and all the islands, ports, havens, cities, creeks, towns, and places of the same, or any of them, beyond the Cape of Good Hope to the Straits of Magellan, for fifteen years, from and after Christmas 1600; prohibiting all other subjects of England, not free of this company, from trading to these parts without licence from the company, under forfeiture of their goods and ships, half to the crown and half to the company, together with imprisonment during the loyal pleasure, and until they respectively grant bond in the sum of £1000 at the least, not again to sail or traffic into any part of the said East Indies, &c. during the continuance of this grant. With this proviso, "That, if the exclusive privilege thus granted be found unprofitable for the realm, it may be voided on two years notice: But, if found beneficial, the privilege was then to be renewed, with such alterations and modifications as might be found expedient" This exclusive grant, in the nature of a patent, was dated at Westminster on the 31st December, 1600, being the 43d year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, signed by herself, and sealed with her privy seal.
[Footnote 75: So denominated in the copy of the charter in the Pilgrims of Purchas, vol. I. p. 139--147, which we have not deemed it necessary to insert.--E.]
It is by no means intended to attempt giving in this place any history of our East India Company, the early Annals of which, from its establishment in 1600, to the union of the London and English Companies in 1708, have been lately given to the public, in three quarto volumes, by John Bruce, Esq. M.P. and F.R.S. Historiographer to the Honourable East India Company, &c. &c. &c. to which we must refer such of our readers as are desirous of investigating that vast portion of the history of our commerce. All that we propose on the present occasion, is to give a short introduction to the series of voyages contained in this chapter, all of which have been preserved by Samuel Purchas, in his curious work, which he quaintly denominated PURCHAS HIS PILGRIMS, published in five volumes folio at London in 1625.
In the first extension of English commerce, in the sixteenth century, consequent upon the discoveries of Western Africa, America, and the maritime route to India, it seems to have been conceived that exclusive chartered companies were best fitted for its effectual prosecution. "The spirit of enterprise in distant trade, which had for a century brought large resources to Spain and Portugal, began to diffuse itself as a new principle, in the rising commerce of England, during the long and able administration of Queen Elizabeth. Hence associations were beginning to be formed, the joint credit of which was to support experiments for extending the trade of the realm."[76]
[Footnote 76: Ann. of the Honb. East India Co, I. 206.]
In the reign of Edward VI. a company was projected with this view; which obtained a charter in 1553, from Philip and Mary, under the name of Merchant Adventurers for the Discovery of Lands, Countries, Isles, &c. not before known to the English. This company, of which Sebastian Cabot was governor, in the last year of Queen Mary, had extended its trade through Russia into Persia, to obtain raw silks, &c. In the course of their proceedings, the agents of this company met with merchants from India and China, from whom they acquired a knowledge of the productions of these countries, and of the profits which might be derived from extending the trade of England to these distant regions.[77] In 1581, Queen Elizabeth gave an exclusive charter to the Levant or Turkey Company, for trading to the dominions of the Grand Signior or Emperor of Turkey. In the prosecution of this trade, of which some account has been given in our preceding chapter, the factors, or travelling merchants, having penetrated from Aleppo to Bagdat and Basora, attempted to open an overland trade to the East Indies, and even penetrated to Agra, Lahore, Bengal, Malacca, and other parts of the East, whence they brought information to England of the riches that might be acquired by a direct trade by sea to the East Indies.[78] The circumnavigations of Sir Francis Drake in 1577-1580, and of Mr Thomas Cavendish, or Candish, in 1586, of which voyages accounts will be found in a future division of this work, who brought back great wealth to England, obtained by making prizes of the Spanish vessels, contributed to spread the idea among the merchants of England, that great profits and national advantages might be derived from a direct trade to India by sea.[79]
[Footnote 77: Ann. of the H.E.I. Co. I. 107.]
[Footnote 78: Ann. of the Hon. E. India Co. I. 108.]
[Footnote 79: Id. ib.]
In consequence of these views, a memorial was presented to the lords of council in 1589, requesting a royal licence for three ships and three pinnaces to proceed for India, which gave rise to the expedition of Captain Raymond, in 1591, already related. In 1599, an association of London Adventurers entered into a contract for embarking, what was then considered as a large joint stock, for the equipment of a voyage to the East Indies. The fund subscribed amounted to £30,133: 6: 8, divided into 101 shares or adventures, the subscriptions of individuals varying from £100 to £3000.[80] This project, however, seems to have merged into the East India Company, at the close of the next year 1600, as already mentioned.
[Footnote 80: Id. III.--From the peculiar amount of this capital sum, the subscriptions were most probably in marks, of 13s 4d. each.--E.]
On the 30th September, 1600, a draft of the patent, already said to have been subsequently sealed on the last day of that year, was read before the seventeen committees, such being then the denomination of what are now called directors; and being approved of, was ordered to be submitted to the consideration of the Queen and Privy Council. "In this early stage of the business, the lord-treasurer applied to the Court of Committees or Directors, recommending Sir Edward Mitchelburne to be employed in the voyage; and thus, before the Society of Adventurers had been constituted an East India Company, that influence had its commencement, which will be found, in the sequel, to have been equally adverse to the prosperity of their trade and to the probity of the directors."[81] Yet, though still petitioners for their charter, the directors had the firmness to resist this influence, and resolved Not to employ any gentleman in any place of charge, requesting to be permitted to sort their business with men of their own quality, lest the suspicion of employing gentlemen might drive a great number of the adventurers to withdraw their contributions.[82]
[Footnote 81: Ann. of the H.E.I. Co. I.128.]
[Footnote 82: Id. ib.]
In the commencement of its operations, the East India Company proceeded upon rather an anomalous plan for a great commercial company. Instead of an extensive joint stock for a consecutive series of operations, a new voluntary subscription was entered into among its members for each successive adventure. That of the first voyage was about £70,000. The second voyage was fitted out by a new subscription of £60,450. The third was £53,500. The fourth £33,000. The fifth was a branch or extension of the third, by the same subscribers, on an additional call or subscription of £13,700. The subscription for the sixth was £82,000. The seventh £71,581. The eighth £76,375. The ninth only £7,200.
In 1612, the trade began to be carried on upon a broader basis by a joint stock, when £429,000 was subscribed, which was apportioned to the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth voyages. In 1618, a new joint stock was formed by subscription, amounting to £1,600,000.[83]
[Footnote 83: Ann. of the H.E.I. Co. Vol. I. passim.]
In the year 1617, King James I. of England and VI. of Scotland, granted letters patent under the great seal of Scotland, dated at Kinnard, 24th May, 1617, to Sir James Cunningham of Glengarnock, appointing him, his heirs and assigns, to be governors, rulers, and directors of a Scottish East India Company, and authorizing him "to trade to and from the East Indies, and the countries or parts of Asia, Africa, and America, beyond the Cape of Bona Sperantia, to the straits of Magellan, and to the Levant Sea and territories under the government of the Great Turk, and to and from the countries of Greenland, and all other countries and islands in the north, north-west, and north-east seas, and other parts of America and Muscovy." Which patent, and all the rights and privileges annexed to it, was subsequently, for a valuable consideration, assigned by Sir James Cunningham to the London East India Company.[84]
[Footnote 84: Ann. &c. I. 192.--Note.]
It is quite unnecessary to extend this introductory view of the rise of the India Company any farther, as our limits could not possibly admit any satisfactory deduction of its history, any farther than is contained in the following series of the Early Voyages, for which we are almost entirely indebted to the Collection of Purchas. By this first English East India Company, with a capital or joint stock of about 70,000l. at least for the first voyage, were laid the stable foundations of that immense superstructure of trade and dominion now held by the present company. Their first joint stock did not exceed the average of 325l. or 330l. for each individual of 216 members, whose names are recorded in the copy of the charter in Purchas his Pilgrims, already referred to. Yet one of these was disfranchised on the 6th July, 1661, not six months after the establishment of the company, probably for not paying up his subscription, as the charter grants power to disfranchise any one who does not bring in his promised adventure.
The East India Company of Holland, the elder sister of that of England, now a nonentity, though once the most extensive and most flourishing commercial establishment that ever existed, long ago published, or permitted to be published, a very extensive series of voyages of commerce and discovery, called Voyages which contributed to establish the East India Company of the United Netherlands. It were, perhaps, worthy of the Royal Merchants who constitute the English East India Company, now the unrivalled possessors of the entire trade and sovereignty of all India and its innumerable islands, to publish or patronize a similar monument of its early exertions, difficulties, and ultimate success.--E.
SECTION I.
First Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1601, under the Command of Captain James Lancaster.[85]
INTRODUCTION.
From the historiographer of the company[86] we learn, that the period of this voyage being estimated for twenty months, the charges of provisions were calculated at £6,600 4:10: and the investment, exclusive of bullion, at £4,545; consisting of iron and tin, wrought and unwrought, lead, 80 pieces of broad cloth of all colours, 80 pieces of Devonshire kersies, and 100 pieces of Norwich stuffs, with smaller articles, intended as presents for the officers at the ports where it was meant to open their trade. Captain John Davis, who appears to have gone as chief pilot, was to have £100 as wages for the voyage, with £200 on credit for an adventure; and, as an incitement to activity and zeal, if the profit of the voyage yielded two for one, he was to receive a gratuity of £500; if three for one, £1000; if four for one, £1500; and if five for one, £2000.[87] Thirty-six factors or supercargoes were directed to be employed for the voyage: Three of the first class, who seem to have been denominated cape merchants, were to have each £100 for equipment, and £200 for an adventure; four factors of the second class at £50 each for equipment, and £100 for an adventure; four of the third class, with £30 each for equipment, and £50 for adventure; and four of the fourth class, with £20 each for equipment, and £40 for adventure.[88] They were to give security for their fidelity, and to abstain from private trade; the first class under penalties of £500 the second of 500 marks, the third at £200 and the fourth of £100 each.[89] These only exhaust fifteen of the thirty-six, and we are unable to account for the remaining twenty-one ordered to be nominated.
[Footnote 85: Purch. Pilgr. I. 147. Astl. I. 262.]
[Footnote 86: Ann. of the H.E.I. Co. I. 129.]
[Footnote 87: Id. I. 130.]
[Footnote 88: Ann. of the H.E.I. Co. I. 131.]
[Footnote 89: Id. I. 133.]
In the Annals of the Company,[90] we are told that the funds provided for this first voyage amounted to £68,373, of which £39,771 were expended in the purchase and equipment of the ships, £28,742 being embarked in bullion, and £6,860 in goods. But the aggregate of these sums amounts to £77,373; so that the historiographer appears to have fallen into some error, either in the particulars or the sum total. We are not informed of the particular success of this first voyage; only that the conjunct profits of it and of the second amounted to £95 per cent. upon the capitals employed in both, clear of all charges.[91]
[Footnote 90: Id. I.146.]
[Footnote 91: Ann. of the H.E.I. Co. I. 153.]
We may state here from the Annals of the Company, that the profits of the third and fifth voyage combined amounted to £234 per cent. Of the fourth voyage to a total loss, as one of the vessels was wrecked in India on the outward-bound voyage, and the other on the coast of France in her return. The profits of the sixth voyage were £121 13:4: per cent. Of the seventh £218 per cent. Of the eighth £211 per cent. Of the ninth £160 per cent. The average profits of the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth voyages were reduced to £87-1/2 per cent.
Captain James Lancaster, afterwards Sir James, who was general in this voyage, was a member of the company; and is the same person who went to India in 1591, along with Captain Raymond. Captain John Davis, who had been in India with the Dutch, was pilot-major and second in command of the Dragon, or admiral ship. It does not appear who was the author of the following narrative; but, from several passages, he seems to have sailed in the Dragon.[92]--E.
[Footnote 92: Astl. I. 262., a and b.]
SECTION 1. Preparation for the Voyage, and its Incidents till the Departure of the Fleet from Saldanha Bay.
Having collected a joint stock of seventy thousand pounds, to be employed in ships and merchandize in the prosecution of their privileged trade to the East Indies, by means of which they were to bring spices and other commodities into this realm, the company bought and fitted out four large ships for their first adventure. These were the Dragon[93] of 600 tons, and 202 men, admiral, in which Mr James Lancaster was placed as general;[94] the Hector of 300 tons, and 108 men, commanded by Mr John Middleton, vice-admiral; the Ascension of 260 tons, and 82 men, Captain William Brand;[95] and the Susan,[96] commanded by Mr John Hayward, with 84 men:[97] Besides these commanders, each ship carried three merchants or factors, to succeed each other in rotation in case of any of them dying. These ships were furnished with victuals and stores for twenty months, and were provided with merchandize and Spanish money to the value of twenty-seven thousand pounds; all the rest of the stock being expended in the purchase of the ships, with their necessary stores and equipment, and in money advanced to the mariners[98] and sailors who went upon the voyage. To these was added, as a victualler, the Guest of 130 tons.[99]
[Footnote 93: This ship, originally called the Malice Scourge, was purchased from the Earl of Cumberland for 3,700l.--Ann. of the H.E.I. Co. I. 128.]
[Footnote 94: In these early voyages the chief commander is usually styled general, and the ship in which he sailed the admiral.--E.]
[Footnote 95: This person is called by Purchas chief governor. Perhaps the conduct of commercial affairs was confided to his care.--E.]
[Footnote 96: The burden of this ship was 240 tons.--Ann. I. 129.]
[Footnote 97: Besides there was a pinnace of 100 tons and 40 men.--Ann. I. 129.]
[Footnote 98: In many of the old voyages, this distinction is made between mariners and sailors: Unless a mere pleonasm, it may indicate able and ordinary seamen; or the former may designate the officers of all kinds, and the latter the common men.--E.]
[Footnote 99: Perhaps the pinnace already mentioned.--E.]
On application to the queen, her majesty furnished the merchants with friendly letters of recommendation to several of the sovereigns in India, offering to enter into treaties of peace and amity with them, which shall be noticed in their proper places. And, as no great enterprize can be well conducted and accomplished without an absolute authority for dispensing justice, the queen granted a commission of martial law to Captain Lancaster, the general of the fleet, for the better security of his command.
Every thing being in readiness, the fleet departed from Woolwich, in the river Thames, on the 13th of February, 1600, after the English mode of reckoning,[100] or more properly 1601. They were so long delayed in the Thames and the Downs, for want of wind, that it was Easter before they arrived at Dartmouth, where they spent five or six days, taking in bread and other provisions, appointed to be procured there. Departing thence on the 18th of April, they came to anchor in Torbay, at which place the general sent on board all the ships instructions for their better keeping company when at sea, and directions as to what places they were to repair to for meeting again, in case of being separated by storms or other casualties. These were the calms of Canary; Saldanha bay,[101] in case they could not double the Cape of Good Hope; Cape St Roman, in Madagascar; the island of Cisne, Cerne, or Diego Rodriguez; and finally, Sumatra, their first intended place of trade.
[Footnote 100: At this time, and for long after, there was a strangely confused way of dating the years, which were considered as beginning at Lady-day, the 25th of March. Hence, what we would now reckon the year 1601, from the 1st January to the 24th March inclusive, retained the former date of 1600. The voyage actually commenced on the 13th February, 1601, according to our present mode of reckoning.--E.]
[Footnote 101: It will appear distinctly in the sequel of these voyages, that the place then named Saldanha, or Saldania bay, was what is now termed Table bay at the Cape of Good Hope.--E.]
The wind came fair on the 22d of April, when we weighed and stood out of Torbay, directing our course for the Canaries. As the wind continued fair, we had sight of Alegranza, or Great Island, the northermost of the Canaries, on the 5th of May, and we directed our course to pass between Fuertaventura and Gran Canaria; and coming to the south of Gran Canaria, thinking to have watered there, we fell into the calms, which are occasioned by the high lands being so near the sea. About three in the afternoon of the 7th of May, having the wind at N.E. we departed from Gran Canaria, shaping our course S.W. by S. and S.S.W. till we came into the lat. of 21° 30' N. From the 11th to the 20th, our course was mostly S till we came to lat. 8° N. the wind being always northerly and N.E. In this latitude we found calms and contrary winds, which, at this season of the year, prevail much off this part of the coast of Guinea, alternating with many sudden gusts of wind, storms, and thunder and lightning very fearful to behold, and very dangerous to the ships, unless the utmost care be taken suddenly to strike all the sails, on perceiving the wind to change even never so little. Yet such was the suddenness many times, although the masters of the ships were very careful and diligent, that it could hardly be done in time.
From the 20th of May till the 21st of June, we lay mostly becalmed, or with contrary winds at south; and, standing to and again to bear up against this contrary wind, we got with much ado to 2° N. where we espied a ship, to which the general gave chace, commanding all the ships to follow him. By two in the afternoon we got up with and took her. She was of Viana, in Portugal, and came from Lisbon, in company of two caraks and three galleons, bound for the East Indies, but had parted from them at sea. The three galleons were ships of war, intended to keep the coast of India from being traded with by other nations. From this ship we took 146 butts of wine, 176 jars and 12 casks of oil, and 55 hogsheads and vats of meal,[102] which were of great service to us afterwards during our voyage. The general divided these victuals impartially among all the ships, giving a due proportion to each.
[Footnote 102: Probably wheaten meal or flour.--E.]
The 31st June about midnight we crossed the line, having the wind at S.E. and lost sight of the north star; and continuing our course S.S.W. we passed Cape St Augustine about 26 leagues to the eastward. The 20th July, we reached the latitude of 19° 40' S. the wind getting daily more and more towards the east. We here unloaded the Guest, which went along with us to carry such provisions as we could not stow in the other four ships; after which we took out her masts, sails, yards, and all other tackle; broke up her upper works for fire-wood, and left her hull floating in the sea, following our own course southwards. We passed the tropic of Capricorn on the 24th July, the wind N.E. by N. our course E.S.E. On account of our having been so long near the line, by reason of leaving England too late in the season by six or seven weeks, many of our men fell sick; for which reason the general sent written orders to the captain of each ship, either to make Saldanha bay or St Helena for refreshment.
The 1st August we were in 30° S. at which time we got the wind at S.W. to our great comfort, for by this time many of our men were sick of the scurvy; insomuch, that in all our ships, except the admiral, they were hardly able to manage the sails. This wind held fair till we were within 250 leagues of the Cape of Good Hope, and then came clean contrary at E. continuing so for fifteen or sixteen days, to the great discomfort of our men; for now the few that had continued sound began also to fall sick, so that in some of the ships the merchants had to take their turn at the helm, and to go into the tops to hand the top-sails along with the common mariners. But God, shewing us mercy in our distress, sent us again a fair wind, so that we got to Saldanha bay on the 9th September, when the general, before the other ships bore in and came to anchor, sent his boats to help the other ships. The state of the other three ships was such that they were hardly able to let go their anchors. The general went on board them all with a number of men, and hoisted out their boats for them, which they were not able to do of themselves.
The reason of the men in the admiral being in such better health than in the other three ships was this: He brought with him to sea several bottles of lemon juice, of which he gave to each man, as long as it would last, three spoonfuls every morning fasting, not suffering them to eat any thing afterwards till noon. This juice worketh much the better if the person keeps a spare diet, wholly refraining from salt meat; which salt meat, and being long at sea, are the only causes of breeding this disease. By this means the general cured many of his men and preserved the rest; so that, though his ship had double the number of men of any of the rest, he had not so many sick, nor did he lose so many men, as any of the rest.
After getting all the ships to anchor, and hoisting out their boats, the general went immediately aland, to seek refreshments for our sick and weak men. He presently met with some of the natives, to whom he gave various trifles, as knives, pieces of old iron, and the like; making signs for them to bring him down sheep and oxen. For he spoke to them in the cattle's language, which was not changed at the confusion of Babel; using mouth for oxen, and baa for sheep, imitating their cries; which language the people understood very well without any interpreter. Having sent the natives away, well contented with the kind usage and presents he had given them, orders were given for so many men from every ship to bring sails ashore, to make tents for the sick; and also to throw up fortifications for defence, lest by any chance the natives might take offence and offer violence. He at the same time prescribed regulations for buying and selling with the natives; directing, when they should come down with cattle, that only five or six men selected for the purpose should go to deal with them, and that the rest, which should never be under thirty muskets and pikes, should keep at the distance of at least eight or ten score yards, always drawn up in order and readiness, with their muskets in the rests, whatever might befal. This order was so strictly enforced, that no man was permitted to go forward to speak with the natives, except with special leave. I attribute our continuing in such amity and friendship with the natives to these precautions, for the Hollanders had lately five or six of their men slain by the treachery of these natives.
The third day after our arrival in Saldanha bay, the natives brought down beeves and sheep, which we bought for pieces of old iron hoops; as two pieces of eight inches each for an ox, and one piece for a sheep, with which the natives seemed perfectly satisfied. In ten or twelve days, we bought 1000 sheep and 42 oxen, and might have had more if we would. After this they discontinued bringing any more cattle, but the people often came down to us afterwards; and when we made signs for more sheep, they would point to those we had already, which the general kept grazing on the hills near our tents; which, as we judged, was the reason why they did not bring us more, as they thought we meant to inhabit there. But, God be thanked, we were now well provided, and could very well pass without farther purchases. The oxen were as large as ours in England, and very fat; and the sheep were many of them bigger than ours, of excellent flesh, sweet and fat, and to our liking much better than our English mutton, but having coarse hairy wool.
The people of this place are all of a tawny colour, of reasonable stature, swift of foot, and much given to pick and steal. Their language is entirely uttered through their throats, and they cluck with their tongues in so strange a manner, that, in seven weeks which we remained here, the sharpest wit among us could not learn one word of their language, yet the natives soon understood every sigh we made them. While we staid at this bay, we had such royal refreshing that all our men recovered their health and strength, except four or five. Including these, and before we came in, we lost out of all our ships 105 men; yet, on leaving this bay,[103] we reckoned ourselves stronger manned than when we left England, our men were now so well inured to the southern climates and to the sea.
[Footnote 103: In a marginal note, Purchas gives the lat. of Saldanha bay as 34° S. The place then called Saldanha bay was certainly Table bay, the entrance to which is in 33° 50' S. So that Purchas is here sufficiently, accurate.--E.]
SECTION 2. Continuation of the Voyage, from Saldanha Bay to the Nicobar and Sombrero Islands.
The general ordered all our tents to be taken down on the 24th of October, and all our men to repair on board their respective ships, having laid in an ample supply of wood and water. We put to sea the 29th of that month, passing a small island in the mouth of the bay, which is so full of seals and penguins, that if no better refreshment could have been procured, we might very well have refreshed here. Over the bay of Saldanha there stands a very high and flat hill, called the Table; no other harbour on all this coast having so plain a mark to find it by, as it can be easily seen seventeen or eighteen leagues out at sea. In the morning of Sunday the 1st November, we doubled the Cape of Good Hope in a heavy gale at W.N.W.
On the 26th November we fell in with the head-land of the island of St Lawrence or Madagascar, somewhat to the eastward of cape St Sebastian, and at five mile from the shore we had 20 fathoms; the variation of the compass being 16°, a little more or less. In an east and west course, the variation of the compass serves materially, and especially in this voyage.[104] From the 26th November till the 15th December we plied to the eastwards, as nearly as we could, always striving to get to the island of Cisne, called Diego Rodriguez in some charts; but ever from our leaving Madagascar, we found the wind at E. or E.S.E. or E.N.E. so that we could not accomplish it, and we could not continue to strive long in hopes of the wind changing, as our men began again to fall sick of the scurvy. The captain of our vice-admiral, John Middleton of the Hector, now proposed to our general to bear away for the bay of Antongit, on the east coast of Madagascar, where we might refresh our men with oranges and lemons, so as to get rid again of this cruel disease; which counsel was approved by him and the whole company.
[Footnote 104: At this period, and for long afterwards, mariners estimated their longitudes by dead reckonings, or by the observed variations of the compass; both very uncertain guides.--E.]
We had sight of the southernmost part of the island of St Mary [in lat. 16° 48' S. long. 50° 17' E.] and anchored next day between that island and the main of Madagascar. We immediately sent our boats to St Mary, where we procured some store of lemons and oranges, being very precious for our sick men to purge them of the scurvy. While riding here, a great storm arose, which drove three of our ships from their anchors; but within sixteen hours the storm ceased, and our ships returned and recovered their anchors. The general thought it improper to remain here any longer, on account of the uncertainty of the weather, the danger of riding here, and because we were able to procure so little refreshment at this island; having got, besides a few lemons and oranges, a very little goats milk, and a small quantity of rice: But as our men were sick, and the easterly winds still prevailed, he gave orders to sail for Antongil.
The isle of St Mary is high land and full of wood. The natives are tall handsome men, of black colour and frizzled hair, which they stroke up at their foreheads as our women do in England, so that it stands three inches upright. They go entirely naked, except covering their parts; and are very tractable and of familiar manners, yet seemed valiant. Most of their food is rice, with some fish; yet while we were there we could get very little rice to purchase, as their store was far spent, and their harvest near at hand. There are two or three watering places on the north part of this island, none of them very commodious, yet there is water enough to be had with some trouble.
Departing from this island of St Mary on the 23d December, we came into the bay of Antongil on Christmas-day, and anchored in eight fathoms water, at the bottom of the bay, between a small island and the main.[105] The best riding is nearest under the lee of that small island, which serves as a defence from the wind blowing into the bay; for while we were there it blew a very heavy storm, and those ships which were nearest the island fared best Two of our ships drove with three anchors a-head, the ground being oosy and not firm. Going a-land on the small island, we perceived by a writing on the rocks, that five Holland ships had been there, and had departed about two months before our arrival, having had sickness among them; for, as we could perceive, they had lost between 150 and 200 men at this place.
[Footnote 105: This island of Maroise is in lat. 15° 10' S. and almost in the same longitude with the isle of St Mary, being 62 English miles from its northern extremity.--E.]
The day after we anchored, we landed on the main, where the people presently came to us, making signs that five Dutch ships had been there, and had bought most of their provisions. Yet they entered into trade with us for rice, hens, oranges, lemons, and another kind of fruit called plantains; but held every thing very high, and brought only small quantities. Our market was beside a considerable river, into which we went in our boats, such of our men as were appointed to make the purchases going ashore; the rest always remaining in the boats with their arms in readiness, and the boats about twenty or thirty yards from the land, where the natives could not wade to them, and were ready at all times, if needful, to take our marketers from the land. In this manner we trifled off some days before we could get the natives to commence a real trade; for all these people of the south and east parts of the world are subtle and crafty in bartering, buying, and selling, so that, without sticking close to them, it is difficult to bring them to trade in any reasonable sort, as they will shift continually to get a little more, and then no one will sell below that price. Upon this, the general ordered measures to be made of about a quart, and appointed how many glass beads were to be given for its fill of rice, and how many oranges, lemons, and plantains were to be given for every bead, with positive orders not to deal at all with any who would not submit to that rule. After a little holding off, the natives consented to this rule, and our dealing became frank and brisk; so that during our stay we purchased 15-1/4 tons of rice, 40 or 50 bushels of their peas and beans, great store of oranges, lemons, and plantains, eight beeves, and great numbers of hens.
While at anchor in this bay, we set up a pinnace which we had brought in pieces from England; and cutting down trees, which were large and in plenty, we sawed them into boards, with which we sheathed her. This pinnace was about 18 tons burden, and was very fit and necessary for going before our ships at our getting to India. While we remained here, there died out of the Admiral, the master's mate, chaplain, and surgeon, with about ten of the common men; and out of the Vice-Admiral, the master and some two more. By very great mischance, the captain and boatswain's mate of the Ascension were slain: For, when the master's mate of the Admiral was to be buried, the captain of the Ascension took his boat to go on shore to his funeral; and as it is the rule of the sea to fire certain pieces of ordnance at the burial of an officer, the gunner fired three pieces that happened to be shotted, when the ball of one of them struck the Ascension's boat, and slew the captain and boatswain's mate stark dead; so that, on going ashore to witness the funeral of another, they were both buried themselves. Those who died here were mostly carried off by the flux, owing, as I think, to the water which we drank; for it was now in the season of winter, when it rained very much, causing great floods all over the country, so that the waters were unwholesome, as they mostly are in these hot countries in the rainy season. The flux is likewise often caught by going open, and catching cold at the stomach, which our men were very apt to do when hot.
We sailed from this bay on the 6th March, 1602, steering our course for India, and on the 16th fell in with an island called Rogue Pize, [in lat. 10° 30' S. and long. 64° 20' E.] The general sent his boat to see if there were any safe anchorage, but the water was found almost every where too deep. As we sailed along, it seemed every where pleasant, and full of cocoa-nut trees and fowls, and there came from the land a most delightful smell, as if it had been a vast flower garden. Had there been any good anchorage, it must surely have been an excellent place of refreshment; for, as our boats went near the land, they saw vast quantities of fish, and the fowls came wondering about them in such flocks, that the men killed many of them with their oars, which were the best and fattest we had tasted in all the voyage. These fowls were in such vast multitudes, that many more ships than we had might have been amply supplied.
The 30th March, 1602, being in lat. 6° S[106] we happened upon a ledge of rocks, and looking overboard, saw them under the ship about five fathoms below the surface of the water, which amazed us exceedingly by their sudden and unexpected appearance. On casting the ship about, we had eight fathoms, and so held on our course to the east. Not long after, one of our men in the top saw an island S.E. of us, some five or six leagues off, being low land, which we judged to be the island of Candu,[107] though our course by computation did not reach so far east. Continuing our course some thirteen or fourteen leagues, we fell upon another flat of sunken rocks, when we cast about southwards, and in sailing about twelve leagues more found other rocks, and in trying different ways we found rocks all round about, having twenty, thirty, forty, and even fifty fathoms among the flats. We were here two days and a half in exceeding great danger, and could find no way to get out. At last we determined to try to the northward and in 6° 40' S. thank God, we found six fathoms water. The pinnace went always before, continually sounding, with orders to indicate by signals what depth she had, that we might know how to follow.
[Footnote 106: The Speaker bank, in long. 78° E. is nearly in the indicated latitude.--E.]
[Footnote 107:4 There are two islands called Candu, very small, and direct N. and S. of each other, in lat. 50° 40' S. long. 78° E. and less than half a degree N.N.E. is a small group called the Adu islands, surrounded by a reef--E.]
Being delivered out of this pound, we followed our course till the 9th May about four in the afternoon, when we got sight of the islands of Nicobar, on which we bore in and anchored on the north side of the channel. But as the wind changed to S.W. we had to weigh again, and go over to the south side of the channel, where we came to an anchor under a small island on that shore. We here got fresh water and cocoa-nuts, but very little other refreshments; yet the natives came off to us in long canoes that could have carried twenty men in each. They brought gums to sell instead of amber, with which they deceived several of our men; for these eastern people are wholly given to deceit. They brought also hens and cocoa-nuts for sale; but held them at so dear a rate that we bought very few. We staid here ten days, putting our ordnance in order and trimming our ships, that we might be in readiness at our first port, which we were not now far from.
In the morning of the 20th April, we set sail for Sumatra, but the wind blew hard at S.S.W. and the current set against us, so that we could not proceed. While beating up and down, two of our ships sprung leaks, on which we were forced to go to the island of Sombrero,[108] ten or twelve leagues north of Nicobar. Here we in the Admiral lost an anchor, for the ground is foul, and grown full of false coral and some rocks, which cut our cable asunder, so that we could not recover our anchor. The people of these islands go entirely naked, except that their parts are bound up in a piece of cloth, which goes round the waist like a girdle, and thence between their legs. They are all of a tawny hue, and paint their faces of divers colours. They are stout and well-made, but very fearful, so that none of them would come on board our ships, or even enter our boats. The general reported that he had seen some of their priests all over cloathed, but quite close to their bodies, as if sewed on; having their faces painted green, black, and yellow, and horns on their heads turned backwards, painted of the same colours, together with a tail hanging down behind from their buttocks, altogether as we see the devil sometimes painted in Europe. Demanding why they went in that strange attire, he was told that the devil sometimes appeared to them in such form in their sacrifices, and therefore his servants the priests were so cloathed. There grew many trees in this island, sufficiently tall, thick, and straight to make main-masts for the largest ship in all our fleet, and this island is full of such.
[Footnote 108: So called, because on the north end of the largest island of the cluster there is a hill resembling the top of an umbrella--ASTL. I. 267. a.]
Upon the sands of this island of Sombrero we found a small twig growing up like a young tree, and on offering to pluck it up, it shrinks down to the ground, and sinks, unless held very hard. On being plucked up, a great worm is found to be its root, and as the tree groweth in greatness, so doth the worm diminish; and as soon as the worm is entirely turned into tree, it rooteth in the earth, and so becomes great. This transformation is one of the strangest wonders that I saw in all my travels: For, if this tree is plucked up while young, and the leaves and bark stripped off, it becomes a hard stone when dry, much like white coral: Thus is this worm twice transformed into different natures. Of these we gathered and brought home many.
The editor of Astley's Collection supposes this a mere fiction, or that it might take its rise from coral growing accidentally on shell fish. The first part of the story probably arose from some of the animals called animal flowers, the body of which, buried in the sand, and resembling a worm, extends some member having the appearance of a young tree, which retracts when touched rudely. The second part may have been some corraline or madrepore growing in shallow water, the coriaccous part of which, and the animals residing in the cells, may have resembled the bark and leaves of a plant. Considering both of these erroneously as the same plant in different states, might easily give occasion to the wonders in the text, without the smallest intention of fiction.--E.
SECTION 3. Their Reception and Trade at Acheen.
We set sail from the island of Sombrero on the 29th May, and got sight of Sumatra on the 2d June, coming to anchor in the road of Acheen on the 5th, about two miles from the city. We here found sixteen or eighteen sail of different countries, Guzerat, Bengal, Calicut, Malabar, Pegu, and Patane, which had come for trade. There came on board two Dutch merchants or factors, who had been left behind by their ships, to learn the language and the customs of the country; who told us we should be made welcome by the king, who was desirous to entertain strangers; and that the Queen of England was already famous in those parts, on account of the wars and great victories she had gained over the King of Spain. That same day, the general sent Captain John Middleton, with four or five gentlemen in his train, to wait upon the king, and to inform him, that the general of our ships had a message and letter from the most famous Queen of England to the most worthy King of Acheen and Sumatra, to request the king would vouchsafe to give audience to the said ambassador, to deliver his message and letter, giving sufficient warranty for the safety of him and his people, according to the law of nations. Captain Middleton was very kindly entertained by the king, who, on hearing the message, readily granted the request, and communed with him on many topics; after which a royal banquet was served up to him; and, at his departure, he was presented with a robe, and a tuke or turban of calico wrought with gold, as is the manner of the kings of this place to those whom they are pleased to favour. The king sent his commendations to the general, desiring him to remain yet another day on board, to rest from the fatigues of his voyage, and to come the day following on shore, when he might be sure of a kind reception and free audience, in as much safety as if in the dominions of the queen his mistress: but, if he doubted the royal word, such honourable pledges should be sent for his farther assurance as might give him entire satisfaction.
The general went ashore on the third day after our arrival with thirty attendants or more. He was met on landing by the Holland merchants, who conducted him to their house, as had been appointed; as the general did not think fit to have a house of his own till he had been introduced to the king. He remained at the Holland factory, where a nobleman from the king came and saluted him kindly, saying that he came from the king, whose person he represented, and demanded the queen's letter. The general answered, that he must himself deliver the letter to the king, such being the custom of ambassadors in Europe. The nobleman then asked to see the superscription of the letter, which was shewn him. He read the same, looked very earnestly at the seal, took a note of the superscription and of the queen's name, and then courteously took his leave, returning to tell the king what had passed. Soon afterwards six great elephants were sent, with many drums, trumpets and streamers, and much people, to accompany the general to court. The largest elephant was about thirteen or fourteen feet high, having a small castle like a coach on his back, covered with crimson velvet. In the middle of the castle was a large basin of gold, with an exceedingly rich wrought cover of silk, under which the queen's letter was deposited. The general was mounted upon another of the elephants, some of his attendants riding, while others went a-foot. On arriving at the gate of the palace, the procession was stopped by a nobleman, till he went in to learn the king's farther pleasure; but he presently returned, and requested the general to come in.
On coming into the presence of the king, the general made his obeisance according to the manner of the country, saying, that he was sent by the most mighty Queen of England, to compliment his majesty, and to treat with him concerning peace and amity with the queen his mistress, if it pleased him to do so. He then began to enter upon farther discourse; but the king stopt him short, by desiring him to sit down and refresh himself, saying, that he was most welcome, and that he would readily listen to any reasonable conditions, for the queen's sake, who was worthy of all kindness and frank conditions, being a princess of great nobleness, of whom fame reported much. The general now delivered the queen's letter, which the king graciously received, delivering it to a nobleman who waited on him. The general then delivered his present, consisting of a basin of silver, having a fountain in the middle of it, weighing 205 ounces; a large standing cup of silver; a rich mirror; a head-piece with a plume of feathers; a case of very fair dagges[109]; a richly embroidered sword-belt; and a fan made of leathers. All these were received in the king's presence by a nobleman of the court, the king only taking into his own hand the fan of feathers, with which he made one of his women fan him, as if this had pleased him more than all the rest.
[Footnote 109: A case of handsomely mounted pistols.--E.]
The general was then commanded to sit down in the presence, on the ground, after the manner of the country, and a great banquet was served, all the dishes being either of pure gold, or of tomback, a metal between gold and brass, which is held in much estimation. During this banquet, the king, who sat aloft in a gallery about six feet from the ground, drank often to the general in the wine of the country, called arrack, which is made from rice, and is as strong as our brandy, a little of it being sufficient to set one to sleep. After the first draught of this liquor, the general either drank it mixed with water, or pure water, craving the king's pardon, as not able to take such strong drink; and the king gave him leave.
After the feast was done, the king caused his damsels to come forth and dance, and his women played to them on several instruments of music. These women were richly attired, and adorned with bracelets and jewels; and this was accounted a great favour, as the women are not usually seen of any but such as the king will greatly honour. The king gave also to the general a fine robe of white calico, richly wrought with gold: a very fine girdle of Turkey work; and two crisses, which are a kind of daggers all of which were put on him by a nobleman in the king's presence. He was then courteously dismissed, and a person was sent along with him, to make choice of a house in the city, wherever the general might think most suitable. But at that time he refused the proffered kindness, chusing rather to go on board the ships, till the king had considered the queen's letter.
The letter from the queen was superscribed, To the great and mighty King of Achem, &c. in the island of Sumatra, our loving brother, greeting.[110] After a long complimentary preamble, and complaining against the Portuguese and Spaniards for pretending to be absolute lords of the East Indies, and endeavouring to exclude all other nations from trading thither, it recommended the English to his royal favour and protection, that they might be allowed to transact their business freely then and afterwards in his dominions, and to permit their factors to remain with a factoryhouse in his capital, to learn the language and customs of the country, till the arrival of another fleet. It likewise proposed that reasonable capitulations, or terms of commercial intercourse, should be entered into by the king with the bearer of the letter, who was authorised to conclude the same in her name; and requested an answer accepting the proffered league of amity.
[Footnote 110: In the Pilgrims this letter is given at full length; but, being merely complimentary, is here only abridged.--E.]
At his next audience, the general had a long conference with the king respecting the queen's letter, with which he seemed well satisfied; saying, if the contents came from the heart he had reason to think of it highly, and was well pleased to conclude the proposed treaty of amity and commerce. As for the particular demands made in the queen's name by the general, respecting trade, the king referred him to two noblemen, who were authorised to confer with him, promising that all which was requested by the queen should be granted. With this satisfactory answer, and after another banquet, the general departed. He sent next day to the two noblemen appointed to treat with him, to know when they proposed to meet, and confer with him. One of these was chief bishop or high-priest of the realm,[111] a person in high estimation with the king and people, as he well deserved, being a very wise and prudent person. The other was one of the ancient nobility of the country, a man of much gravity, but not so fit for conferring on the business in hand as the former.
[Footnote 111: As the grand Turk has his Mufti, so other Mahomedan princes have their chief priests in all countries of that profession.--Purch.]
After a long conference,[112] the general demanded that proclamation might be instantly made, that none of the natives should abuse the English, but that they might be permitted to follow their business in peace and quietness. This was so well performed, that though there was a strict order for none of their people to walk by night, yet ours were allowed to go about by day or night without molestation; only, when any of our people were found abroad at unlawful hours, the justice brought them home to the general's house, and delivered them there.
[Footnote 112: A long train of formal particulars are here omitted, as tedious and uninteresting.--E.]
At the close of the conference, the chief-priest required from the general notes of his demands of privileges for the merchants in writing, with the reasons of the same, that they might be laid before the king; promising that he should have answers within a few days. With these conferences, and much courtesy, and after some conversation on the affairs of Christendom, they broke up for that time. The general was not negligent in sending his demands in writing to the noblemen, as they were mostly drawn up before coming ashore, being not unready for such a business.
On his next going to court, and sitting before the king, beholding a cock-fight, which is one of the sports in which the king takes great delight, the general sent his interpreter with his obeisance to the king, requesting him to be mindful of the business on which he had conferred with the two noblemen. The king then made him draw near, telling him he was careful of his dispatch, and would willingly enter into a league of peace and amity with the Queen of England, which he would truly perform: and that the demands and articles he had set down in writing should all be extended in proper form by one of his secretaries, which he should then authorise and confirm. Within five or six days these were delivered to the general, from the king's own hands, with many gracious words. It were too long to insert the entire articles of this treaty; but the whole demands of the English were granted. First, free trade and entry. Second, freedom from customs on import and export. Third, assistance of their vessels to save our goods and men from wreck, and other dangers. Fourth, liberty of testament, to bequeath their goods to whom they pleased. Fifth, stability of bargains and payments by the subjects of Acheen, &c. Sixth, authority to execute justice on their own people offending. Seventh, justice against injuries from the natives. Eighth, not to arrest or stay our goods, or to fix prices upon them. Lastly, freedom of conscience.
This important treaty being settled, the merchants were incessantly occupied in providing pepper for loading the ships; but it came in slowly and in small quantities, as the last year had been very sterile. Hearing of a port called Priaman, about 150 leagues from Acheen, in the south part of Sumatra, where one of the smaller ships might be loaded, the general prepared to send the Susan thither, placing in her Mr Henry Middleton as captain and chief merchant. The general was not a little grieved, that Mr John Davis, his chief pilot, had told the merchants before leaving London, that pepper was to be had at Acheen for four Spanish, ryals of eight the hundred, whereas it cost us almost twenty. Owing to this, the general became very thoughtful, considering how to load his ships, and save his credit in the estimation of his employers; as it would be a disgrace to all concerned, in the eyes of all the neighbouring nations of Europe, seeing there were merchandise enough to be bought in the East Indies, while his ships were likely to return empty.
SECTION 4. Portuguese Wiles discovered, and a Prize taken near Malacca.
A Portuguese ambassador was at this time in Acheen, who looked with an evil eye on every step we took, but was by no means in favour with the king: for, on the last day of his being at court, on demanding leave to settle a factory in the country, and to build a fort at the entrance of the harbour, for the protection of the merchants goods, because the city was subject to fire, the king, perceiving what he meant, gave him this sharp answer: "Has your master a daughter to give my son, that he is so careful for the security of my country? He shall not need to be at the charge of building a fort; for I have a fit house about two leagues inland from the city, which I can give him for a factory, where you need neither fear enemies nor fire, for I will protect you." The king was much displeased with this insolent demand, and the ambassador left the court much discontented.
Shortly after this, an Indian, who belonged to a Portuguese captain, who came to the port with a ship-load of rice from Bengal, came to our house to sell hens. The Portuguese captain lodged at the ambassador's house, and our general suspected he came only as a spy to see what we were about; yet he gave them orders to treat the Indian well, and always to give him a reasonable price for his hens. At last he took occasion to commune with this Indian, asking whence he came and what he was, saying to him pleasantly, that a young man of his appearance deserved a better employment than buying and selling hens. To this he answered, "I serve this Portuguese captain, yet am neither bound nor free; for, though free-born, I have been with him so long that he considers me as his property, and he is so great a man that I cannot strive with him." Then, said the general, "If thy liberty be precious to thee, thy person, seems to merit it; but what wouldst thou do for him who should give thee thy liberty, without pleading to thy master for it?" "Sir," said the Indian, "freedom is as precious as life, and I would venture my life for him that would procure it for me: Try me, therefore, in any service that I can perform for you, and my willingness shall make good my words." "Then," said the general, "thou desirest me to try thee? What says the ambassador of me and my shipping, and what are his purposes?" The Indian told him, that the Portuguese had a spy employed over his ships, being a Chinese who was intimate with the men, so that he has procured drawings of the ships, and of every piece of ordnance in them, and how they are placed, with a list of all the men in each: That he thought the ships strong and well equipped, but being weak in men, believed they might easily be taken, if any force could be had to attack them suddenly; and intended in a few days to send his draughts to Malacca, to induce the Portuguese to send a force from thence to attack them as they lay at anchor. The general laughed heartily at this account, but said the ambassador was not so idle as the Indian thought, for he well knew the English ships were too strong for all the forces in those parts. He then desired the Indian to go his way, and return in a day or two to inform him if the ambassador continued his project, and when he was to send his messenger to Malacca. Saying, that although it would serve him little to know these things, yet he would give the Indian his liberty for the good-will he shewed to serve him.
The Indian went away well pleased, as might easily be seen by his countenance and the lightness of his steps. When he was gone, the general said to me, that we had now met with a fit person to betray his master, if we could derive any benefit from his treachery; and in this he was not deceived, for by his means, whatever was done or said by the ambassador during the day, was regularly reported to our general that night or next morning; yet did this fellow conduct himself so prudently, that neither was he suspected by any one in the Portuguese ambassador's house, nor was it known to any one in ours, what business he was engaged in. He had the right character for a spy, being crafty, careful, and subtle, never trusting any one to hear his conversation with our general, but always spoke to him when alone, and that in a careless manner, as if he had answered idly; for he was in fear that our people should discover that the selling of hens was a mere pretence for coming continually to our house.
The general was sent for to court next day, when the king had a conference with him about an embassy from the King of Siam respecting the conquest of Malacca, having sent to know what force he would employ for that service by sea, if the King of Siam undertook to besiege it by land. This King of Acheen is able to send a great force of gallies to sea, if he may have four or five months warning to make them ready. The general endeavoured to further this proposal with many reasons; and took occasion to talk about the Portuguese ambassador, who conducted himself with much proud insolence, and who, he said, had come to Acheen for no other reason but to spy out the strength of his kingdom. "I know it well," said the king, "for they are my enemies, as I have been to them; but what makes you see this?" The general then said, that he could take nothing in hand but that they employed spies to mark his conduct, and that the ambassador intended to send drawings of all his ships to Malacca, to procure a force from thence to fall upon him suddenly. The king smiled at this, saying that he need fear no strength that could come from Malacca, as all the force they had there was quite insufficient to do the English any harm. Then said the general, that he did not fear their strength or what they could do against him; but as they would know when he was to go to sea, the ambassador would send them notice to keep in port, so that he would be unable to do them harm; wherefore he entreated the king to arrest two of the ambassador's servants that were to go for Malacca in a few days, not meaning to sail from Acheen, but to go thence to another port of the king's, and there to hire a bark for Malacca. "Well," said the king, "let me know when they depart from hence, and thou shall see what I will do for thee." The general now took leave of the king, well pleased with his friendly intentions, and continued his daily conferences with his hen-merchant, so that he became privy to everything that was either done or said in the ambassador's house.
When the time was come, the ambassador's servants went away to a port about twenty-five leagues from Acheen; upon which the general went immediately to inform the king, who had already given proper orders, so that, on their arrival at the port, when they had hired a vessel in which they embarked with their letters, and were even going over the bar a mile from the town, a galley went after them, and caused the bark to strike sail, that the justice might see what was their lading. On the justice coming on board, and seeing the two Portuguese, he asked whence they came and whither they were going? They answered, that they came from Acheen, being in the service of the Portuguese ambassador. "Nay," said the justice, "but you have robbed your master and run away with his goods; wherefore I shall return you again to him, that you may answer for your conduct." In this confusion they lost their plots and letters, their trunks having been broke open; and they were sent back to Acheen to the king, to be delivered to the ambassador, if they belonged to him. The general was immediately sent for to court, and asked by the king if he were satisfied; on which he gave the king humble and hearty thanks for his friendship in the business. The merchant of hens continued to come daily to our house with his goods; and the general suspected, not without his master's knowledge, as indeed he afterwards confessed, to carry news from us as well as bringing us intelligence.
It was now September, and summer being past, and the general intending to go to sea to seek for means to supply his necessities, was like to have been crossed worse than ever. The Portuguese ambassador had got his dispatches of leave from the king, and was about to go from Acheen; which coming to the knowledge of our general, he went immediately to court, where the king sat looking at certain sports which were made for his amusement. The general sent his interpreter to request permission to speak with the king, who immediately called him, desiring to know what he wished. "It has pleased your majesty," said the general, "to shew me many courtesies, by which I am emboldened to entreat one more favour." "What is that?" said the king, smiling: "Are there any more Portuguese going to Malacca to hinder your proceedings?" "The ambassador himself," said the general, "as I am given to understand, has received your majesty's dispatches, with licence to go when he pleases, and is determined to go in five days." Then, said the king, "What would you have me do?" To this the general replied, "Only stay him for ten days after I have sailed." "Well," said the king, laughing, "you must bring me a fair Portuguese maiden at your return."
With this answer the general took his leave, and made all the haste he could to be gone, having recommended the factors during his absence to the protection and favour of the king, and to purchase pepper, to help out the loading of the Ascension, which was now more than three parts laden; yet he did not chuse to leave her behind, as the road was open. When all the three ships were nearly ready, the captain of a Holland ship, called the Sheilberge, then in the roads, requested permission of the general to join company with him, and take part in the adventure upon which he was going. This ship was above 200 tons burden; but her captain was as short of money in proportion as we were, and was therefore desirous of a chance of making some addition to his stock; and as our general was content to have his aid, he agreed to let him have an eighth part of what might be taken. The general then went to take leave of the king, to whom he presented two of the chief merchants, Messrs Starkie and Styles, whom the king graciously took under his protection, as they and some others were to remain behind to provide pepper against the return of the ships.
We sailed on the 11th September, 1602, steering our course for the straits of Malacca; but, before giving an account of this adventure, I shall relate how the king dealt with the Portuguese ambassador after our departure. Every day the ambassador urgently pressed for permission to depart; but still, on one pretence or another, the king delayed his voyage; till at last, twenty-four days after our departure, the king said to him, "I wonder at your haste to be gone, considering that the English ambassador is at sea with his ships, for if he meet you he will do you some wrong or violence." "I care little for him," said the ambassador, "for my frigate[113] is small and nimble, with sails and oars; and if I were only her length from the Englishman, I could easily escape all his force." The king then gave him his dispatch, and allowed him to depart. This delay served well for us, for had he got away in time, such advices would have been sent from Malacca into the straits by frigates, that all ships would have had warning to avoid us: But by detaining the ambassador, we lay within 25 leagues of Malacca, and were never descried.
[Footnote 113: Frigates, in the present day, are single-decked ships of war, of not less than 20 guns: The term seems then to have been applied to a swift-sailing vessel of small size and force; and is frequently applied to armed or even unarmed barks or grabs, small Malabar vessels employed by the Portuguese for trade and war.--E.]
While we lay in the straits of Malacca, on the 3d October, the Hector espied a sail, and calling to us, we all saw her likewise. Being towards night, the general directed us to spread out in a line, a mile and a half from each other, that she might not pass us in the night. During the night the strange sail fell in with the Hector, which first espied her. The captain immediately hailed her to surrender, firing two or three shots to bring her to; so that the rest of our ships were apprized of where she was, and all gathered about her, firing at her with their cannon, which she returned. On the coming up of the admiral, which shot off six pieces at once out of her prow, the main-yard of the chase fell down, so that she could not escape. The admiral now ordered all our ships to discontinue firing, lest some unfortunate shot might strike between wind and water, and sink our expected prize; so we lay by her till morning without any more fighting. At break of day, the captain of the chase, and some of his men, went into his boat; on which the Hector, being nearest, called to them to come to his ship. Mr John Middleton, the captain of the Hector, being vice-admiral, brought the boat and captain immediately aboard the general, to whom they surrendered their ship and goods.
The general gave immediate orders to remove all the principal men of the prize on board our ships, and only placed four of our men in the prize, for fear of rifling and pillaging the valuable commodities she contained, and gave these men strict warning, if any thing were amissing, that they should answer for the value out of their wages and shares, ordering them on no account to allow any one to come on board the prize, unless with his permission. When the prize was unloaded, her own boatswain and mariners did the whole work, none of our men being allowed to go on board even to assist. They only received the goods into our boats, carrying them to such ships as they were directed by the general; by which orderly proceeding there was neither rifling, pillaging, nor spoil, which could hardly have been otherwise avoided in such a business. Within five or six days we had unladen her of 950 packs of calicoes and pintados, or chintzes, besides many packages of other merchandise. She had likewise much rice and other goods, of which we made small account: And as a storm now began to blow, all their men were put on board, and we left her riding at anchor. She came from San Thome, [or Meliapour near Madras,] in the bay of Bengal, and was going to Malacca, being of the burden of about 900 tons. When we intercepted her, there were on board 600 persons, including men, women, and children.
The general would never go on board to see her, that there might be no suspicion, either among our mariners, or the merchants in London, of any dishonest dealing on his part, by helping himself to any part of her goods. He was exceeding glad and thankful to God for this good fortune, which had eased him of a heavy care, as it not only supplied his necessities, to enable him to load his ships, but gave him sufficient funds for loading as many more; so that now his care was not about money, but how he should leave these goods, having so much more than enough, till the arrival of other ships from England.
The 21st October, we began our voyage from the straits of Malacca to return to Acheen; and by the way there came a great spout of water, pouring from the heavens, and fell not far from our ship, to our extreme terror. These spouts come pouring down like a river of water; so that, if they were to fall upon a ship, she would be in imminent danger of sinking downright; as the water falls all at once like one vast drop, or as a prodigious stream poured from a vessel, and with extreme violence, sometimes enduring for an hour together, so that the sea boils and foams to a great height.
SECTION 5. Presents to and from the King of Acheen, and his Letters to Queen Elizabeth. Their Departure to Priaman and Bantam, and Settlement of Trade at these Places.
We again cast anchor in the road of Acheen, on the 24th of October, when the general went immediately on shore, and found all our merchants well and in safety, giving great commendations of the kind entertainment they had from the king in the absence of the general. On this account, the general, willing to gratify the king with some of the most valuable articles taken in the prize, selected a present of such things as he thought might be most to his liking, and presented them to him on his first going to court. The king received the present very graciously, and welcomed the general on his return, seeming to be much pleased with his success against the Portuguese; but jestingly added, that the general had forgotten his most important commission, which was to bring back with him a fair Portuguese maid. To this the general replied, that there were none worthy of being offered. The king smiled, and said, if there were any thing in his dominions that could gratify the general, he should be most welcome to have it.
The merchants were now directed to ship in the Ascension, all the pepper, cinnamon, and cloves they had bought in the absence of the ships, which was scarcely enough to complete her loading; but there was no more to be had at the time, nor could any more be expected that year. The general, therefore, ordered every thing to be conveyed on board the ships, as he was resolved to depart from Acheen, and to sail for Bantam in Java Major, where he understood good sale might be procured for his commodities, and a great return of pepper at a much more reasonable price than at Acheen. Upon this order being promulgated, every person made haste to get their things embarked.
The general went to court, and communicated to the king his intentions of departing, and had a long conference with his majesty, who delivered to him a complimentary letter for the Queen of England.[114] A present was likewise delivered to him for the queen, consisting of three fine vestments, richly woven and embroidered with gold of exquisite workmanship, and a fine ruby set in a gold ring, the whole enclosed in a red box of Tzin.[115] He likewise presented the general with another ruby set in a ring, and when about to take leave, he asked the general if we had the Psalms of David extant among us. On being told that we had, and sang them daily, he said, that he and his nobles would sing a psalm to God for our prosperous voyage, which they did very reverently. He then desired that we might sing another psalm in our own language; and being about twelve of us present, we sang a psalm. That being ended, the general took leave of the king, who shewed him much kindness at his departure, desiring God to bless us during our voyage, and to guide us safely to our country; adding, that if any of our ships should come hereafter to his ports, they might depend on receiving as kind treatment as we had got.
[Footnote 114: Purchas gives a copy of this letter, as translated from the Arabic by William Bedwell. It is long, tedious, and merely composed of hyperbolical compliment; and therefore omitted.--E.]
[Footnote 115: This was probably a casket of red Chinese lacker or varnish, usually denominated Japanned.--E.]
All our goods and men being shipped, we departed from Acheen on the 9th November, 1602, with three ships, the Dragon, Hector, and Ascension, the Susan having been long before sent to Priaman. We kept company for two days, in which time the general prepared his letters for England, sending them away in the Ascension, which now directed her course by the Cape of Good Hope for England; while we steered along the south-western coast of Sumatra, in our way to Bantam, meaning to look for the Susan, which had been sent formerly to endeavour to procure a loading on that coast. While in this course we suddenly fell in among a number of islands in the night, and when the morning dawned were astonished how we had got in among them, without seeing or running upon any of them. They were all low land, environed with rocks and shoals, so that we were in great danger; but thanks be to God, who had delivered us from many dangers, and enabled us to extricate ourselves from the present difficulty. Continuing our course, we passed the equinoctial line for the third time, and coming to Priaman, the 26th November, we rejoined the Susan, which the general had sent there from Acheen to load with pepper.
The people of the Susan were rejoiced at our arrival, having already provided 600 bahars of pepper, and sixty-six bahars of cloves. Pepper was cheaper here than at Acheen, though none grows in the neighbourhood of this port, being all brought from a place called Manangcabo, eight or ten leagues within the country; which place has no other merchandise, except a considerable store of gold in dust and small grains, which is washed out of the sands of rivers after the great floods of the rainy season, by which it is brought down from the mountains. Priaman is a good place of refreshment, and is very pleasant and healthy, though it lies within 15' of the line. Having refreshed ourselves here with good air, fresh victuals, and water, the general left orders for the Susan to complete her loading in all speed, which wanted only a few hundred bahars of pepper, and then to proceed direct for England.
Leaving the Susan at Priaman, we left that place with the Dragon and Hector on the 4th December, directing our course for Bantam in Java. Entering the straits of Sunda, the 15th December, we came to anchor under an island three leagues from Bantam, called Pulo Pansa. Next morning we got into the road of Bantam, and fired a great peal of ordnance from our two ships, the like of which had never been heard in that place before. Next morning, the general sent Captain John Middleton on shore with a message for the king, to say that he, the general, was sent by the Queen of England with a letter and message for his majesty, and required his majesty's licence and safe conduct to come on shore to deliver them. The king sent back word that he was glad of his arrival, sending a nobleman along with Captain Middleton to welcome the general, and accompany him on shore. Taking about sixteen attendants, the general went on shore with this nobleman to the court, where he found the king, being a boy of ten or eleven years of age, sitting in a round house, surrounded in some decent state by sixteen or eighteen of his nobles. The general made his obeisance after the custom of the country, and was welcomed very kindly by the young king. After some conference about his message, he delivered the queen's letter into the king's hands, and made him a present of plate and some other things, which the king received with a smiling countenance, and referred the general for farther conference to one of his nobles, who was protector or regent of the kingdom in his minority.
After a conference of an hour and a half; the regent in the king's name received the general and all his company under the king's protection, with perfect freedom to come on land, to buy and sell without molestation, assuring him of as great security as in his own country, to all which the other nobles gave their consent and assurance. There passed many discourses upon other topics at this conference, which I omit troubling the reader with for the sake of brevity; my purpose being to shew the effect of this first settlement of trade in the East Indies, rather than to be tediously particular. After this kind welcome and satisfactory conference, the general took his leave of the king and nobles, and immediately gave orders for providing houses, of which he had the king's authority to make choice to his liking. Within two days, the merchants brought their goods ashore, and began to make sales; but one of the nobles came to the general, saying, that it was the custom of the place, for the king to buy and provide himself before the subjects could purchase any thing. The general readily consented to this arrangement, being informed that the king would give a reasonable price and make punctual payment.
When the king was served, the merchants went on with their sales, and in a few weeks sold more goods than would have sufficed to purchase loading for both ships, yet we only brought away from thence 276 bags of pepper, each containing sixty-two pounds. Each bag cost at first rate 5-1/2 ryals of eight, of 4s. 6d. being £1:4:9 per bag, or something less than 5d. a pound. This was, however, besides duty of anchorage and custom to the king. By agreement with the Sabander or governor of the city,[116] the general paid as anchorage duty for the two ships, 1500 ryals of eight; and one ryal of eight as custom for each bag of pepper. We traded here very peaceably, though the Javans are reckoned the greatest thieves in the world: But; after having received one or two abuses, the general had authority from the king to put to death whoever was found about his house in the night, and after four or five were thus slain, we lived in reasonable peace and quiet, yet had continually to keep strict watch all night.
[Footnote 116: This officer, as his title implies, which ought to be written Shah-bander, is lord of the port or harbour.--E.]
We went on with our trade, so that by the 10th February, 1603, our ships were fully laden and ready to depart. In the mean time, Mr John Middleton, captain of the Hector, fell sick on board his ship in the road. For, from the very first of our voyage, the general made it an invariable rule, if he were ashore, that the vice-admiral must be on board, and vice versa, that both might not be at one time from their charge. Hearing of his sickness, the general went aboard to visit him, and found him much weaker than he himself felt or suspected, which experience in these hot climates had taught our general to know; for, although Captain Middleton was then walking about the deck, he died about two o'clock next morning.
The general now proceeded to put every thing in order for our speedy departure, and appointed a pinnace of about 40 tons, which we had, to be laden with commodities, putting into her twelve mariners with certain merchants, whom he sent to the Moluccas, to trade there and settle a factory, against the arrival of the next ships from England. He likewise left eight men and three factors in Bantam, Mr William Starkie being head factor; whom he appointed to sell such commodities as were left, and to provide loading for the next ships. Every thing being arranged, the general went to court to take his leave of the king, from whom he received a letter for Queen Elizabeth, with a present of some fine bezoar stones. To the general he gave a handsome Java dagger, which is much esteemed there, a good bezoar stone, and some other things. After this the general took leave of the king, with many courteous expressions on both sides.
SECTION 6. Departure for England, and Occurrences in the Voyage.
We all embarked on the 20th February, 1603, shot off our ordnance, and set sail for England, giving thanks to God with joyful hearts for his merciful protection. We were in the straits of Sunda on the 22d and 23d of that month, and on the 26th we got clear of all the islands in these straits and of the land, shaping our course S.W. so that on the 28th we were in lat. 8° 40' S. On Sunday the 13th March, we were past the tropic of Capricorn, holding our course mostly S.W. with a stiff gale at S.E. The 14th April we were in lat. 34° S. judging the great island of Madagascar to be north of us. We had a great and furious storm on the 28th, which forced us to take in all our sails. This storm continued a day and night, during which the sea so raged that none of us expected our ships to live; but God, in his infinite mercy, calmed the violence of the storm, and gave us opportunity to repair the losses and injuries we had received; but our ships were so shaken by the violence of the wind and waves, that they continued leaky all the rest of the voyage.
We had another great storm on the 3d May, which continued all night, and did so beat on the quarter of our ship that it shook all the iron work of our rudder, which broke clean off next morning from our stern, and instantly sunk. This misfortune filled all our hearts with fear, so that the best and most experienced among us knew not what to do, especially seeing ourselves in so tempestuous a sea, and a so stormy place, so that I think there be few worse in the world. Our ship now drove about at the mercy of the winds and waves like a wreck, so that we were sometimes within a few leagues of the Cape of Good Hope, when a contrary wind came and drove us almost into 40° S. among hail, snow, and sleety cold weather. This was a great misery to us, and pinched us sore with cold, having been long used to hot weather. All this while the Hector carefully kept by us, which was some comfort, and many times the master of the Hector came aboard our ship to consult upon what could be done. At length it was concluded to put our mizen-mast out at a stern port, to endeavour to steer our ship into some place where we might make and hang a new rudder to carry us home. This device, was however to little purpose; for, when we had fitted it and put it out into the sea, it did so lift up with the strength of the waves, and so shook the stem of our ship, as to put us in great danger, so that we were glad to use all convenient haste to get the mast again into the ship.
We were now apparently without hope or remedy, unless we made a new rudder, and could contrive to hang it at sea, which may easily be judged was no easy matter, in so dangerous a sea, and our ship being of seven or eight hundred tons.[117] But necessity compelled us to try all possible means. The general ordered our carpenters to make a new rudder of the mizen-mast; but there was this great obstacle, that we had lost all our rudder-irons along with the old rudder: Yet we proceeded with all expedition; One of our men dived, to search what might remain of our rudder-irons on the stern port, who found but two, and another that was broken. Yet, with God's help, finding a fair day, we made fast our new rudder, and were able to make sail homewards. Within three or four hours, the sea took it off again, and we had great difficulty to save it, losing another of our irons, so that only two now remained to hang it by, and our men began to propose quitting the ship and going on board the Hector to save themselves. "Nay," said the general, "we will abide God's leisure, and see what mercy he will shew us; for I do not yet despair to save ourselves, the ship, and the goods, by some means which God will appoint." With that, he went into his cabin, and wrote a letter for England, proposing to send it by the Hector, commanding her to continue her voyage and leave us; but not one of our ship's company knew of this command. The tenor of the letter was as follows, little more or less, addressed to the Governor and Company:
RIGHT WORSHIPFUL,
What hath passed in this voyage, and what trades I have settled for the company, and what other events have befallen us, you shall understand by the bearers hereof, to whom (as occasion has fallen) I must refer you, I shall strive with all diligence to save my ship and her goods, as you may perceive by the course I take in venturing my own life, and those that are with me. I cannot tell where you should look for me, if you send any pinnace to seek me; because I live at the devotion of the winds and seas. And that, fare you well, praying God to send us a merry meeting in this world, if it be his good will and pleasure.
The passage to the East India lieth in 62 1/2 degrees, by the north-west on the America side.[118]
Your very loving friend,
JAMES LANCASTER.
[Footnote 117: At the commencement of this article, the burden of the Dragon is only stated at 600 tons.--E.]
[Footnote 118: This latter paragraph obviously refers to the ignis fatuus of a northwest passage by sea to India, to be noticed in an after part of this work.--E.]
When this letter was delivered to the Hector, together with his orders for her departure, the general expected she would have gone off from us in the night, according to instructions; but when he espied her in the morning, he said to me that they regarded no orders. But the Hector kept some two or three leagues from us, not coming any nearer; for the master was an honest and good man, who loved our general, and was loth to leave him in such great distress. It was now incumbent upon us to try every means to save ourselves and the ship. Our carpenter mended our new rudder, and in a few days the weather became somewhat fair and the sea smooth. So we made a signal for the Hector to come near, out of which came the master, Mr Sander Cole, bringing the best swimmers and divers belonging to his ship, who helped us materially in our work. By the blessing of God, we hung our rudder again on the two remaining hooks, and then had some hope of being able to fetch some port for our relief.
We were sore beaten to and fro in these raging seas, and had many more storms than are here expressed, sometimes for a whole month together, so that our men began to fall sick, and the wind was so scant that we could fetch no port on the coast of Africa, which was the nearest land. Committing ourselves therefore into the hands of God, we made sail for the island of St Helena, knowing that we were to the westwards of the Cape of Good Hope, especially by the height we were now in to the northward. While in this course our main-yard fell down, and drove one of our men into the sea, where he was drowned; this being the last of our misfortunes. The 5th June, we passed the tropic of Capricorn, and in the morning of the 16th we got sight of St Helena to our great joy. We bore close along shore, to get to the best part of the road, where we came to anchor in twelve fathoms water, right over against a chapel which the Portuguese had built there long since.
When we went ashore, we found by many writings, that the Portuguese caraks had departed from thence only eight days before our arrival. In this island there are excellent refreshments to be had, especially water and wild goats; but the latter are hard to be got at, unless good means are followed. For this purpose the general selected four stout active men, the best marksmen among our people, who were directed to go into the middle of the island, each of these, having four men to attend him, and to carry the goats he killed to an appointed place, whence every day twenty men went to bring them to the ships. By this plan there was no hooting or hallooing about the island to scare the goats, and the ships were plentifully supplied to the satisfaction of all. While we remained here, we refitted our ships as well as we could, and overhauled our temporary rudder, securing it so effectually that we had good hope it might last us home. All our sick men recovered their health, through the abundance of goats and hogs we procured for their refreshment. Indeed all of us stood in great need of fresh provisions, having seen no laud in three months, but being continually beaten about at sea.
We departed from St Helena on the 5th July, steering N.W. and passed the island of Ascension, in lat. 8° S. on the 13th. No ships touch at this island, for it is altogether barren and without water; only that it abounds with fish all around in deep water, where there is ill riding for ships. Holding our course still N.W. with the wind at E. and S.E. till the 19th of that month, we then passed the equator, and on the 24th were in lat. 6° N. at which time we judged ourselves to be 150 leagues from the coast of Guinea. We then steered N. by W. and N. till the 29th, when we got sight of the island of Fuego, one of the Cape Verds, where we were becalmed five days, striving to pass to the eastwards of this island but could not, for the wind changed to the N.E. so that we had to steer W.N.W. We were in lat. 16° N. on the 7th August, and on the 12th we passed the tropic of Cancer, in lat. 23° 30' N. holding our course to the north. The 23d the wind came westerly; and on the 29th we passed St Mary, the southeastermost of the Azores, with a fair wind. We had soundings on the 7th September, 1603, the coast of England being then 40 leagues from us by our reckoning; and we arrived in the Downs on the 11th of that month, where we came safe to anchor: For which we thanked the Almighty God, who hath delivered us from infinite perils and dangers, in this long and tedious navigation; having been, from the 2d April, 1601, when we sailed from Torbay, two years five months and nine days absent from England.
SECTION II.
Account of Java, and of the first Factory of the English at Bantam; with Occurrences there from the 11th February, 1603, to the 6th October, 1605.[119]
INTRODUCTION.
The entire title of this article, in the Pilgrims of Purchas, is, "A Discourse of Java, and of the first English Factory there, with divers Indian, English, and Dutch Occurrences; written by Mr Edmund Scot, containing a History of Things done from the 11th February, 1602, till the 6th October, 1605, abbreviated."
[Footnote 119: Purch. Pilgr. I. 164. Astl. I. 284.]
It is to be observed, that February, 1602, according to the old way of reckoning time in England, was of the year 1603 as we now reckon, for which reason we have changed the date so far in the title of the section. Mr Edmund Scot, the author of this account of Java, was one of the factors left there by Sir James Lancaster. He became latterly head factor at that place, and returned from thence to England with Captain Henry Middleton, leaving Mr Gabriel Towerson to take charge of the trade in his room; doubtless the same unhappy person who fell a sacrifice, seventeen years afterwards, to the avarice, cruelty, and injustice of the Dutch. This article may be considered as a supplement to the voyage of Sir James Lancaster, and is chiefly adopted as giving an account of the first factory established by the English in the East Indies. Being in some parts rather tediously minute upon matters of trifling interest, some freedom has been used in abbreviating its redundancies. The following character is given of it by the editor of Astley's collection.--E.
"The whole narrative is very instructive and entertaining, except some instances of barbarity, and affords more light into the affairs of the English and Dutch, as well as respecting the manners and customs of the Javanese and other inhabitants of Bantam, than if the author had dressed up a more formal relation, in the usual way of travellers: From the minute particulars respecting the Javanese and Chinese, contained in the last sections, the reader will be able to collect a far better notion of the genius of these people, than from the description of the country inserted in the first; and in these will be found the bickerings between the Dutch and English, which laid the foundations of these quarrels and animosities which were afterwards carried to such extreme length, and which gave a fatal blow to the English trade in the East Indies."--Astl.
SECTION 1. Description of Java, with the Manners and Customs of its Inhabitants, both Javanese and Chinese.
Java Major is an island in the East Indies, the middle of which is in long. 104° E. and in lat. 9° S.[120] It is 146 leagues long from east to west, and about 90 leagues broad from south to north.[121] The middle of the island is for the most part mountainous, yet no where so steep as to prevent the people from travelling to their tops either a-foot or on horseback. Some inhabitants dwell on the hills nearest the sea; but in the middle of the land, so far as I could learn, there were no inhabitants; but wild beasts of several sorts, some of which come to the valleys near the sea, and devour many people. Towards the sea the land for the most part is low and marshy, whereon stand their towns of principal trade, being mostly on the north and north-east sides of the island, as Chiringin, Bantam, Jackatra, and Jortan or Greesey. These low lands are very unwholesome, and breed many diseases, especially among the strangers who resort thither, and yield no merchandise worth speaking of, except pepper, which has been long brought from all parts of the island to Bantam, as the chief mart or trading town of the country. Pepper used formerly to be brought here from several other countries for sale, which is not the case now, as the Dutch trade to every place where it can be procured, and buy it up.
[Footnote 120: The longitude of the middle of Java may be assumed at 110° E. from Greenwich, and its central latitude 7° 15' S. The western extremity is in long. 105° 20' and the eastern in 114° 48' both E. The extreme north-west point is in lat. 6°, the most southeastern in 8° 45', both S. It is hard to guess what Mr Scot chose as his first meridian, giving an error of excess or difference of 30° from the true position; as the meridian of Ferro would only add about 18 degrees.--E.]
[Footnote 121: The difference of longitude in the preceding note gives 189 leagues, being 43 more than in the text, whereas its greatest breadth does not exceed 28 leagues, not a third part of what is assigned in the text.--E.]
The town of Bantam is about three English miles long, and very populous. It has three markets held every day, one in the forenoon and two in the afternoon. That especially which is held in the morning abounds as much in people, and is equally crowded with many of our fairs in England; yet I never saw any cattle there for sale, as very few are bred or kept in the country. The food of the people is almost entirely confined to rice, with some hens and fish, but not in great abundance. All the houses are built of great canes, with a few small timbers, being very slight structures; yet in many houses of the principal people there is much good workmanship, with fine carvings and other embellishments. Some of the chiefest have a square chamber built of brick, in a quite rude manner, no better than a brick-kiln; the only use of which is to secure their household stuff in time of fires, for they seldom or never lodge or eat in them.
Many small rivers pervade the town, which also has an excellent road for shipping; so that if the people were of any reasonable capacity, it could easily be made a goodly city. It is entirely surrounded by a brick-wall, built in a very warlike manner, with flankers and towers, scouring in all directions; and I have been told by some that it was first built by the Chinese. In many places this wall has fallen to ruin. At one end of the city is the Chinese town, being divided from that of the Javanese by a narrow river, which, after crossing the end of the Chinese town, runs past the king's palace, and then through the middle of the great town, where the tide ebbs and flows, so that at high water galleys and junks of heavy burden can go into the middle of the city. The Chinese town is mostly built of brick, every house being square and flat-roofed, formed of small timbers, split canes, and boards, on which are laid bricks and sand to defend them from fire. Over these brick warehouses a shed is placed, constructed of large canes, and thatched; some being of small timber, but mostly of canes. Of late years, since we came here, many wealthy persons have built their houses fire-proof all the way to the top: but, on our first coming, there were none other in that manner except the house of the Sabander, and those of the rich Chinese merchants: yet even these, by means of their windows, and the sheds around them, have been consumed by fire. In this town stand the houses of the English and Dutch, built in the same manner with the others; but of late the Dutch have built one of their houses to the top of brick, but with much trouble and expence, in hopes of securing themselves from fire.
The King of Bantam is an absolute sovereign, and since the deposition and death of the late Emperor of Damacke he is considered as the principal king of the whole island. He uses martial law on any offender he is disposed to punish. If the wife or wives of any private individual are guilty of adultery, upon good proof, both the woman and her paramour are put to death. They may put their slaves to death for any small fault. For every wife that a free Javan marries he must keep ten female slaves, though some keep forty such for each wife, and may have as many more as they please, but can only have three wives; yet may use all their female slaves as concubines. The Javanese are exceedingly proud, yet very poor, as hardly one among them of a hundred will work. The gentry among them are reduced to poverty by the number of their slaves, who eat faster than their pepper and rice grow. The Chinese plant, dress, and gather all the pepper, and sow the rice, living as slaves under the Javanese proprietors; yet they absorb all the wealth of the land by their industry, from the indolent and idle Javanese. All the Javanese are so proud that they will not endure an equal to sit an inch higher than themselves. They are a most blood-thirsty race, yet seldom fight face to face, either among themselves or with other nations, always seeking their revenge after a cowardly manner, although stout men of good stature. The punishment for murder among them is to pay a fine to the king: but evermore the relations of the murdered person seek for revenge upon the murderer or his kindred; so that the more they kill one another the more fines come to the king. The ordinary weapon, which they all wear, is a dagger, called a criss, about two feet long, with a waved blade, crooked to and fro indenture ways, like what is called a flaming sword, and exceedingly sharp, most of them being poisoned, so that not one among five hundred wounded in the body escapes with life. The handles of these weapons are of horn or wood, curiously carved in the likeness of a devil, which many of these people worship. In their wars they use pikes, darts, and targets; and of late some of them have learnt to use fire-arms, but very awkwardly.
The better sort wear a tuke or turban on their heads, and a fine piece of painted calico round their loins, all the rest of their bodies being naked. They sometimes wear a close coat like a mandilion,[122] made of cloth, camblet, velvet, or some other silk; but this is seldom, and only on extraordinary occasions. The common people have a flat cap of velvet, taffeta, or calico, on their heads, cut out in many pieces, and neatly sewed together, so as to fit close. About their loins they wrap a piece of calico made at Clyn, put on like a girdle, but at least a yard broad, being mostly of two colours. There come also from the same place many sorts of white cloth, which they dye, paint, and gild, according to their own fashions. They can also weave a kind of striped stuff, either of cotton or the rinds of trees; but, owing to their indolence, very little of that is made or worn. The men for the most part wear their hair, which is very thick and curly, and in which they take great pride, and often go bare-headed to show their hair. The women go all bare-headed, many of them having their hair tucked up like a cart-horse, but the better sort tuck it up like our riding geldings. About their loins they wear the same stuffs like the men; and always have a piece of fine painted calico, of their country fashion, thrown over their shoulders, with the ends hanging down loose behind.
[Footnote 122: The editor of Astley's Collection substitutes the word cassock at this place.--E.]
The principal people are very religious, yet go seldom to church. They acknowledge Jesus to have been a great prophet, calling him Nabu Isa, or the prophet Jesus, and some of them entertain Mahometan priests in their houses: but the common people have very little knowledge of any religion, only saying that there is a God who made heaven and earth and all things. They say that God is good, and will not hurt them, but that the devil is bad, and will do them harm; wherefore many of them are so ignorant as to pray to him, for fear he should harm them. Assuredly, if there were here men of learning, and having a sufficient knowledge of their language to instruct them, many of these ignorant people might be drawn over to the true Christian faith, and civilized; for many with whom I have conversed upon Christian laws have liked all very well, except the prohibition of a plurality of wives, as they are all very lascivious, both men and women.
The better sort of the Javanese, who are in authority, are great takers of bribes; and all of them are bad payers when trusted, although their laws for debt are so strict, that the creditor may take his debtor, wives, children, slaves, and all that he hath, and sell them in satisfaction of the debt. They are all much given to stealing, from the highest to the lowest; and surely they were, in times past, canibals or man-eaters, before they had trade with the Chinese, which some say is not above a hundred years ago. They delight much in indolent ease and in music, and for the most part spend the day sitting cross-legged like tailors, cutting a piece of stick, by which many of them become good carvers, and carve their criss handles very neatly; which is all the work that most of them perform. They are great eaters; but the gentry allow nothing to their slaves except rice sodden in water, with some roots and herbs. They have also an herb called betel, which they carry with them wherever they go; in boxes, or wrapped up in a cloth like a sugar-loaf; and also a nut called pinang,[123] which are both very hot-tasted, and which they chew continually to warm them within, and to keep away the flux. They also use much tobacco, and take opium. The Javanese are a very dull and blockish people, very unfit for managing the affairs of a commonwealth, so that all strangers who come to their land get beyond them; and many who come here to dwell from the country of Clyn, grow very rich, and rise to high offices, as the sabander, laytamongon, and others. The Chinese especially, who live crouching under them like Jews, rob them of their wealth, and send it to China.
[Footnote 123: Probably that called areka on the continent of India; the areka and betel being chewed together, along with powdered chunam, or shell-lime.--E.]
The Chinese are very crafty in trade, using every conceivable art to cheat and deceive. They have no pride in them, neither will they refuse any labour, except they turn Javans, when they have committed murder or some other villainy, when they become every whit as proud and lazy as a Javan.[124] They follow several different sects of religion, but are mostly atheists; many of them believing, that if they lead good lives, they will be born again to great riches, and be made governors; whereas those who lead bad lives will be changed to some vile animal, as a frog or toad. They burn sacrifices every new moon, mumbling over certain prayers in a kind of chanting voice, tingling a small bell, which they ring aloud at the close of each prayer. When any of them of good account lies sick and like to die, they sacrifice in this manner: Their altars are furnished with goats, hens, ducks, and various kinds of fruit, some dressed fit for eating, and others raw, which are all dressed and eaten; after which they burn a great many pieces of paper, painted and cut out into various devices. I have often asked them, to whom they burn their sacrifices? when they always said, it was to God; but the Turks and Guzerates who were there, alleged it was to the devil: If so, they are ashamed to confess.
[Footnote 124: Though not obviously expressed, it would appear, that for murder, and some other crimes, the Chinese had to become Mahometans, to be entitled to redeem their lives by a fine.--E.]
Many of them are well skilled in astronomy, keeping an exact account of the months and years. They observe no Sabbaths, neither keep they any day holier than another; except that, on laying the foundation of a house, or beginning any great work, they note down the day, and keep it ever after as a festival. When any of them that are wealthy die at Bantam, their bodies are burnt to ashes, which are collected into close jars, and carried to their friends in China. I have seen when some of them lay dying, that there were set up seven burning perfumes, four of them great shining lights, arranged on a cane laid across two crochets, six feet from the ground, and three small dim lights on the ground directly under the others. On asking frequently the meaning of this ceremony, I could never get any other answer than that it was the custom of China. They do many other such foolish things, not knowing wherefore, but only that it has been so done by their ancestors.
They delight much in the exhibition of plays, and in singing, but certainly have the worst voices in the world. These plays and interludes are exhibited in honour of their gods, after burning sacrifices at the beginning, the priests many times kneeling down, and kissing the ground three times in quick succession. These plays are made most commonly when they think their junks are setting out from China, and likewise when they arrive at Bantam, and when they go away back to China. These plays sometimes begin at noon, and continue till next morning, being mostly exhibited in the open streets, on stages erected on purpose. They have likewise among them some soothsayers, who sometimes run raging up and down the streets, having drawn swords in their hands, tearing their hair like so many madmen, and throwing themselves on the ground. When in this frantic state, they themselves affirm, and it is believed by the Chinese, that they can foretell what is to happen. Whether they be possessed of the devil, who reveals things to them, I know not; but many of the Chinese use these conjurers when they send away a junk on any voyage, to learn if the voyage shall succeed or not; and they allege that it hath happened according as the soothsayer told them.
The Chinese are apparelled in long gowns, wearing kirtles, or shorter garments, under these; and are assuredly the most effeminate and cowardly nation in the world. On their heads they wear a caul or close bonnet, some of silk and some of hair, having the hair of their heads very long, and bound up in a knot on their crowns. Their nobles and governors wear hoods of sundry fashions, some being one half like a hat and the other half like a French hood, others of net-work with a high crown and no brims. They are tall and strong built, having all very small black eyes, and very few of them have any beards. They will steal and commit all manner of villainy to procure wealth. At Bantam they purchase female slaves, as they cannot bring any women out of China. By these slaves they have many children; and when they go back to China, without intending to return to Bantam, they carry all their children along with them, but sell their women. They send always some of their goods to China by every fleet of junks; for if they die at Bantam, all the goods they have there fall to the king. If they cut their hair, they must never return to China; but their children may, providing their hair has never been cut.
SECTION 2.A brief Discourse of many Dangers by Fire, and other Treacheries of the Javanese.
After our two ships, the Dragon and Hector, were laden, and all things set in order, our general, Sir James Lancaster, departed from Bantam on the 21st February, 1603, leaving nine persons resident in that city, over whom he appointed Mr William Starkie to be chief commander. He likewise left thirteen others, who were appointed to go in our pinnace for Banda, over whom Thomas Tudd, merchant, was constituted chief commander, and Thomas Keith master of the pinnace. At his departure, the general left orders that the pinnace should be sent away with all speed; wherefore, having taken on board fifty-six chests and bales of goods, she set sail at night on the 6th March; but meeting with contrary winds, was forced to return to Bantam after having been two months at sea, beating up to no purpose. Also, at our general's departure, he left us two houses full of goods, besides some being at the Dutchman's house; but we were too few in number to have kept one house well, had not God of his great mercy preserved us.
Before the departure of our ships, a quarrel had taken place between our people and the Javanese, who sought by all manner of ways to be revenged; so that presently after the departure of our pinnace, they began to attempt setting fire to our principal house, by means of fire-arrows and fire-darts in the night; and when we brought out any quantity of our goods to air, they were sure to set some part of the town on fire to windward not far from us. If these fire-arrows had not, by God's good providence, been seen by some of our people, that house and all its goods had surely been consumed, as plainly appeared when we came afterwards to repair the roof. But, as the malice of the rascal sort began now plainly to appear, and continued for two years against us, so did the merciful protection of God begin to shew itself, and continued to the last day, as will manifestly be seen in the sequel of this discourse: For which blessed be his holy name.
Immediately after dispatching the pinnace, we began to lay the foundation of our new house, which was seventy-two feet long, and thirty-six broad. And as at this time a new protector of the kingdom was chosen, we were put to some trouble and cost before we could get permission to go through with it. In airing our prize goods, Mr Starkie unadvisedly caused the leather covers to be stripped off from most of the bales, by which we found afterwards that they did not keep their colour near so well as the others. On the 21st of March, in consequence of a cannon being fired off by a Chinese captain, the town was set on fire, and many houses full of goods were consumed. Among the rest the Dutch house was burnt down, in which we had sixty-five packs of goods, besides some pepper. We had also a considerable quantity of pepper in the house of a Chinese which was burnt down, in which we lost 190 sacks entirely, besides damage received by the rest. Our loss by this fire was great, yet we were thankful to God it was no worse, considering how near the fire came to our two houses, which were at that time very unfit for such danger, especially one to which the fire came within three yards, so that the jambs of the windows were so hot one could hardly lay their hand upon them, yet did not its old dry thatch take fire, to the great admiration of all who were there of many nations. All the villains of the place gathered round our house, so that we durst take no rest, lest they should set it on fire. Some of them even were so impudent in the evening as to ask how many of us lay in that house, as if meaning to set upon us in the night and cut all our throats. They were even so bold as to come in the day time before our very faces, to observe how our doors were fastened in the inside; and we were often warned by our well-wishers to keep good watch, as there were a knot of thieves who intended to rob and murder us. There were only four of us in this house, who, with over-watching, and by the disease of the country, which is a dysentery, were quite spent with weakness, and two of us never recovered. Nine sail of Hollanders came into the road on the 19th of April, 1603, of which fleet Wyorne van Warwicke was general; who shortly after sent two ships to China, two to the Moluccas, and one to Jortan, two remaining at Bantam. We were much beholden to this general for bread, wine, and many other necessaries, and for much kindness. He used often to say that Sir Richard Lewson had relieved himself, when like to perish at sea, for which he held himself bound to be kind to the English wherever he met them; and he shewed much reverence for our queen on all occasions.
Thomas Morgan, our second factor, died on the 25th of April, after having been long sick; and Mr Starkie began to grow very weak. The 28th, our pinnace which had gone to Banda came back to Bantam, having lost William Chace, one of her factors, and all the others in her were weak and sickly. The new protector now forbade us from proceeding with our house; but by the favour of the Sabander, and Cay Tomogone Goboy the admiral, we were with much ado allowed to finish it. Mr Starkie, our principal factor, died on the 30th June, whose burial General Warwicke caused to be honoured by the attendance of a company of shot and pikes, with the colours trailed, as at the funeral of a soldier.
The great market-place on the east side of the river was set fire to on the 4th July, in which fire several Chinese who were indebted to us lost their all, so that we sustained some loss. Thomas Dobson, one of the factors appointed for Banda, died on the 17th July. The town was fired again on the east side of the river on the 27th. The 5th, several Dutch captains came to our house, saying that the regent had asked if they would take our parts in case he did us any violence; when they told him we were their neighbours, and they would not see us wronged. I went immediately to the regent, to whom I gave a small present, and thanked him for the men he had lent us to help our building; but I could see by his countenance that he was angry. The same day the admiral of Bantam sent his son to the regent to enquire why he used threats against us, which he denied; and, sending for me next morning, he asked me who had said he meant to harm us. Saying it was the Dutch captains, he answered if any Javan or Chinese had said so, he would have sent for them and cut their throats before my eyes. He then blamed me for not coming to him when we had any suits, and going always to the sabander and admiral; upon which, I said that he was only newly appointed, and we were not yet acquainted with him, but should apply to him in future.
About this time an affray broke out between the Hollanders and the Chinese, in which some on both sides were slain and wounded, owing to the disorderly and drunken behaviour of the lower Dutchmen when on shore. They got the worst on this occasion, not indeed from the Chinese themselves, but from some Javan slaves of turn-coat Chinese, who would steal unawares on the Hollanders of an evening, and stab them in a cowardly manner. One day, when the Hollanders were very importunate about one of their men who had been assassinated, the regent asked, whether they brought a law along with them into a foreign country, or whether they were governed by the laws of the country in which they resided? They answered, that they were governed by their own laws when on ship board, and by those of the country when on shore. Then said the regent, "I will tell you what are the laws of this country in regard to murder. If one kill a slave, he must pay 20 ryals of eight, if a freeman 50, and if a gentleman 100." This was all the redress they had for the slaughter of their man.
About the 5th September there came a junk full of men from the island of Lampon in the straits of Sunda, who are great enemies to the Javans, and yet so very like them as not to be distinguishable. These men, having their junk in a creek near Bantam, and being in all points like the Javans, used to come boldly into the town and into the houses, even at noonday, and cut off the people's heads, so that for near a month we had little rest for the grievous lamentations of the towns people. After a time, many of them becoming known, were taken and put to death. They were men of comely stature, and the reason of their strange procedure was, that their king rewarded them with a female slave for every head they brought him, so that they would often dig up newly-buried persons at Bantam and cut off their heads, to impose upon their savage king.
About this time, we got notice from the admiral and other friends to be much on our guard, as some of the principal natives in respect to birth, though not in wealth or office, had conspired to murder us for the sake of our goods, and then to give out that it had been done by the Lampons. These devils came several times in the intention to execute their horrid purpose, but seeing always lights about our house, which we had set up that we might see them, and hearing our drum at the end of every watch, their hearts failed them for fear of our small arms, both which and our murderers [blunderbusses] we had always ready for their reception. At length they fell out among themselves and dispersed.
By our continual alarms, and the grievous outcries of men, women, and children, who were nightly murdered around us, our men were so wrought upon, that even in their sleep they would dream of pursuing the Javans, and would suddenly start out of bed, catch at their weapons, and even wound each other before those who had the watch could part them; but yet we durst not remove their weapons, lest they should be instantly wanted, of which we were in constant dread. Being but few of us, I had to take my regular turn of watch with the rest, and have often been more in fear of our own men than of the Javans, so that I had often to snatch up a target when I heard them making any noise in their sleep, lest they might treat me as they did each other. So terrified were we on account of fire, that though, when we went to sleep after our watches were expired, our men often sounded their drum at our ears without awakening us, if the word fire had been spoken, however softly, we would all instantly run from our chambers; so that I was forced to warn them not to talk of fire in the night without urgent occasion. I do not mention these things to discourage others from going hereafter to Bantam: for we were then strangers, but have now many friends there, and the country is under much better regulation, and will more and more improve in government as the young king grows older. In three months time, the town on the east side of the river was five times burnt down; but, God be praised, the wind always favoured us; and although the Javans often set it on fire near us, it pleased God still to preserve us, as there was little wind, and the fire was put out before it got our length.
SECTION 3. Differences between the Hollanders, styling themselves English, and the Javans, and of other memorable Things.
About this time there was again a great outcast between the Hollanders and the natives, owing to the rude behaviour of the former, and many of them were stabbed in the evenings. The common people did not then distinguish between us and the Hollanders, calling both of us English, because the Hollanders had usurped our name on first coming here for trade, in which they did us much wrong, as we used often to hear the people in the streets railing against the English, when they actually meant the Hollanders; so that, fearing some of our men might be stabbed instead of them, we endeavoured to fall upon some plan to make ourselves be distinguished from them. And as the 17th of November drew nigh, which we still held as the coronation-day of queen Elizabeth, knowing no better, we dressed ourselves in new silk garments, and made us scarfs and hat-bands of red and white taffeta, the colours of our country, and a banner of St George, being white with a red cross in the middle. We, the factors, distinguished ourselves from our men, by edging our scarfs with a deep gold fringe.
When the day arrived, we set up our banner on the top of our house, and, with our drum and fire-arms, marched up and down the yard of our house; being but fourteen in number, we could only cast ourselves in rings and esses in single file, and so plied our shot. Hearing our firing, the sabander, and some others of the chief people of the land, came to see us, and enquired the cause of our rejoicing; when we told them that our queen was crowned on that day forty-seven years ago, for which reason all Englishmen, in whatever country they might then happen to be, were in use to shew their joy on that day. The sabander commended us mightily, for shewing our reverence to our sovereign at so great a distance from our country. Some of the others asked, how it happened that the Englishmen at the other house or factory did not do so likewise; on which we told them that they were not English but Hollanders, having no king, and their land being ruled only by governors, being of a country near England, but speaking quite a different language.
The multitude greatly admired to see so few of us discharge so many shots, for the Javans and Chinese are very inexpert in the use of fire-arms. In the afternoon, I made our people walk out into the town and market-place, that the people might see their scarfs and hat-bands, making a shew that the like had never been seen there before, and that the natives might for the future know them from the Hollanders; and many times the children ran after us in the streets, crying out, Orang Engrees bayk, Orang Hollanda jahad: The Englishmen are good, the Hollanders are bad.
The 6th December two Dutch ships came in, that had taken a rich Portuguese carak near Macao, by which they got great plunder, and were enabled so to bribe the regent, that he began to listen to their desire of being permitted to build a handsome house. About this time the regent sent for me to lend him 2000 pieces of eight, or at least 1000; but I put him off with excuses, saying we had been left there with goods, not money, that the natives owed us much which we could not get in, and that we were under the necessity of purchasing pepper to load our ships, which we were expecting to arrive daily.
The 6th February, 1604, Robert Wallis, one of our company, died, and several others of our men were very weak and lame, owing to the heat of the pepper, in dressing, screening, and turning it; so that we were in future obliged to hire Chinese to do that work, our own men only superintending them. The 16th of that month there came in a great ship of Zealand from Patane, which made us believe that General Warwicke was coming to load all his ships here; for which reason we immediately bought up all the good and merchantable pepper we could get. This ship had made some valuable prizes, but they had sworn all the English mariners on board to tell us nothing, on pain of losing their wages, which we took as very unkind. There was at this time in Bantam three houses of the Hollanders, all upon separate accounts, which all bought up as much pepper as they could get.
The 5th March, the regent sent again to borrow 1000 pieces of eight in the name of the king; and I was forced to lend him 500, lest he might have quarrelled with me, which would have given much pleasure to the Hollanders. In this country, when a Javan of any note is to be put to death, although there is a public executioner, yet the nearest of kin to the criminal is generally allowed to execute the office, which is considered as a great favour. The 14th March, Thomas Tudd, who had been left here as chief factor for Banda, departed this life, having been long sick; so that of seven factors left here for Bantam and Banda, two only were in life, besides several others of our men having died; we being now only ten men living and one boy.
A great junk from China came in on the 22d of April, which was thought to have been cast away, being so late, as they usually come in during February and March. In consequence of her very late coming, cashes kept all this year at a very cheap rate, which was a great hindrance to our trade, as when cashes are cheap, and pieces of eight consequently dear, we could not sell any of our prize goods at half the value we did at our first arrival. Besides this, the Chinese sent all the ryals they could get this year to China; for which reason we were obliged to give them credit, or must have lost the principal time of the year for making sales. The Hollanders had purchased all the pepper, except what was in our hands, and what belonged to the sabander, who would not sell at any reasonable price. Our goods now began to be old, and many of their colours to fade; for the warehouses are so hot and moist, that they will spoil any kind of cloth that is long in them, though we take never so much pains in airing and turning them.
SECTION 4. Treacherous Underminings, and other Occurrences.
A Chinaman turned Javan was our next neighbour, who kept a victualling-house or tavern, and brewed arack, a hot drink used in these parts instead of wine. He had two outhouses, in one of which his guests were in use to sit, and the other was his brewhouse, which joined the pales on the south side of our house. He now commenced a new trade, and became an engineer, having leagued with eight other villains to set our house on fire and plunder our goods. These nine ruffians dug a well in the brewhouse, from the bottom of which they wrought a mine quite under the foundation of our house, and then upwards to our warehouse; but on coming to the planked floor of the warehouse, they were at a stand how to get through, being afraid to cut them, as they always heard some of us walking over them night and day. They had gone wrong to work; for if they had continued their mine only to our next adjoining wareroom, they would have found 30,000 pieces of eight buried in jars for fear of fire; beside that room was not boarded. After waiting two months in vain for an opportunity to cut the boards, one of them, who was a smith, proposed to work through our planks by means of fire. Accordingly, about ten at night of the 28th May, 1604, they put a candle to the planks, through which they presently burnt a round hole. When the fire got through, it immediately communicated to the mats of our bales, which began to burn and spread. All the while we knew nothing of the matter, by reason of the closeness of the warehouse, all the windows being plastered up for fear of fire over-head.
After the first watch was out, one of which I had been, the second watch smelt a strong funk of fire, as it was by that time much increased, but they could not find out where it was after searching every corner. One of them remembered a rat-hole behind his trunk, whence he could plainly perceive the smoke steaming out, on which he came immediately to me, and told me our cloth warehouse was on fire. Going down immediately, and opening the doors of the warehouse, we were almost suffocated by the smoke, which was so thick we could not perceive whence it came. We had at this time two jars of gunpowder in this warehouse, which made us greatly fear being blown up: But, laying aside fear, we pulled every thing away that lay upon these jars, and got them out to our back-yard, the jars being already very hot. We now searched boldly for the fire, and at last found it. At length, by the aid of some Chinese merchants and others, we cleared the room of above fifty packs of goods, sixteen of which were on fire.
We wondered how this fire had come, suspecting the Portuguese had hired some Malays to do it: But a Chinese bricklayer, who wrought at the Dutch house, told a Hollander next morning, who had been long in the country, that it was done by the Chinese brewer and his accomplices, who were now fled, and if we looked well in the room we should find how it had been done. The Dutchman told this to an English surgeon, desiring him to come and tell us, while he, the Dutchman, being perfect in the native language, would go and enquire after the incendiaries. The surgeon came to me, and desired to see the room which had been on fire; on going into which with a candle, he presently discovered a little round hole, burnt quite through one of the planks of the floor, and putting down a long stick, we could feel no bottom. I then called for an axe, with which we wrenched up the plank as softly as possible, under which was a hole through which the largest trunk or pack in our warehouse might have gone down. I immediately took three of our men armed, and went to the house whence the mine came. Leaving one at the door, with orders to let no person out, I went into the house with the other two of my men, where we found three men in one of the rooms. There were two more in another room, who immediately fled on hearing us, by means of a back-door which we did not know of. After a few blows, we made the three men prisoners, and brought them away. One was an inhabitant of the brewer's house, but we could prove nothing against the others, yet we laid all three in irons. I immediately sent Mr Towerson to the regent, to give him an account of the matter, and to desire the villains might be sought out and punished. He promised this should be done, but was very slack in performance. The Dutch merchants, hearing we had taken some of the incendiaries, and fearing the Chinese might rise against us, came very kindly to us armed, and swore they would live and die in our quarrel.
After laying out such of our goods to dry as had been wetted in extinguishing the fire, we examined the person who dwelt with the brewer, who told us the names of six who were fled, but would not confess that he knew any thing about the mine, or setting our warehouse on fire. Then threatening him with a hot iron, but not touching him, he confessed the whole affair, and that he was concerned in it, saying, that the two out-houses were built expressly for the purpose, though put to other uses to avoid suspicion. I sent him next morning to execution; and as he went out at our gate, the Javans reviled him, to which he answered, that the English were rich and the Chinese poor, therefore why should not they steal if they could from the English?
Next day the Javan admiral took one of the incendiaries, who was found hid in a privy. This was he who put the fire to our house. He confessed to the admiral that he had clipped many ryals, and had counterfeited some; he even confessed some things concerning our matter, but not much, and would tell us nothing. Because of his obstinacy, and that he had set our house on fire, I caused him to be burnt, by means of sharp irons thrust under the nails of his thumbs, fingers, and toes, and the nails to be torn, off; and, because he never flinched, we thought his hands and feet had been benumbed with tying, wherefore we burnt him in other parts, as the hands, arms, shoulders, and neck, but even this had no effect. We then burnt him quite through the hands, and tore out the flesh and sinews with rasps, causing his shins to be knocked with hot searing irons. I then caused cold iron screws to be screwed into the bones of his arms, and suddenly snatched out, and to break all the bones of his fingers and toes with pincers: Yet for all this he never shed a tear, neither once turned his head aside, nor stirred hand or foot; but, when we asked a question, he would put his tongue between his teeth, and strike his chin on his knees to bite it off. After using the utmost extremity of torture in vain, I made him be again laid fast in irons, when the ants, which greatly abound there, got into his wounds, and tormented him worse than we had done, as might be seen by his gestures. The king's officers desired me to shoot him to death, which I thought too good a death for such a villain; but as they insisted, we led him out into the fields and made him fast to a stake. The first shot carried away a piece of his arm, bone and all; the next went through his breast near the shoulder, on which he bent down his head and looked at the wound. At the third shot, one of our men used a bullet cut in three pieces, which struck his breast in a triangle, on which he sunk as low as the stake would allow. Finally, between, our men and the Hollanders he was shot almost in pieces.[125]
[Footnote 125: This monster might have graced the holy office! He must have delighted in cruelty, or he could not have devised such horrible torments, and given a recital of them. The Dutch at Amboyna did not inflict more savage tortures on the English. Had not these things been related by the author himself, we could scarcely have believed such cruelty could have existed in an Englishman.--Astl. I. 295, a.]
At this time the admiral and sabander sent us an armed guard every night, lest the Chinese might rise against us. We were not, however, in any fear of them; yet we kept four of them to be witnesses for us, in case of their rising, that what we did was in our own defence. By means of a bribe, I procured another of the incendiaries, who confessed against his associates. These were Uniete the chief; Sawman his partner, dwelling in the same house; Hynting, Omygpayo, Hewsamcow; Utee, who was shortly after crissed for being caught with a woman; the informant, named Boyhoy; Irrow and Lackow, who were fled to Jackatra, neither of whom I had before heard of. I used every means to get them, but could not, unless I had been at great charges. Some of them belonged to great men among the Javans, and had taken refuge in their houses, so that we could not get at them: Yet some of their masters offered to sell them, on which we higgled for their price as one would do for an ox or calf, but they held them so dear that I could not deal with them. I offered as much for each as would have bought a slave in their stead; but they were fit instruments for their purpose, being practised in all manner of villainy, so that they would not part with them, except for large sums; for all the Javans and Chinese, from the highest to the lowest, are thorough-paced villains, without one spark of grace. Were it not for the sabander and admiral, and one or two more, who are natives of Clyn, there would be no living for Christians among them, without a fort, or a strong house all of brick or stone. We did not torture Boyhoy, because he had confessed, but crissed him.
Among the other instruments of the devil on earth in Bantam, there was a kinsman of the king, named Pangram Mandelicko, who kept one of the incendiaries of our house under his protection. He came one day to our house to buy cloth, when I desired him to deliver up this fellow into our hands, telling him how good it would be for the country to root out all such villains. "Tell them so," said he, "who have the government in their hands, or care for the good of the country, for I do not." On another time, wanting me to give him credit for cloth to the value of six or seven hundred pieces of eight, because I refused to trust him, he went away very angry, saying at the gate, it was a pity our house was not again set on fire.
The regent or protector gave us all the houses and ground that joined our inclosure, and had belonged to the incendiaries that undermined our house, but made us pay enormously dear for the property. We bought also from a Pangram, or gentleman, a house which came so near the door of our pepper warehouse as to be very troublesome to us, so that now we had a spacious yard.
The 9th September, the regent made proclamation, that no Chinese should weigh pepper to the English and Hollanders; which proclamation was procured by the Hollanders, for they told us themselves that day at dinner, that the protector owed them 10,000 sacks of pepper; but I said to them that it was not so, as they would not be such fools as to trust them so largely. I went next morning to an old woman, who was called queen of the land by the sabander and others, and commands the protector, though not even of the royal blood, but is held in such estimation among them for her wisdom, that she rules as though she were queen of the country. Having made known our griefs, she sent for the protector that I might talk with him in her presence. I asked the reason why he had prohibited our trade, on which he said that he must buy 10,000 sacks of pepper for the king; but I then said that I was informed by the Hollanders he owed them 10,000 sacks, and that he was working underhand for them against us. He used many shifts; but the old queen, who was our fast friend, said he should not hurt us. Finding they could have no trade with the people for pepper, the Hollanders had bribed the protector into this plan. But if we had possessed 10,000 pieces of eight more than we had, the Hollanders would have got little pepper that year in Bantam, for they are much disliked, and what trade they have is through fear of their ships, which they have in great numbers in those seas.
In the end of September, the Pangran Mandelicko fell to robbing the junks, and seized one from Johor laden with rice, and having a number of men and women on board, all of whom he carried off as prisoners, and converted the rice to his own use. This was a ready way to keep all other junks from the place, and to starve the inhabitants, as the land is not able to feed a quarter of its people. The king and protector sent to command him to deliver up the people and goods, but he refused, and fortified his house, being supported by all the other pangrans of the royal blood, who were all, like him, traitors to the king, so that the king's officers durst not meddle with him. The protector, sabander, and admiral, sent to us to take heed to ourselves, as the rebels grew stronger every day. I borrowed some small pieces of cannon of the Chinese merchants, who were our friends, causing our men to make chain-shot, lang-ridge, and bar-shot, and fortified our quarters the best way I could with bushes and chains. So much were the inhabitants in fear of the rebels, that all trade was at an end. Every day some spies of the rebels used to come into our yard, very inquisitive about what we were doing, so that we looked nightly to be attacked, and made every preparation to give them a warm reception.
About the 20th October, the King of Jackatra came to Bantam with 1500 fighting men, besides stragglers, and was to be followed by 1000 more. He challenged the rebels and pangrans to fight him, having a great quarrel against them all, as they had endeavoured to have him deposed from his kingdom. But the rebels kept within their fortifications. The King of Jackatra and the Admiral of Bantam sent for us on the 26th October, to know if there were any means to fire their fortifications from a reasonable distance, beyond reach of their bases, of which they had a great number. We told them, if we had a ship in the roads it might have been easily done, but we hardly expected to find materials for the purpose, such as camphor, salt-petre, and sulphur, having already some other things, for the purpose of making fire-arrows. The admiral proposed the use of a long bow and arrows for this service, but in my opinion a musket would have answered better. We meant likewise to have shot red-hot bullets among them from the king's ordnance, which would have made sad work among their thatched houses and fortifications of canes; for as Mandelicko had sought all means to set us on fire, we now meant to try if we could return the compliment. But, whether from fear of the King of Jackatra, or hearing that we were employed, the rebels and pangrans came to an agreement two days after, by which Mandelicko engaged to depart from the dominions of Bantam within six days, with only thirty followers, which he did. The Javans are very unwilling to fight if that can be avoided, as their wealth consists chiefly in slaves, so that they are beggared if these be slain; wherefore they had always rather come to a set feast than a pitched battle.
In November and the beginning of December, we were constantly busy in completing our buildings, and getting in and cleaning pepper. A Dutch pinnace came into the roads on the 14th December, by which we were informed of the death of Queen Elizabeth, and the great plague and sickness that had prevailed over all Christendom. This occasioned more distress to us than all our late troubles; but they told us that the King of Scots was crowned, that our land was in peace, and that peace was likely to be concluded between England and Spain; which news was very comfortable to us. They could give us no intelligence of our ships, having no letters for us: But the Dutch fleet soon followed, on which I went immediately on board their admiral to welcome him, and enquire for letters, which were found in the vice-admiral.
Uniete, the chief of those who undermined and set fire to our house, having long lurked in the mountains, was now forced by want of food to repair to certain houses near Bantam, whence he was brought to the house of the rich Chinese merchant. As soon as I heard of this, I sent Mr Towerson to inform the protector, and that we meant shortly to execute him. Since the time of the mischief this man occasioned, I had never gone out of our house, but once when the protector crossed us about the pepper, as before mentioned, being in constant fear that our house would be fired before my return; and three times a week I used to search all the Chinese houses in our neighbourhood, for fear of more undermining.
SECTION 5. Arrival of General Middleton, and other Occurrences.
In the evening of the 22d December, 1604, we joyfully descried our ships coming into the roads; but when we went on board the admiral, and saw their weakness, and also heard of the weakly state of the other three ships, we were greatly grieved; well knowing that Bantam is not a place for the recovery of sick men, but rather to kill men who come there in health. At my first going on board, I found the general, Captain Henry Middleton, very weak and sickly, to whom I made a brief relation of the many troubles we had endured. I also told him we had lading ready for two ships, which was some comfort to his mind, being much grieved for the weakness of his men; as they had scarcely fifty sound men in the four ships, and had lost many of their sick men. Even of those who came here in health, many never went out of Bantam roads.
The 24th we executed the arch-villain Uniete, who was the fourth of these rascals we had put to death, besides a fifth who was slain for stealing a woman. At my coming away four remained alive; two of whom were at Jackatra, one with the rebel Mandelicko, and one with Cay Sanapatta Lama, whom we could not then get at. The same day our vice-admiral, Captain Coulthurst, came on shore with some merchants, and we accompanied him to court, to notify to the king that our general had letters for him from the King of England, and a present, but being weary and sick with his long voyage, would wait upon him as soon as he was refreshed.
On Christmas-day we dined on board the general. But I ought to have previously mentioned, that, on the 23d, it was agreed the Dragon and Ascension were to be sent to the Moluccas, and the Hector and Susan to be loaded with pepper, and sent home. We busied ourselves to procure fresh victuals, vegetables, and fruits, for the recovery of our men, who were in a most pitiable case with the scurvy.
The 31st December, our general came on shore, and being accompanied by all the merchants who were in sufficient health, and by several others, he went to court with the king's letter, which he delivered along with the following present: A fair basin and ewer, with two handsome standing cups, and a spoon, all of silver parell gilt, and six muskets with their furniture. The general employed two or three days following in visiting our chiefest friends, as the sabander, the admiral, and the rich Chinese merchant, making them presents, which they thankfully received. We then fell to work to pack up goods for the Moluccas; but as our men recovered from the scurvy they fell ill of the flux, so that it seemed quite impossible for us to accomplish our business.
The 7th January, 1605, the Dutch fleet, being nine tall ships,[126] besides pinnaces and sloops, set sail for Amboyna and the Moluccas, so that we were long in doubt of getting any loading in those parts this year for our ships, so many having gone before us; nor was it possible for ours to go earlier, owing to their weakness. The 10th January, our two ships that were to go home began taking in pepper, but were so oppressed with sickness that they could make no dispatch. The other two having taken in all the goods we thought meet for those parts, set sail on the 18th of January for the islands of Banda, their men being still weak and sickly; but how they spent their time till their return to Bantam, I must refer to their own reports. Immediately after the departure of these ships under the general, the protector sent to us for the custom, which we thought had been quite well understood, by what was paid when the ships were here before; but he demanded many duties of which we had never heard formerly, and because I refused payment, he ordered the porters not to carry any more pepper for us. To prevent, therefore, this hindrance in loading our ships, I was forced to pay him in hand, as had been done on the former occasion, and to let the full agreement remain open till the return of our general.
[Footnote 126: This expression, tall ships, so often used in these early voyages, evidently means square-rigged vessels having top-masts; as contradistinguished from low-masted vessels, such as sloops and pinnaces.--E.]
It pleased God to take away the two masters of the two ships which were now loading, Samuel Spencer, master of the Hector, and Habakkuk Pery, of the Susan; as also William Smith, master's mate of the Hector, and soon afterwards Captain Styles, with several other principal men, and many of their sailors, so that we were forced to hire men to ease them of their work in loading, and also to engage as many as we could get of Guzerat and Chinese mariners, to help to navigate the ships home, at a great expence. With much ado we got them laden by the 16th February; but it was the 4th of March before we could get ready for sea. They then sailed, the Hector having on board 63 persons of all sorts, English and others, but many of their own men were sick. The Susan had 47 of all sorts, but likewise had many English sick: I pray God to send us good news of them.
The 6th May a Holland ship came in, which came from the coast of Goa, [Malabar,] where, along with two other Dutch ships bound for Cambay,[127] they took four very rich Portuguese ships, one of which, laden with great horses, they set on fire. This ship had left Holland in June, 1604, but could give us no farther news than we had already got from our own ships. The captain of this ship was Cornelius Syverson, a proud boor, having neither wit, manners, honesty, nor humanity; and presently after his arrival the Hollanders withdrew their familiarity from us. I shall now, however, leave this despiser of courtesy and hater of our nation, with his rascally crew, and give some account of the ceremonial of the young king's circumcision, and the triumphs held daily in consequence for more than a month before he went to church, [mosque] in preparations for which all the better sort had been busied since February or March, till the 24th of June.
[Footnote 127: Cambay, in this place, probably means Camboja, or Cambodia, in Eastern India, not Cambay in Guzerat.--E.]
For this ceremonial a great pageant was prepared, the fore part of which was made in the resemblance of a great devil, on which were placed three chairs of state; that in the middle for the king, being elevated about two feet above those on either side, which were for the two sons of Pangran Goban, heir to the crown if the king should die without issue. This pageant was placed on a green or open space, in front of the palace gate, and railed in all round. The custom of the country is, when the king comes to the throne, or at his circumcision, all that are able must make the king presents publicly, and with as much shew as possible; such as cannot do so of themselves, whether natives or strangers, join in companies to make their compliments. About the 25th June these shews began, and continued all that month and the next, every day except some few when it rained. The protector or regent of the kingdom began on the first day, and was succeeded daily by the nobles and others, each having their day, not as they were in rank or birth, but as each happened to be in readiness, sometimes two or three companies in one day.
As the Javans are not expert in the use of fire-arms, the protector borrowed some shot both of us and the Hollanders. When these went forth, there was great strife which should go foremost, whether our men or the Hollanders, they despising our small number, and ours their sordid appearance. Our men were in neat apparel, with coloured scarfs and hat-bands; they in greasy thrum caps, tarred coats, and their shirts, or at least such as had any, hanging between their legs. Our men, therefore, chose to take the rearward, refusing to go next after the Hollanders.
Every morning the king's guard, consisting both of shot and pikes, was placed round the inclosure without the rails, being usually three hundred men; but on some principal days there were upwards of six hundred, in files according to our martial discipline. In our marching, we differ much from them, as we usually go in column of three, five, seven, or nine abreast; while they always march in single file, following as close as they can, and carrying their pikes upright. As for their fire-arms, not being used to them, they are very unhandy. Their drums are huge pans, [gongs,] made of tomback, which make a most hellish sound. They have also colours to their companies; but their standards and ensigns are not like ours. Their ensign staff is very long and high, being bent at top like a bow; but the colours, hardly a yard in breadth, hang down from the top like a long pendant. The first day, being the greatest shew, there were certain forts made of canes and other trash, set up in front of the king's pageant, in which some Javans were placed to defend, and other companies to assault them, many times the assailants firing upon the defenders. All this was only in jest among the Javans with their pikes; but our men and the Hollanders were in earnest with their shot, and were therefore forced to be kept asunder.
Meeting the Dutch merchants in the evening, I asked one of them if he thought that Holland were able to wage war with England, that they should make such contention with our men, striving who should go foremost? I likewise told them all, that if the English had not once gone before, they might have gone behind all the other nations of Europe long ago. But they answered, that times and seasons change: And doubtless, owing to their great numbers here in India, they hold themselves able to withstand any other nation in the world. I cannot, however, say what may be the opinion of their states at home, and of the wiser of their nation.[128]
[Footnote 128: In this business of the Dutch, wherein many shewed their pride and ingratitude, as the fault I hope is not in their nation, but only personal, I have mollified the author's style, and left out some harsher censures. Beati pucifici.--Purch. in a side note.]
Always, a little before the shews began, the king was brought out from his palace, sitting on a man's shoulders bestriding his neck, and the man holding him by the legs. Many rich tirasols, [parasols or umbrellas,] were carried over and round about him. His principal guard walked before him, and was placed within the rails, round about the pageant. After the king, a number of the principal people followed, seeming to have their stated days of attendance. The shews were in this manner: First came a crew armed with match-locks, led by some gentleman-slave; then come the pike-men, in the middle of whom were the colours and music, being ten or twelve pans of tomback, carried on a staff between two people. These were tuneable like a peal of bells, each a note above the other, and always two people walked beside them who were skilled in the country music, and struck upon them with something they held in their hands. There was another kind of music, that went both before and after; but these pans or gongs formed the principal. The pike-men were followed by a company of targeteers carrying darts. Then followed many sorts of trees with their fruit hanging upon them; and after these many sorts of beasts and birds, both alive, and also artificially made, that they could not be distinguished from those that were alive, unless one were near.
Then came a number of maskers, who danced and vaulted before the king, shewing many strange tumbling tricks, some of these being men and others women. After all these followed sometimes two hundred or even three hundred women, all carrying presents of some kind; only that every ten were headed by an old motherly woman empty handed, to keep them in order like so many soldiers. These presents were commonly rice and cashes[129] on frames of split canes, curiously laid out for show, and adorned with gilt paper, but the present itself seldom exceeded the value of twelve-pence. Then followed the rich presents, being commonly some rich tuck,[130] or some fine cloth of the country fashion, curiously wrought and gilded, or embroidered with gold, for the king's own wearing. These were also carried by women, having two pikes borne upright before them; and every present intended for the king's wearing had a rich parasol carried over it. Last of all followed the heir to the person sending the present, being his youngest son, if he had any, very richly attired after their fashion, with many jewels at gold, diamonds, rubies, and other precious stones, on their, arms and round their waists, and attended by a number of men and women. After he has made his obeisance to the king, he sits down on the ground on a mat, and all the presents are carried past the king's pageant into the palace, where certain officers are ready to receive them.
[Footnote 129: A species of coin formerly explained.--E.]
[Footnote 130: Tuck, tuke, or tuque, the old term for a turban, worn by Mahometans, or for the sash of which it is made.--ASTL. I. 301. c.]
When all these were gone by, a person within the king's pageant spoke out of the devil's mouth, commanding silence in the king's name. Then begins the chief revels, accompanied with music, and now and then the musketeers discharged a volley. The pikemen and targeteers also exhibited their feats of arms, being very expert, but their shot exceedingly unskilful. Always when the pikemen and targeteers go up to charge, they go forwards dancing and skipping about, that their adversaries may have no steady aim to throw their darts or thrust their pikes. During the shews, there likewise came certain representations of junks, as it were under sail, very artificially made, and laden with rice and cashes. There were also representations of former history, some from the Old Testament, and others from the chronicles of the Javan kings. All these inventions have been learnt by the Javans from the Chinese, or from the Guzerates, Turks, and others who come hither for trade, for they are themselves ignorant blockheads.
Our present was preceded by a fine pomegranate tree full of fruit, some ripe, half ripe, green, and only budded. It had been dug up by the roots, and set in earth in a frame made of rattans like a cage. The earth was covered with green sod, on which were three silver-haired rabbits, given me by the vice-admiral of our fleet; and all among the branches we had many small birds fastened by threads, which were continually fluttering and singing. We had likewise four very furious serpents, very artificially made by the Chinese, on which we hung the cloths that were meant for the king's use, being five pieces very curiously wrought and gilded in their fashion; together with other pieces of stuff for the king to bestow on his followers. We likewise presented a petronel, or horseman's pistol, and a brace of smaller pistols, finely damasked and in rich cases, having silken strings and gold tassels. Having no women to carry these things, we borrowed thirty of the prettiest boys we could get, and two tall Javans to carry pikes before them. Mr Towerson had a very pretty Chinese boy, whose father had been lately slain by thieves, and we sent this youth as gallantly attired as the king himself, to present these things, and to make a speech to the king, signifying, if our numbers and ability had equalled our good will, we would have presented his majesty with a much finer shew. The king and those about him took much delight in our rabbits, being great rarities, and also in some fire-works which our men played off, but the women cried out, fearing they might set the palace on fire.
The Hollanders gave but a small present, though they made a mighty brag about it. Neither do they spare bragging of their king, as they called Prince Maurice, whom at every word in those parts they styled Raia Hollanda. Many quarrels took place between their men and ours, the Hollanders always beginning in their drink to brawl, and usually having the worst. I had much ado to restrain our men, which yet was necessary, considering our great charge of goods, all of which lay on me. We were also in a dangerous country, and but badly housed; and if we had come to blows, it was likely that a great number would come upon us, and we being few, could not have defended ourselves without bloodshed, which would occasion revenge. Now of them there were above an hundred men, including those in their house, ship, and fly-boat, all of whom would have come against us, while we were only thirteen in a straw house.
The king of Jackatra came on the 18th of July to present his shew before the king, attended by a guard of several hundred persons. Immediately on his coming in sight, the guards of the king of Bantam rose up, and handled their weapons, not from fear of the king of Jackatra offering any violence, but because there were a number of other petty kings present, who were mortal enemies to the king of Jackatra. On coming near the innermost rank of the Bantam guards, and seeing that he had to pass through among a number of these inimical petty kings, and being afraid of the cowardly stab so usual among this people, he appeared much alarmed, though as brave as any in those parts; wherefore he would not pass through them, but sat down on a piece of leather, which every gentleman has carried along with him for that purpose. He then sent to the king, to know if it was his pleasure he should wait upon him; upon which the king sent two principal noblemen to escort him into the presence. And when the king of Jackatra had made his obeisance, the young king embraced him, and he of Jackatra took his seat in the place appointed for him.
Then came the presents of the king of Jackatra, carried by about 300 women, and attended by about as many soldiers, consisting of rice, cashes, and many strange beasts and birds, both alive and dead. Among these was a furious beast, called by them a Matchan, somewhat larger than a lion, and very princely to behold, if he had been at liberty. He was spotted white and red, having many black streaks from the reins down under his belly. I have seen one of them leap eighteen feet for his prey. These matchans often kill many people near Bantam; and often the king and all the people go out to hunt them, sometimes even in the night. This matchan was in a great cage of wood, placed on the trucks of old gun carriages, and being drawn by buffaloes, seemed like a traitor drawn on a hurdle.[131] There were several other curious articles in this shew, with many maskers, vaulters, and tumblers, strangely and savagely attired. Last of all came the youngest son of the king of Jackatra, riding in a chariot drawn by buffaloes, which had to me an unseemly appearance. They have indeed few horses in this island, which are mostly small nags, none of which I ever saw draw; being only used for riding and running tilt, after the Barbary fashion, which exercise they ordinarily use every Saturday towards evening, except in their time of Lent or ramadan.
[Footnote 131: This matchan of Java is obviously the tiger.--E.]
The second day after this shew, the king was carried on his pageant to the mosque, where he was circumcised; his pageant being carried aloft by many men, four hundred, as the king's nurse told me, but I think she lied, as in my opinion so many could not stand under it.
SECTION 6. Account of Quarrels between the English and Dutch at Bantam, and other Occurrences.
Our general returned into the road of Bantam from Ternate on the 24th July, 1605. As soon as we saw and knew the Dragon, I took a praw and went on board; when the general recounted all the dangers he had gone through, and the unkind usage he had received of the Hollanders, though he had saved some of their lives. He told me that he had procured a good quantity of cloves towards his loading, though with much pains and turmoil. For this good news, and especially because our general was returned in safety, we gave hearty thanks to God, not doubting but we should soon complete his loading. The 28th of the same month came in the great Enkhusen of Holland from Ternate; and on the same day the king of Jackatra came to visit our general.
The 1st August, in the afternoon, while the general and all our merchants were very busy in the warehouse, taking an inventory of all the prize goods remaining, and of all our other goods, word was brought that the Hollanders had wounded two of our men, whom we presently afterward saw enter the gate bleeding. Our general immediately ordered every man to take his weapons, and to lay them soundly over the Dutchmen's pates, which was done accordingly, and the Dutchmen were banged home to their own house, one being run through the body, who was said by some to have recovered afterwards; and two more lost their arms. The Dutch merchants and several others came out with firearms; but hearing that their men began the fray, they said they had only their deserts: and, after taking a cup of wine in a friendly manner with our general, they kindly look their leave. News was carried to court that the Hollanders and us were by the ears, and that two were slain; on which some of the king's attendants asked, whether the slain were Dutch or English? and when told they were Hollanders, they said it was no matter if they were all slain. I thank God that only two of our men were hurt in this affair, which were those mentioned at the first; one having a cut over the hand, and the other a stab with a knife in the side, but not very deep. This was the first serious affray, but it was not long before we were at it again pell-mell, again and again, when the Hollanders sped as they did now.
The 11th August two ships came in from Cambaya, which had taken much wealth from the Portuguese, and the same day one ship came from Tenate.[132] The Ascension came in from Banda on the 16th. The 8th September the Dutch merchants invited our general and his masters and merchants to a feast, where we were treated with good cheer and much friendship. The 15th September, two Dutch ships set sail for Holland, one being a small ship laden with pepper at Bantam; and the other, having taken in some cloves at Ternate, was loaded out with prize goods, taken from the ships that came from Cambaya. The Dutch admiral came in from Banda on the 21st, and next day our general sent some merchants to the Dutch house to congratulate him; on which day a drunken Dutchman caused a new fray, which began with our surgeon, but was augmented by several on both sides, and some of the Hollanders were wounded.
[Footnote 132: Though not mentioned in the text, these three ships were most probably Hollanders.--E.]
About one o'clock that same afternoon, while our general sat on a bench at our gate, conversing with a Portuguese, a drunken Dutch swab came and sat himself down between them, on which our general gave him a box in the ear and thrust him away. Some of his comrades came presently round our gate, drawing their knives and sables, [hangers,] and began to swagger. Taking the butt-ends of our pikes and halberts, and some faggot sticks, we drove them to an arrack house, where they shut the door upon us; but we forced it open, knocked some of them down, and carried them prisoners to our general. Soon after another troop of Hollanders came down the street to take part with their comrades, on whom we laid such load that they took to their heels, some being knocked down, and many having their pates pitifully broken, while others had to run through a miry ditch to escape us. The master of their admiral had occasioned this tumult, as he had gone from ship to ship, desiring the men to go armed on shore and kill all the English they could meet: and when some of our people were going on board the Dutch ships, some Englishmen they had in their ships called out to them not to come on board, as orders had been given to slay as many English as they could, on board or on shore. These frays were much wondered at by all foreigners in Bantam, that we should dare to go to blows with the Hollanders, who had seven large tall ships in the road, while we had but two. None of our men met with any harm in this affray, except Mr Saris, one of our merchants, who got a cut on his fore-finger with a hanger.
At the end of this fray, the Dutch general came to our house with a great guard of captains, merchants, and others, and being met in a similar manner in the street by our general, was invited into our house. When the cause of this affray was reported to the Dutch general, he approved of what we had done. When some of his people complained that their men bore all the blows, as was apparent by their bloody pates and shoulders, the Dutch general said he saw plainly the fault lay with his men, and he would take order to prevent so many of his men coming on shore in future. After much talk, a banquet of sweetmeats was served, the Dutch general took a kindly leave of ours, and all the Dutch and English merchants shook hands and parted.
Some Javans, who belonged to two of the principal men of Bantam under the king, had stolen nine muskets and callivers from the gun-room of our ship the Ascension; and two of them returning shortly after to steal more, were taken by our people with the stolen goods upon them. Our general sent me to examine into the matter, and to bring them on shore. After some examination, they confessed whose slaves they were, and said the pieces were forthcoming. After they came on shore, the general sent to the king and protector, desiring to have the pieces back; but the masters of these slaves said they had no pieces except what they had bought with their money; yet they requested our general to defer executing the slaves for two days, which he agreed to. But as these nobles were not reckoned great good-wishers to the king, the protector sent the executioner with a guard of pikes to put them to death. When they came to the place of execution, our general wished to spare their lives; but the executioner said he had the king's orders, and must therefore put them to death, which was done accordingly. This the thieves very patiently submitted to, as is the manner of their nation; for they hold it their greatest glory to die resolutely, as I have seen them do often, both men and women, in the most careless manner. One would think these men ought to be excellent soldiers, but they are not; as this valour is only when there is no remedy. Against their own countrymen they are reasonably brave; but they will not venture with Europeans, unless with manifest great advantage in numbers or otherwise.
The 3d October our general made a farewell feast, to which he invited the Dutch admiral, with all his captains, masters, and merchants, and we were all exceedingly merry on this occasion, with much friendship between the two nations. Next day our general went to court, accompanied by our merchants and others, to take leave of the king and his nobles. The 6th, being Sunday, our general, with all who were bound for England, went on board, and on passing the Dutch house, went in and took leave of the Dutch general and merchants. Mr Gabriel Towerson, who was to remain agent at Bantam, and some other merchants, accompanied us on board, some returning on shore after dinner, and others staying till next day. We weighed anchor about three o'clock, saluting the town and Dutch ships with our cannon. About eleven at night we came to anchor under an island, where next day we took in wood, which our general had sent some men to get ready cut beforehand. Towards evening of the 7th October, 1605, we again weighed anchor and set sail: Mr Towerson and some other merchants now took their leaves to go on shore, whom we committed to the protection of the Almighty, and ourselves to the courtesy of the seas, praying God to bless them and us, and, if it be his holy will, to send us a happy meeting again in England.
SECTION 7. Observations by Mr John Saris, of Occurrences during his abode at Bantam, from October, 1605, to October, 1609.[133]
This, and the subsequent subdivisions of the present section, are given by Purchas as a continuation of the foregoing observations by Mr Scot, to which Purchas affixes the following extended title, for the better understanding of which it is to be noticed, that Mr Saris was afterwards captain or general, as it was then called, of the eighth voyage fitted out by the English East India Company, which sailed in 1611.
[Footnote 133: Purch. Pilg. I. 384.]
"Observations by John Saris, of Occurrences which happened in the East Indies, during his Abode at Bantam, from October, 1605, to October, 1609. As likewise touching the Marts and Merchandises of these Parts; observed by his own Experience, or taken from the Relation of Others; extracted out of his larger Book, and, here added as an Appendix to his greater Voyage. These may serve as a continuation of the preceding Observations by Mr Scot; and to these are added, certain Observations by the same Author, touching the Towns and Merchandise of principal Trade in those Parts of the World."--Purch.
In the Pilgrims, these observations are appended to the voyage of Captain Saris to India and Japan, in 1611, but are here placed more naturally as a continuation of the observations by Scot, because considerably prior to that voyage, and precisely connected with these observations. Several uninteresting particulars are omitted from these observations in the present edition.--E.
On the 7th of October, 1605, our general Henry Middleton, and Captain Christopher Coulthurst, departed from the road of Bantam, leaving eighteen men in all, of whom five were mariners and thirteen sailors.[134] The 23d there arrived a Dutch junk from Priaman, by which we learnt that Sir Edward Mitchelburne and Captain Davis were upon the coast, and that they had captured a Guzerat ship in the straits of Sunda, bound from Bantam to Priaman. On the report of the Hollanders, we of the English factory were summoned to court on the 25th, and wore required to say if we knew Sir Edward, and why he had offered violence to the king's friends, who had done him no wrong. We answered, that we knew a person of that name, but knew not if he were upon the coast, nor whether he had taken the Guzerat vessel, except by the report of the Hollanders, which we held to be false, and were more apt to believe it had been done by one of the Dutch-ships, which sailed from Bantam two days before the departure of that Guzerat ship. We were then desired to depart till further proof could be had.
[Footnote 134: This piece of information is placed as a marginal note by Purchas, and confirms an idea formerly hazarded, that mariners were in these old times of a higher description than sailors; the former being thoroughbred seamen, the latter only ordinary.--E.]
Sir Edward Mitchelburne came here to anchor in the road of Bantam on the 29th, when Mr Towerson and I went on board to visit him, and were well entertained. He then informed us of having taken the Guzerat vessel, and we entreated of him that he would not capture the Chinese junks, which he promised not to do on the word of a gentleman. He set sail from Bantam on the 2d November, directing his course for the straits of Palinbangan.
The 18th November, a small Dutch pinnace sailed for the exploration of the land called New Guinea, which was said to produce great abundance of gold. The 2d January, 1606, a junk set sail for Timor, freighted by Chinese merchants. Besides English iron, coarse porcelain, taffetas, Chinese pans and bells, they carried with them what are called brand pieces of silver, being beaten out very thin and a hand-breadth in size. On the 20th there arrived a Chinese junk, which Sir Edward Mitchelburne had captured notwithstanding his promise to Mr Towerson and me. We were called upon to make restitution, the nokhada or pilot of the junk alleging to have lost many rich commodities, and the governor and principal courtiers were grievously offended; but by the favour of the admiral and sabander we were let off.
On the 23d May, there arrived a small vessel belonging to the Hollanders from Ternate, bringing away the merchants left there by Bastianson, who were sent away by the Spaniards, by whom that island was now taken, together with all their goods, the Spaniards having allowed them to depart, but had carried off the King of Ternate as a prisoner to Manilla; and it was said they meant to send him to Spain. While about ten leagues from Jackatra, this small vessel fell in with the king of Bantam's fleet, by which they were pillaged of every thing they had saved from the Spaniards; and though they now used every endeavour to procure restitution, they could have no redress.
On the 15th June, Nokhada Tingall, a cling-man, arrived in a Javan junk from Banda with a cargo of mace and nutmegs, which be sold here to the Guzerats for 150 dollars the Bantam bahar, which is 450 cattees. He told me that the Dutch pinnace, which went upon discovery to New Guinea, had found the island; but that, on sending their men ashore to endeavour to procure trade, nine of them had been slain by the natives, who are canibals or man-eaters; so that the Dutch were forced to come away, and had gone, to Banda.
The 6th August, the moon was eclipsed about eight in the evening, and continued so for two hours, during which time the Chinese and Javans made a continual noise by beating on pots and pans, crying out that the moon was dead. The 4th October, the whole Chinese quarter of Bantam was burnt down, yet it pleased God to preserve our house. That same night a Dutch ship sailed for Holland, laden with 15,000 sacks of pepper, besides some raw silk, and great store of China sugar. The 9th, arrived a pinnace from Succadanea in Borneo, laden with wax and cavalacca, and great store of diamonds.
The 14th May, 1607, there arrived here at Bantam a junk from Grese, by which we learnt that one Julius, a Dutchman, who went from hence on the 30th November, 1606, for Succadanea, had been put to death at Banjarmassen, in Borneo, and all his goods confiscated by the king of that place, because, as was reported, Julius had used certain insolent speeches concerning the king, which came to his knowledge, upon which he sent for Julius and the master of the junk, and had them slain by the way.
The 7th August arrived a pinnace from the island of St Lucia, in lat. 24° 30' S. about a mile from the coast of Madagascar, where they were forced to take shelter in the ship which left this on the 4th October, 1606, having been obliged to throw overboard 3000 sacks of pepper, besides other commodities of great value, to lighten the ship and preserve their lives. They found this island an excellent place for refreshment, the natives having no knowledge of money; so that they bought a fat ox for a tin spoon, and a sheep for a small piece of brass. The anchorage, as they reported, was very good, being in seven or eight fathoms; upon hard ground.
The 14th November, 1607, Captain David Middleton arrived here in the Consent.[135]
[Footnote 135: Mr Saris gives here a long account of incidents concerning a Dutch fleet outward bound, having no connection with the affairs of Bantam, or with those of the English trade, and which is therefore omitted.--E.]
The 2d October, 1608, the Dragon arrived here from Priaman, in which was General William Keeling, commander in the third voyage fitted out by our English East India Company. He went to court on the 7th, and delivered our king's letter to the King of Bantam, together with a present of five handsome muskets, a bason, an ewer, and a barrel of gunpowder.
Very early in the morning of the 13th, the governor of Bantam and his Jerotoolies were put to death by the Pangavas; the sabander, the admiral, Key Depatty Utennagarra, and others. The conspirators assembled over night at the house of Keymas Patty, and beset the court, laying hold in the first place of the king and his mother. They then hastened to the residence of the governor, thinking to have found him in bed; but he hid himself at the back of the bed, where they found him, and wounded him in the head. He then fled for protection to the priest, called Key Finkkey, who came out to them, and entreated they would spare his life; but they were inexorable, and having forced their way in, they dispatched him.
The 9th November, Samuel Plummer went from hence for Succadanca in Borneo, where he intended to remain. In the afternoon of Sunday the 4th December, our general, William Keeling, set sail from hence for England; but on the 6th he was forced back by bad weather and westerly winds. He set sail again on the 10th, and returned a second time on the 13th, having met with the Dragon in the straits of Sunda, the men belonging to that ship being very weak in consequence of the scurvy; besides which the Portuguese of Damaun had treacherously seized their boats at Surat, taking nineteen of their men, together with cloths which had cost 9000 dollars at that place. In their way for Bantam, the Dragon had captured a pinnace belonging to Columbo, out of which they took eleven packs of cloth, containing in all 83 pieces, thirteen pieces being poulings, which were sent to the island of Banda. On the 23d, the Dragon, commanded by Captain Gabriel Towerson, set sail again for England.
The 1st January, 1609, our general, William Keeling, set sail in the Hector for Banda. The 20th March, a Chinese house next to our warehouse was burnt down, but it pleased God that our house escaped. Next day I was sent for to court by Paugran Areaumgalla, the governor, and went accordingly, carrying the following present: One piece of mallee goobaer, one piece mallayo pintado, a musket with a bandeleer and a roll of match, which the governor accepted very kindly. He then told me he had sent for me, having heard that there were two men in chains at our house for debt, and he desired to know by whose authority I thus confined them. I said we had laid hold of them by order of the king, and I hoped he would not take them from us till I were satisfied for the debt, or at least some part of it, and in proof of its being due I showed their bills. He said he knew that they were indebted, but knew likewise that the king had not given us leave to chain them up, and desired therefore they might be set free; but I persuaded him to allow me to keep them till Tanyomge, who owed 420-1/2 dollars, should pay 100, and Bungoone, who owed 500 dollars and 100 sacks of pepper, should pay 20 sacks of pepper and 100 dollars in money, pursuant to his agreement and bill. The governor sent one of his slaves home along with me, to inform the prisoners of this, and to desire them to pay me.
The 24th I was again sent for to court, where the Hollanders were likewise; on which occasion the governor asked the Hollanders, whether it were customary in their country to take a man prisoner for debt without informing the king? The Hollanders said, it was not. Whereupon, forgetting his promise made only three days before, he commanded me to liberate the prisoners immediately, although I reminded him of his promise to no purpose; and he sent one of the king's slaves to take them out of our house. I am satisfied this rigid course was taken on the suggestion of the Dutch, induced by Lackmoy, the great Chinese merchant, on purpose to prevent us from giving credit to the Chinese, that we might be constrained to deal only with himself: and, as he is provided by the Hollanders with all kinds of commodities, he will entirely overthrow our trade, as we cannot now give credit to any one, justice being refused to us.
Captain William Keeling arrived here from Banda on the 26th of August, having laden there 12,484-1/2 cattees of mace and 59,846 cattees of nutmegs, which cost him 9,10, and 11 dollars the bahar. The cattee there weighs 13-1/2 English ounces; the small bahar of mace being ten cattees, and the small bahar of nutmegs 100 cattees; while the large bahar is 100 cattees of mace, or 1000 cattees of nutmegs: so that if a person owe ten cattees of mace, and pay 100 cattees of nutmegs, the creditor cannot refuse payment in that manner.
Captain Keeling having taken in the rest of his loading at Bantam, consisting of 4900 bags and 3 cattees of pepper, set sail in the Hector for England on the 4th October, 1609; on which occasion I embarked in that ship to return home, having been four years, nine months, and eleven days in the country.
SECTION 8. Rules for the Choice of sundry Drugs, with an Account of the Places whence they are procured.[136]
Lignum aloes, a wood so called by us, is called garroo by the Mallays. The best comes from Malacca, Siam, and Cambodia,[137] being in large round sticks and very massy, of a black colour interspersed with ash-coloured veins. Its taste is somewhat bitter, and odoriferous; and when a splinter is laid upon a burning coal it melts into bubbles like pitch, continuing to fry till the whole is consumed, diffusing a most delightful odour.
[Footnote 136: Purch. Pilgr. I. 389, being a continuation of the Observations by Mr Saris.--E.]
[Footnote 137: In the Pilgrims this last place is called Cambaya, but which we suspect of being an error of the press.--E.]
Benjamin, or Benzoin, is a gum called Minnian by the Mallays. The best kind comes from Siam, being very pure, clear, and white, with little streaks of amber colour. Another sort, not altogether so white, yet also very good, comes from Sumatra. A third sort comes from Priaman and Barrowse, which is very coarse, and not vendible in England.[138]
[Footnote 138: On this subject Purchas has the following marginal note. "Burrowse yieldeth Tincal, called buris in England; worth at Bantam a dollar the cattee, and here in England ten shillings the pound. It is kept in grease."--Purch.
The substance of this note has not the smallest reference to benjamin or benzoin, and evidently means borax, called burris or burrowse, which used likewise to be called tincal, a peculiar salt much used in soldering, and which is now brought from Thibet by way of Bengal.--E.]
The best civet is of a deep yellow colour, somewhat inclining to golden yellow, and not whitish, as that kind is usually sophisticated with grease. Yet when civet is newly taken from the animal, it is whitish, and acquires a yellowish colour by keeping.
There are three sorts of musk, black, brown, and yellow; of which the first is good for nothing, the second is good, and the last best. It ought to be of the colour of spikenard, or of a deep amber yellow, inclosed only in a single skin, and not one within another as it often is. It should not be too moist, which adds to its weight, but of a medium moisture, having a few hairs like bristles, but not many, and quite free from stones, lead, or other mixed trash, and having a very strong fragrant smell, which to many is very offensive. When chewed it pierces the very brain with its scent; and should not dissolve too soon in the mouth, neither yet to remain very long undissolved. Musk must not be kept near any sweet spices, lest it lose its scent.
Bezoar, of which there are two kinds, one of which comes from the West Indies, called occidental, and the other from the East Indies, called oriental; which latter is worth double the price of the other. Both are of divers forms; some round, others oblong like the stones of dates, some like pigeons eggs; and others like the kidneys of a kid, and others again like chesnuts; but most are blunt at both ends, and not sharp. There is no less variety in the colours; some being light-red, others like the colour of honey, many of a dark ash-colour, but most of a waterish green. The East India or oriental bezoar consists of many coats, artificially compacted together like the coats of an onion, each inclosing the other, and all bright and shining, as if polished by art; when one coat is broken off that immediately below being still brighter than the former. These several coats are of different thicknesses, in proportion to the size of the bezoars; and the larger is the stone so much the more is it in request. There is one sure way to make trial of bezoars: Take the exact weight of the stone, and then put it in water for four hours; then see that it is not cracked, and wipe it quite dry; and if it now weigh in the smallest degree heavier than before, you may be assured that it is not good. I have ascertained this many times at Bantam, having found many of them to turn out mere chalk, with a bit of stick in the middle, that weighed a Javan taile, or two English ounces. Most of the counterfeit bezoars come from Succadanea in Borneo. The true oriental bezoars come from Patane, Banjarmassen, Succadanea, Macasser, and the Isola das Vaccas at the entrance to Cambodia.[139]
[Footnote 139: In old times, oriental bezoar was prized at a high rate in medicine, having many fancied valuable qualities, now found by experience to be altogether imaginary; so that it is now confined to cabinets of curiosities. It is merely an accidental concretion, which takes place in the stomachs of various animals, somewhat similar to a gall-stone.--E.]
Of Amber,[140] in regard to colour, there are many different kinds, as black, white, brown, and grey; of all which the black is usually the worst, and the grey the best. That which is freest from filth or dross of any kind, and purest in itself, ought to be chosen; of a colour inclining to white, or ash-coloured, or intermixed with ash-coloured veins, and other white veins. When put into water it ought to swim; and though some that is sophisticated will likewise float, it is certain that none which is pure will sink. The greatest quantity of this commodity comes from Mozambique and Sofala.
[Footnote 140: Ambergris is assuredly meant in the text.--E.]
SECTION 9. Of the principal Places of Trade in India, and the Commodities they afford.[141]
Bantam, a town of Java Major, stands in latitude 6° S. and the variation here is 3° W.[142] It is a place of great resort by various nations, and where many different commodities are to be bought and sold, though of itself it produce few things, besides provisions, cotton-wool, and pepper. The quantity of this last at the yearly harvest, which is in October, may be about 32,000 sacks, each containing 49-1/2 Chinese cattees, and each cattee 21-1/2 rials English.[143] A sack is called a timbang, two of which are one pekul, three pekuls a small bahar, and 4-1/4 pekuls a great bahar, or 445-1/2 cattees. As the Javanese are not very expert in using the beam, they mostly deal by means of a weight called coolack, containing 7-1/4 cattees. Seven coolacks are one timbang, water-measure, being 1-1/4 cattees more than the beam weight, although there ought to be no difference; but the weigher, who is always a Chinese, gives advantages to his countrymen, whom he favours, as he can fit them with greater or smaller weights at his pleasure.
[Footnote 141: This subdivision is likewise a continuation of the Observations of Saris, while factor at Bantam, and is to be found in the Pilgrims, vol. I. p. 390.]
[Footnote 142: The latitude of Bantam is 6° S. as in the text, and its longitude is 106° 10' W. from Greenwich.--E.]
[Footnote 143: This seems a mistake for English ounces. If so, the sack weighs 1065-1/2 ounces, or 66 libs. 6-1/2 ounces.--E.]
In the months of December and January, there always come many junks and proas to Bantam laden with pepper, from Cherringin and Jauby,[144] so that there is always enough of pepper to be had at the end of January to load three large ships. There is no money coined here, all the current coin being from China, called cashes, which are made from very impure brass, in round thin pieces, having holes on which to string them: 1000 cashes on a string is called a pecoo, which is of different values, according as cashes rise or fall in demand. Their accounts are kept in the following manner: 10 pecoos are a laxsau, 10 laxsaus a cattee, 10 cattees an uta, and 10 utas a bahar. There are two ways of stringing the cashes, one called China chuchuck, and the other Java chuchuck, of which the Java is the best, as there ought to be 200 cashes upon a tack, but in the Chinese tacks you will only find 160 to 175; and as 5 tacks make a pecoo, you may lose 200 cashes, or 150, on each pecoo; which in extensive dealings will rise to a considerable matter. By the law of the country there ought to be just 1000 cashes upon a string or pecoo, or they must give basse, which is allowance for the deficiency. On the departure of the junks, you may buy 34 or 35 pecoos for a dollar; which, before next year, you may sell at 22 or even 20 pecoos for a dollar; so that there is great profit to be made on this traffic; but the danger of loss by fire is great.
[Footnote 144: Cherringin, is probably that now called Cheribon on the south side of Java; but Jauby is not to be recognised in our modern maps.--E.]
The weight used in the purchase and sale of bezoars is called a taile which is 2-1/4 dollars, or 2 English ounces. A Mallay taile is only equal to 1-1/2 dollar, or 1-1/3 English ounces. A China taile is 1-7/20 dollars, or 1-1/5 English ounces; so that 10 China tailes are exactly equal to 6 Javan tailes.
The English commodities vendible here are as follow: English iron in long thin bars, sells for six dollars the pekul. Lead in small pigs, 5-1/2 dollars the pekul. The barrel of fine corned powder 25 dollars. Square pieces sanguined 10 dollars each. Square pieces damasked all over, 6-1/2 feet long, 15 dollars each.[145] Broad-cloth, of ten pounds the cloth, of Venice red colour, sells for 3 dollars the gasse, which is 3/4 of a yard. Opium misseree,[146] which is the best, 8 dollars the cattee. Amber, in large beads, one wang and half a taile mallay, for 6 dollars. Coral in large branches, 5 or 6 dollars the taile mallay. Dollars are the most profitable commodity that can be carried to Bantam.
[Footnote 145: These pieces were probably matchlocks.--E.]
[Footnote 146: Misseree here certainly means from Egypt.--E.]
In February and March every year, there come to Bantam three or four junks from China, richly laden with raw silk, and wrought silks of various stuffs, China cashes, porcelain, cotton cloth, and other things. The prices of these are as follow: Raw silk of Lanking [Nankin] which is the best, 190 dollars the pekul; raw silk of Canton, which is coarser, 80 dollars the pekul; taffeta in bolts, 120 yards in the piece, 46 dollars the corge, or 20 pieces; velvets of all colours, 13 yards the piece, for 12 dollars; Damasks of all colours, 12 yards the piece, at 6 dollars; white sattins, in pieces of 12 yards, 8 dollars each; Burgones, of 10 yards long the piece, 45 dollars the corge; sleeve silk, the best made colours, 3 dollars the cattee; the best musk, 22 dollars the cattee; the best sewing gold thread, 15 knots, and every knot 30 threads, one dollar; velvet hangings with gold embroidery, 18 dollars; upon sattins, 14 dollars; white curtain stuffs, 9 yards the piece, 50 dollars the corge; flat white damask, 9 yards the piece, 4 dollars each; white sugar, very dry, 3-1/2 dollars the pekul; very dry sugar-candy, 5 dollars the pekul; very fine broad porcelain basons, 2 dollars the piece; coarse calico cloths, white or brown, 15 dollars the corge. They bring likewise coarse porcelain, drugs, and various other commodities; but as these are not suitable to our country, I omit to mention them, but the following may be enumerated: Very good and white benjamins, from 30 to 35 dollars the pekul; alum, from China, as good as English, 2-1/2 dollars the pekul. Coromandel cloths are a principal commodity here, and those most vendible are goobares; pintadoes or chintz, of four or five colours; fine tappies from St Thomas; ballachos; Java girdles, otherwise called caine-goolong; calico lawns; book calicos; and white calicos made up in rolls.[147] A goobar is double, and contains 12 yards, or 6 hastaes single; coarse and fine ballachos contain from 32 to 34 hastaes, but the finest are always longest. In general, all sorts of cotton cloths that are broad and of good length are here in good request.
[Footnote 147: Probably turbans.--E.]
The king's custom, called chuckey, is 8 bags on the 100, rating pepper always at 4 dollars the sack, whatever be its price. Billa-billian is another custom of this port, by which every ship that arrives here, whatever be its lading, as cloth or the like, must in the first place give notice to the king of all the sorts and quantities of commodities, with their several prices, before landing any of them; upon which the king sends his officers to look at the goods, who take for him such goods as he inclines, at half the prices affixed to them, or somewhat more, as can be agreed upon: Thus, if the cloths be rated at 20 dollars per corge, the king will only give 15 or 16 dollars at the most. Instead of this, the Hollanders have been in use to pay to the king 700 or 800 dollars at once for the freedom of a ship's loading, to clear them of this troublesome billa-billian. By the custom of the country, this duty upon 6000 sacks of pepper is fixed at 666 dollars, if you purchase and load the pepper from the merchants; or otherwise to purchase so many thousand sacks of pepper from the king, paying him half or three quarters of a dollar more than the current price at the time. Even if you have provided a loading beforehand, you must pay this exaction before you can be permitted to load. Rooba-rooba is the duty of anchorage, and is 500 dollars upon 6000 sacks. The sabander's duty is 250 dollars on 6000 sacks. The weighers have one dollar on every 100 sacks; and the jerotoolies, or weighers belonging to the customhouse, have a similar duty of one dollar the 100 sacks.
Jortan is a place to the eastwards of Jackatra, called likewise Sourabaya, which produces plenty of provisions, together with cotton wool, and yarn ready spun. There come to this place many junks from Jauby, laden with pepper, and several small proas belonging to this place trade with Banda; so that some mace and nutmegs are to be had here.
Macasser is an island not far from Celebes, having abundance of bezoar stones, which are there to be had at reasonable rates. It has plenty of rice and other provisions; and as it has some junks which trade with Banda, nutmegs and mace are likewise to be procured there, but in no great quantity.
Balee, or Bally, is an island to the eastward of Macasser, standing in 8° 30' S. latitude.[148] It produces great abundance of rice, cotton-yarn, slaves, and coarse white cloth, which is in great request at Bantam. The commodities for sale there, are the smallest sort of blue and white beads, iron, and coarse porcelain.
[Footnote 148: Instead of the eastwards, Bally is W.S.W. of Macasser, in long. 115° E. and lat. 8° 30' S. while Macasser is in about the lat. of 5° 15' S. and in 120° E. long.--E.]
Timor is an island to the eastwards of Bally, in the latitude of 10° 40'. This island produces great quantities of Chindanna, called by us white saunders, of which the largest logs are accounted the best, and which sells at Bantam for 20 dollars the pekul, at the season when the junks are here. Wax likewise is brought from thence in large cakes, worth at Bantam 18, 19, 20, and even 30 dollars the pekul, according to quantity and demand. Great frauds are practised with this article, so that it requires great attention in the purchaser, and the cakes ought to be broken, to see that nothing be mixed with it. The commodities carried there for sale are chopping knives, small bugles, porcelain, coloured taffetas, but not blacks, Chinese frying-pans,[149] Chinese bells, and thin silver plates beaten out quite flat, and thin like a wafer, about the breadth of a hand. There is much profit made in this trade, as the Chinese have sometimes given four for one to our men who had adventured with them.
[Footnote 149: Perhaps, as stated in conjunction with bells, gongs are here meant, which are not unlike frying-pans.--E.]
Banda is in the latitude of 5° S. and affords great store of mace and nutmegs, together with oil of two sorts. It has no king, being ruled by a sabander, who unites with the sabanders of Nero, Lentore, Puloway, Pulorin, and Labatacca, islands near adjoining. These islands were all formerly under the dominion of the King of Ternate, but now govern themselves. In these islands they have three harvests of mace and nutmegs every year; in the months of July, October, and February; but the gathering in July is the greatest, and is called the arepootee monsoon. Their manner of dealing is this: A small bahar is ten cattees of mace, and 100 of nutmegs; a great bahar being 100 cattees of mace, and 1000 of nutmegs. The cattee is five libs. 13-1/2[150] ounces English, and the prices are variable. The commodities in request at these islands are, Coromandel cloth, cheremallay, sarrasses, chintzes or pintadoes of five colours, fine ballachos, black girdles, chellyes, white calicos, red or stammel broad-cloths, gold in coin, such as English rose-nobles and Dutch ducats and dollars. But gold is so much preferred, that you may have as much for the value of 70 dollars in gold as would cost 90 dollars in silver. Fine china basons without rims are likewise in request, together with damasks of light gay colours, taffetas, velvets, china-boxes, gilded counters, gold chains, gilt silver cups, bright and damasked head-pieces, fire-arms, but not many sword blades, which must be brandt and backed to the point. Likewise Cambaya cloths, black and red calicos, calico lawns, and rice, which last is a good commodity to carry there.
[Footnote 150: On a former occasion, the Banda cattee was said to contain only 13-1/2 ounces English, so that this account is quite irreconcileable to the former.--E.]
The Molucca islands are five in number; viz. Molucca Proper, Ternate, Tidore, Gilolo, and Makian, and are under the equinoctial line. They produce great abundance of cloves, not every year, but every third year. The cattee there is 3 libs. 5 ounces English, and the bahar is 200 cattees. Thus 19 Molucca cattees make exactly 50 Bantam cattees. The commodities most vendible in these islands are Coromandel cheremallays, but fine, Siam girdles or sashes, salalos, but fine, ballachos and chelleys, are in most request. Likewise China taffetas, velvets, damasks, great basons, varnished counters, crimson broad-cloths, opium, benzoin, &c.
Siam is in the lat. of 14° 30' N. It produces great store of fine benzoin, and many rich precious stones, which are brought from Pegu. A taile is 2-1/4 dollars. There is here much silver bullion, which comes from Japan, but dollars are most in request, for 2-1/4 dollars in coin will purchase the value of 2-1/2 dollars in bullion. Stammel broad-cloth, iron, and handsome mirrors are in much request, as also all kinds of Chinese commodities are to be had there better and cheaper than at Bantam. The Guzerat vessels come to Siam in June and July, touching by the way at the Maldive islands, and then at Tanasserim, whence they go overland to Siam in twenty days. At Tanasserim there is always 5-1/2 to 6 fathoms water.
Borneo is in lat. 3° S.[151] This island affords great store of gold, bezoar, wax, rattans, cayulacca, and dragons blood. At Bernermassin, [Banjarmassen] one of the towns of this island, is the chief trade for these articles; and at this place the following commodities are in principal request: Coromandel cloths of all kinds, China silks, damasks, taffetas, velvets of all colours but black, stammel broad-cloths, and Spanish dollars. Bezoars are here sold by a weight called taile, equal to a dollar and a half, and cost 5 or 6 dollars the taile, being 1-1/3 ounce English. Succadanea is another town in Borneo, in lat. 1° 30' S. and is about 160 leagues N.E. of Bantam. The entrance to its harbour has five fathoms water at the height of the flow, and three at ebb, only a falcon shot from the shore, upon ooze. There is great trade at this place, which produces great quantities of the finest diamonds in the world, which are to be had in abundance at all times of the year, but chiefly in January, April, July, and October, but the greatest quantities in January and April, when they are brought down the river Lavee in proas. They are said to be procured by diving, in the same manner with pearls; and the reason why they are to be had more abundantly at one season than another is, that in July and October there falls so much rain, that the river deepens to nine fathoms at the place where they are got, and occasions so rapid a stream that the people can hardly dive in search of them; whereas in other months it is only four fathoms or four and a half; which is found to be the best depth for diving.
[Footnote 151: This is rather a vague account of so large an island, which reaches from the lat. of 4° 20' S. to 6° 40' N. and between the longitudes of 100° 12' and 119° 25' E. from Greenwich; being above 700 English miles from N. to S. and 670 from E. to W.--E.]
The commodities most vendible at Succadanea are Malacca pintados, very fine sarapa, goobares, poulings, cherujava, calico lawns, light-coloured China silks, sewing gold, sleeve silk, stammel broad-cloth, all sorts of bugles, especially those blue ones which are made at Bantam, shaped like a hogshead, but about the size of a bean. These cost at Bantam a dollar for 400, and are worth at Succadanea a masse the 100, a masse being three quarters of a dollar. Likewise Chinese cashes and dollars are in request, but more especially gold; insomuch that you may have a stone for the value of a dollar in gold, which you would hardly get for a dollar and a half, or a dollar and three quarters, in silver. On this account, therefore, when intending to sail for Succadanea, it is best to go in the first place to Banjermassen, where you may exchange your commodities for gold, which you may purchase at the rate of three cattees of cashes the Mallayan taile, which is nine dollars, as I have been credibly informed it has been worth of late years. Afterwards carrying the gold to Succadanea, and paying it away for diamonds, at four cattees of cashes the taile, each of which is the weight of 1-3/4 and 1/8 of a dollar, you gain 3/4 of a dollar on each taile: Yet, after all, the principal profit must be upon the diamonds.
The diamonds of Borneo are distinguished into four waters, which they call varna, viz. Varna Ambon, varna Loud, varna Sackar, and varna Bessee. These are respectively white, green, yellow, and a colour between green and yellow; but the white water, or varna ambon, is the best. Their weights are called Sa-masse, Sa-copang, Sa-boosuck, and Sa-pead: 4 copangs are a masse; 2 boosucks a copang; and 1-1/2 pead is a boosuck. There is a weight called pahaw, which is four masse, and 16 masse are one taile. By these weights both diamonds and gold are weighed.
In regard to goods from China, the best raw silk is made at Nankin, and is called howsa, being worth there 80 dollars the pekul. The best taffeta, called tue, is made at a small town called Hoechu, and is worth 30 dollars the corge. The best damask, called towa, is made at Canton, and is worth 50 dollars the corge. Sewing gold, called kimswa, is sold by the chippau, or bundle, each containing ten pahees; and in each paper are ten knots or skeins, sold for three pawes, or two dollars, the best having 36 threads in each knot. Sewing silk, called couswa, is worth 100 dollars the pekul. Embroidered hangings, called paey, are worth for the best 10 dollars the piece. Sattins, called lyn, are worth for the best one dollar the piece. Great porcelain basons, Called chopau, are sold three for a dollar. White sugar, called petong, the best is sold for half a dollar the pekul. The small sorts of porcelain, called poa, of the best sort, sell for one dollar the cattee. The best pearl boxes, called chanab, are worth five dollars each. Sleeve silk, called jounckes, the best sells for 150 dollars the pekul. Musk, called saheo, seven dollars the cattee. Cashes, 60 pecoos for one dollar.
Broad-cloth, called toloney, is worth seven dollars the sasocke, which is 3/4 of a yard. Large mirrors, called kea, are worth 10 dollars each. Tin, called sea, worth 15 dollars the pekul. Wax, called la, 15 dollars the pekul. Muskets, called cauching, each barrel worth 20 dollars. Japan sabres or cattans, called samto, are worth 8 dollars each. The best and largest elephants teeth, called ga, worth 200 dollars the pekul, and small ones 100 dollars. White saunders, called toawheo, the best large logs sell for 40 dollars the pekul.
In China, the custom of pepper inwards is one taile upon a pekul, but no custom is paid outwards. Great care is taken to prevent carrying any kind of warlike ammunition out of the country. In March, the junks bound for Manilla depart from Chuchu, in companies of four, five, ten, or more, as they happen to be ready; their outward lading being raw and wrought silks, but of far better quality than those they carry to Bantam. The ordinary voyage from Canton to Manilla is made in ten days. They return from Manilla in the beginning of June, bringing back dollars, and there are not less than forty sail of junks yearly employed in this trade. Their force is absolutely nothing, so that the whole might be taken by a ship's boat. In China this year, 1608, pepper was worth 6-1/2 tailes the pekul, while at the same time it was selling in Bantam for 2-1/2 dollars the timbang.
SECTION III.
Second Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1604, under the Command of Captain Henry Middleton.[152]
INTRODUCTION.
There are two relations of this voyage in the Pilgrims of Purchas, or rather accounts of two separate voyages by different ships of the fleet; which consisted of four, the Red Dragon, admiral, Captain Henry Middleton general; the Hector, vice-admiral, Captain Sorflet; the Ascension, Captain Colthurst; and the Susan. These were, in all probability, the same ships which had been in the former voyage under Lancaster. The former of these journals, written on board the admiral, confines itself chiefly to Captain Middleton's transactions at Bantam and the Moluccas; having sent Captain Colthurst in the Ascension to Banda. The latter contains the separate transactions of Captain Colthurst, and is described as a brief extract from a larger discourse written by Thomas Clayborne, who seems to have sailed in the Ascension; and, besides describing what particularly relates to the trip to Banda, gives some general account of the whole voyage. In the Pilgrims of Purchas, these narratives are transposed, the former being given in vol. I. p. 703, and the latter in vol. I. p. 185. "But should have come in due place before, being the second voyage of the company, if we had then had it: But better late than never." Such is the excuse of Purchas for misplacement, and we have therefore here placed the two relations in their proper order, in separate subdivisions of the section. The first indeed is a very bald and inconclusive article, and gives hardly any information respecting the object and success of the voyage to the Moluccas.
[Footnote 152: Purch. Pilgr. I.185, and I. 703. Astl. I.279, and I. 281.]
SECTION 1. Voyage of the General, Henry Middleton, afterward Sir Henry, to Bantam and the Moluccas, in 1604.[153]
Being furnished with all necessaries, and having taken leave of the company, we set sail from Gravesend on the 25th March, 1604, and arrived about the 20th December, after various accidents, in the road of Bantam, with our crews very weak and sickly. After many salutations, and interchange of ordnance between us and the Hollanders, the general of the Hollanders dined with our general on the 31st December. Next day, being 1st January, 1605, the general went on shore with a letter and presents from James I. King of England, to the King of Bantam, then a youth of thirteen years of age, and governed by a protector. The 16th of the same month, our general came on board to proceed for the Moluccas, having appointed Captain Surtlet to go home in the Hector. The 7th February, we anchored under the shore of Veranula, the people of which having a deadly hatred against the Portuguese, had sent to the Hollanders for aid against them, promising to become their subjects if they would expel the Portuguese. In short, the castle of Amboyna was surrendered to the Hollanders; after which, by their command, the governor of the town debarred us from all trade.
[Footnote 153: Purch. Pilgr. I.708. Astl. I. 279.]
At this time there was war between the islands of Ternate and Tidor, the former assisted by the Dutch, and the latter by the Portuguese. Shortly after we got near the coast of Tidor, we saw, between Pulo Canally and Tidor, two gallies or coracoras belonging to Ternate, making great haste towards us; and waving for us to shorten sail and wait for them. At the same time, seven gallies of Tidor were rowing between us and the shore to assault the Ternaters; and seeing them in danger, our general lay to, to see what was the matter. In the foremost of the two gallies were the King of Ternate with several of his nobles, and three Dutch merchants, who were in great fear of their enemies, and prayed our general for God's sake to save them from the Tidorians, who would shew them no mercy if we did not protect them: They likewise entreated him to save the other coracora, which followed them, in which were several Dutchmen, who expected nothing but death if taken by their cruel enemies. Our general thereupon commanded his gunner to fire at the Tidor gallies; yet they boarded the second Ternate coracora even under our guns, and put all on board to the sword, except three; who saved themselves by swimming, and were taken up by our boat.
Being determined to go to Tidor, the Dutchmen entreated our general not to allow the King of Ternate and them to fall into the hands of their enemies, from whom he had so lately delivered them; promising him mountains of cloves and other commodities at Ternate and Makeu, but performing mole-hills, verifying the proverb, "When the danger is over the saint is deceived." One thing I may not forget: When the King of Ternate came on board, he was trembling for fear; which the general supposing to be from cold, put on his back a black damask gown laced with gold, and lined with unshorn velvet; which he had not the manners to restore at his departure, but kept it as his own.
When we arrived at the Portuguese town in Tidor, the governor of the fort sent one Thomas de Torres on board with a letter, stating that the King of Ternate and the Hollanders reported there was nothing but treachery and villainy to be expected from us; but that he believed better of us; considering their reports to be entirely malicious: Such was our recompence from these ungrateful men. Not long afterwards, on coming to the town of the King of Ternate, our general sent Mr Grave on board the Dutch admiral, who gave him only cold entertainment, affirming that we had assisted the Portuguese in the late wars against the King of Ternate and them, with ordnance and ammunition; which our general proved to be untrue by some Portuguese they had taken in that conflict, on which, being ashamed of this slander, the Dutch general pretended he had been so informed by a renegado Guzerate, but did not believe it to be true.
Not long afterwards, when the King of Ternate seemed to affect our nation, the Dutch threatened to forsake him, and to join with his deadly enemy the King of Tidor, if he suffered the English to have a factory, or allowed them any trade; affirming that the English were thieves and robbers, and that the King of Holland, as they called their stadtholder, was stronger at sea than all the other powers of Christendom; a just consideration for all nations, to think what this insolent frothy nation[154] will do, if they gain possession of the East Indies. To these insolent speeches, our general made answer, that whatsoever Hollander made such reports lied like a traitor, and that he would make it good against any one who dared to spread any such report; affirming, if Queen Elizabeth had not taken pity upon them, they had been utterly ruined and enslaved by the King of Spain, and branded for rebels and traitors. The particular wrongs done by them to our nation would fill volumes, and amaze the world to hear.
[Footnote 154: This is to be understood of the merchants who traded, or warred rather; not of the whole country or best men of Holland. Losers will have leave to speak, and merchants envy each other.--Purch.]
Appended to this very unsatisfactory notice of the voyage of Middleton to the Moluccas, are two letters to the King of England, one from the King of Ternate, and one from the King of Tidor. In the former, the King of Ternate mentions, that one of his predecessors, about thirty years before, had sent a ring by Sir Francis Drake to Queen Elizabeth. He complains that the Hollanders had prevented him from permitting Captain Middleton to establish a factory in the island, for which he craves pardon, being against his will, and promises a better reception afterwards to the English ships.
The letter from the King of Tidor requests the King of England to take pity of him, and not permit him and his country to be oppressed by the Hollanders and the King of Ternate, but to send him succours, which he requests may be under the command of Captain Henry Middleton or his brother.
There is a third letter likewise, from the King of Bantam to King James, acknowledging having received a present by Captain Henry Middleton, and announcing that he had sent in return, two bezoars, one weighing fourteen mas, and the other three.
SECTION 2. Voyage of Captain Colthurst, in the Ascension, to Banda.[155]
The 2d of April, 1604, we had sight of the Lizard. The 23d we fell in with the western part of St Jago bearing W. by N. six leagues; when we stood eastward for Mayo, having the wind at north. The 24th we fell in with Mayo, and stood to the southward of that island, coming to anchor in fifteen fathoms. We landed on the 25th, when one of our merchants was taken by the people of the island. Next day we landed 100 men to endeavour to recover our merchant, but could not get near any of the islanders, so that we had to leave him behind, setting sail that night with the wind at north. We passed the equinoctial on the 16th May, and got sight of the Cape of Good Hope on the 18th July.
[Footnote 155: Purch. Pilgr. I.185. Astl. I. 281.]
The 17th July we came to anchor in Saldanha bay, in lat. 33° 56' S. or 34°, having sixty men bad of the scurvy, all of whom, God be praised, recovered their health before we went from thence, where we remained five weeks wanting one day. Here Mr Cole was drowned, who was master of the Hector, our vice-admiral. We weighed anchor from Saldanha bay on the 20th August, standing to the westwards with the wind at south. On Sunday the 23d December, 1604, we came to anchor in Bantam roads, where we found six ships of Holland, and three or four pinnaces. The 18th January, 1605, we sailed out of Bantam roads, with the Dragon and Ascension, but parted at Amboyna, the general going with the Dragon to the Moluccas, while the Ascension, Captain Colthurst, went for Banda, The Hector and Susan laded pepper at Bantam, and sailed thence for England about the middle of February.
We arrived in the Ascension at Banda on the 20th February, and anchored in 4-1/2 fathoms beside Nera, the principal place in these islands. From the south part of Amboyna to Banda, the course is E. by S. and to the southwards, 30 leagues. The latitude of Banda is 4° 40' N. and the going in is to the westwards. There is a very high hill which burns continually, which hill must be left to larboard, having the great island on the starboard. The entry is very narrow, and cannot be seen till within half a mile; but you may stand fearlessly to within two cable's length of the island on which is the high hill, for so you must do, and will have 20 fathoms. Then stand along that island, at the distance of a cable's length, if the wind permit, when you will find the water shoaling, 8, 7, 6 fathoms, and 5 in the narrowest part, which depth continues till you get into the road of Nera. With God's help, a man may go in without danger, keeping near the before-mentioned island. It is somewhat shallow on the starboard side of the narrow passage, but that will shew itself. There are two small islands, Pulo-way and Pulo-rin, about three leagues west of this entrance, but there is no danger about them that is not quite obvious; and you may leave these islands on either side you find convenient, either in going in or out.
At this place we found the wind variable about the middle of March, and it so continued till about the middle of April; when it became stationary between E. and S.E. four months to our knowledge: But, as the people of the country say, it continues so for five mouths; and likewise five months between W. and N.W. the other two months being variable. In the dark moons, they have here much gusty weather with rains. We staid here twenty-one weeks and six days, in which time eleven of our men died, mostly of the flux.
We sailed from Banda the 21st July, 1605, having the wind at E.S.E. and stood to the westwards. The 22d we fell in with the south end of Bourro. The 27th we fell in with Deselem, and then came about to the south end of the island, leaving seven islands to starboard. We then stood close by the wind to the northward, hard by the main island of Deselem, to clear ourselves of a small island, and a shoal off the S.W. part of Deselem; then, leaving this island, and all the other shoals on our larboard side, we stood N.N.W. along the W. side of Deselem, till we came into the latitude of 6° 10' S. Then steered 18 leagues west, and fell in with the shoal off the S.W. point of Celebes, the very southmost part of which is in lat. 6° S. [only 5° 45',] and being clear of that, we steered westwards, coming to anchor in Bantam roads on the 16th August.
We set sail from Bantam on the 6th October, the Dragon and Ascension in company. The 15th November, we were in lat. 31° 48' S. the wind W.N.W. thick foggy weather, when about 10 a.m. we came within our ship's length of a rock or sunken island, on which the water appeared very brown and muddy, and in some places very blue. When a ship's breadth or two to the north of it, the water by the ship's side was very black and thick, as though it had earth or coarse sand boiling up from the bottom. The variation here was 21 degrees westerly. The 16th December, in lat. 34° 20' S. we had sight of the land of Ethiopia, [Africa] about 12 leagues from us. The 26th, being in lat. 34° 30' S. and within one league of the Cape of Good Hope, we steered N.W. and N.N.W. and N. going round the Cape.
The 27th we came to anchor in Saldanha bay, where we found our admiral and the Hector. Our admiral had fallen in with that ship seven days before, driving up and down at sea, about four leagues from the Cape of Good Hope, having only ten men in her; all the rest, to the number of 53, having died since leaving Bantam nine months before. Being in great distress, three months after leaving Bantam, she lost company with the Susan, which ship was never heard of afterwards. We came to anchor at Saldanha bay in seven fathoms water, having the low point going in N.W. by W. the sugar-loaf S.W. half W. the point of the breach of the Penguin island N.W. by N. the hill between the sugar-loaf and the low point, W.S.W. and the peak of the hill to the eastward of the Table S. by E.
In the morning of the 16th January, 1606, we sailed from Saldanha bay, going to the northward of Penguin island, between it and the main. We sounded when we had the land south from us about a mile and a half, and had ground at 20 fathoms, white coral and broken shells. On clearing the island, we stood W. by S. and W.S.W. till we brought the island to bear S.E. by E. being now about six in the evening, when we saw the Hector coming out by the south side of the island, having left her at anchor when we weighed. The wind being at S. we stood all night westwards, and in the morning had lost company with the Hector, when we steered N.W. with little sail till noon, thinking to get sight of the Hector, but could not. The 1st February, in lat. 16° 20' S. we had sight of St Helena, 12 or 13 leagues N.W. The 2d, having the wind at S.E. we lay off and on east of the island most part of the night, and in the following morning we stood to the north of the island, coming to anchor about noon in the road of St Helena, in 20 fathoms, on blackish gravelly sand. We had a point of land to the N.E. a sharp hill like a sugar-loaf, with a cross upon it, N.E. by E. the church in the valley S.E. In this valley there are many trees, the high land S.E. from the church, and the entire valley being full of trees. We moored S.E. and N.W. the anchor in the offing being in 21 fathoms.
At night of the 3d, we had sight of the Hector coming round the south end of the island, but she could not fetch into the road, yet stood to the northward as near as she could, having the wind at east. The 4th and 5th our boats went out to endeavour to help her into the road, but could not. Having a little wind on the 6th, our boats towed her in, bringing her to anchor in 35 fathoms, a mile and half from shore, bearing from us S.W. by W. distant about two leagues. The 11th we set sail from St Helena, the wind at E.N.E. and steering N.W. The N.W. part of St Helena is in lat. 16° S. and the variation is 7° 45'. The church, that bore S.E. of us when we were in the road, stands in the bottom of the fifth valley from that point which bore N.E. from us. We came to anchor in the Downs on the 6th May, 1606, where we lay at anchor eight days, waiting for a fair wind.
SECTION IV.
Third Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1607, by Captain William Keeling.[156]
INTRODUCTION.
In this voyage three ships were employed, with about 310 men; the Dragon, admiral, Captain Keeling, who was chief commander or general; the Hector, vice-admiral, commanded by Captain William Hawkins; and the Consent, Captain David Middleton. The relation of the voyage, as appears from its title in Purchas, was written by Keeling, the chief commander or general, or, as he would now be called, the commodore: But, by a side-note, Purchas informs us, that he had abbreviated the narrative from the journals written at sea, by Captains Keeling and Hawkins, which were very voluminous, occupying a hundred sheets of paper, and that he had only retained the most necessary observations for sea and land affairs.
[Footnote 156: Purch. Pilgr. I. 188. Astl. I. 312.]
The editor of Astley's Collection observes, "That this narrative is written very obscurely, in an abrupt, uncouth style, which he thinks Purchas ought to have reformed when abridging it. The author seems to have kept no regular journal, but only to have entered such things from time to time as seemed most material. In many places it consists only of loose imperfect hints, thrown together without connection, and often referring to things not mentioned before. Possibly these defects may have been owing to Purchas, in order to abbreviate the journal; and indeed, whether from want of care or judgment, he spoiled almost every thing he abridged. It contains, however, many valuable nautical remarks, and many particulars respecting the conduct of the Dutch, who now began to lord it in India, which may atone for its defects. If the dryness of some of the details may disgust any of our readers, we hope they will consider that our design is to give a series of the English Voyages; and in so doing to steer equally between the two extremes of redundance and imperfection."[157]
[Footnote 157: This paragraph is inserted from the previous remarks to the voyage of Keeling, by the editor of Astley's Collection.--E.]
Purchas remarks punningly in a side-note, "That the Consent held no concent with the Dragon and Hector." Her voyage will be found in the sequel of this section, with, several other articles connected with it, which have not been noticed in Astley's Collection, and which appeared necessary to elucidate the early commercial connections of England with India, and the manners and customs of the eastern nations. We have endeavoured to amend the uncouth and abrupt style of Purchas, but it was impossible to clear up his obscurities; and in many instances we have abbreviated or lopt off redundancies and unimportant particulars.--E.
SECTION 1. Disasters in the Outset of the Voyage, forcing them back to Sierra Leona; with Occurrences till leaving Saldanha Bay.
By the 1st of April, 1607, the Dragon and Hector had reached the Downs. After passing the line in the beginning of June, and getting four or five degrees to the southwards, we were so crossed by gusts, calms, rains, and sickness, as to be constrained to return northwards. Missing the island of Fernando Noronha, I consulted on the 30th July with the master, named Taverner, who thought we must return for England; but Sierra Leona being mentioned, of which place I had formerly read good accounts, I sent for the book,[158] and both Mr Taverner and myself took a liking to the place. Our company being very much diseased, and being exceedingly in want of water, with no hopes of getting to Fernando Noronha, I called a council, and after dinner desired their opinion what was fittest to be done? They were all of opinion that we could not stand any longer to the south, for many reasons; and, demanding their opinions in regard to a watering-place, Churchman, Savage, and Taverner, proposed Mayo; Earming, Pockham, Molineux, and my master, preferred Sierra Leona for many causes, which likewise was my own opinion, wherefore we concluded to make for Sierra Leona, with which determination I acquainted the crews, to their very great comfort.
[Footnote 158: Purchas makes the following remark in a side-note:--"Mr Hakluyt's book was here of good profit; for, as Sir Thomas Smith affirmed to me, it now saved £20,000 to the company, which they had been endamaged if the ships had returned home; which had certainly been the case if that book had not been consulted."]
On the morning of the 4th August, we saw many flowers, a strong sign of approaching land, and towards evening had ground in from 20 to 16 fathoms, yet saw no land. By means of our skiff, I set the current to the S.E. at the rate of two miles each watch. The 5th we steered all morning eastwards, and E. By S. having from 30 to 20 and 10 fathoms, and still no land to be seen. The greatest depth was on an oose bottom, the least a coarse yellow sand. About nine o'clock we espied land, bearing N.E. about 8 leagues distant, being a round hummock of middling height. By noon we were in latitude 7° 56' N. having steered all day east, sometimes half a point north or south, as our water deepened or shoaled, for we would sometimes have ten fathoms or more one cast, and the next seven fathoms, the ground being full of pits, believing that we were upon the edge of the shoals of Santa Anna, otherwise called Madera bomba. In the afternoon we had 9, 10, 11, and 12 fathoms. The first-seen land proved to be Ilha Verde, a very round land, and a very notable mark for any ship bound for Sierra Leona from the southwards.
About seven p.m. we anchored in 20 fathoms on hard sand, the south part of Ilha Verde, bearing E. and the Cape of Sierra Leona, which is a low point, N. by E. about eight leagues distant. But the land over the cape is very high, and may be seen fifteen leagues off in clear weather. About six next morning we made sail for the road, and had not less than 16, 15, 10, and 9 fathoms, till we ranged north and south with the rocks which lie about 1-1/2 miles west of Cape Sierra Leona; and when one mile from the nearest shore we had seven fathoms, good shoaling between us and the rock. Immediately when past the rock we had 20 fathoms, and shoaled to 18, 16, 12, and 10 fathoms all the way into the roads, keeping very near the south shore; for a sand lies about two miles from the north shore, or a league from the south shore, and upon it the sea continually breaks. We came to anchor in ten fathoms on good ground, the point of Sierra Leona bearing W. by N. the north point of the bay N. by W. and the sand or breaker N.N.E.
In the afternoon we were waved by some men on shore, to whom I sent my boat, which, leaving two hostages, brought off four negroes, who promised us refreshments. My skiff sounded between our anchorage and the breakers, finding fair shoaling, with two fathoms water within two boats length of the breach, or sand on which the sea breaks. All the previous observations of the variation, since our coming from 2° N. latitude to this place, proved erroneous; for to each distance, having reference to any meridian eastwards, there must be added 30 leagues, and from such as referred to western meridians, 30 leagues must be subtracted; for it appeared, by our falling in with the land, that the ship was so much more westerly than we supposed; myself, notwithstanding this error, being as much, if not more westerly than any of the mariners. Yet every man must trust to his own experience; for instruments may deceive, even in the hands of the most skilful.
The 7th August, some negroes of a superior appearance came aboard in my boat, for whom, as for all others, we had to leave one of our men in hostage for every two of them. These men made signs that I should send some men up the country, and they would stay as hostages. I accordingly sent Edward Bradbury, and my servant, William Cotterell, with a present to the captain, or chief, consisting of one coarse shirt, three feet of a bar of iron, a few glass beads, and two knives. They returned towards night, and brought me from the captain, one small gold ear-ring, worth some eight or nine shillings; and as it was late, the hostages remained all night on board without any one in pawn for them. I sent my boat, and brought off five tons of water, very good, and easily come by.
I went ashore on the 11th, when the people came to us, accompanied by their women, yet feared we might carry them away. We got plenty of lemons very cheap, as they gave us 200 for a penny knife. The 18th I bought an elephant's tooth of 63 pounds weight, for five yards of blue calico, and seven or eight pounds of bar iron. The 15th, in an hour and a half, we took six thousand excellent small fish, called cavallos. That afternoon we bought two or three thousand lemons at the village. It rained so much at this place, that we esteemed it a dry day when we had three hours of fair weather. The 16th I allowed our weekly workers to go on shore with me for recreation. In our walk we saw not above two or three acres sown with rice, the surface of the ground being mostly a hard rock. The 16th and 17th were quite fair, and on the latter I caused a quantity of lemon water to be made.
The 20th, John Rogers returned and brought me a present of a piece of gold in form of a half-moon, worth five or six shillings. He reported the people to be peaceable, the chief without state, the landing to be two leagues up the river, and the chief's village eight miles from the landing. The 22d I went on shore, and made six or seven barricos full of lemon juice; having opened a firkin of knives belonging to the company, wherewith to buy limes. The afternoon of the 7th September we went all on shore, to try if we could shoot an elephant; when we shot seven or eight bullets into him, and made him bleed exceedingly, as appeared by his track; but night coming on, we had to go on board without effecting our purpose.
The best road and watering-place is the fourth bay to the east of Cape Sierra Leona. The tide where we rode flowed W.S.W. and the highest water upon a spring tide was at the least 12 feet. I made no observation of the sun in this road, neither aboard nor on shore, though I proposed to have so done several times; but the master made the road where we lay 8° 36' N. Cape Sierra Leona being west, a league or four miles off. He also made the variation 1° 50' eastwards; but my instrument was out of order, and I had not time to put it in repair.
We weighed from Sierra Leona the 14th September, with the wind all easterly; but it soon fell calm, and we drove to the north, but drifted again S.W. by S. with the ebb, and when the flood again made, we anchored in 15-1/2 fathoms. Cape Sierra Leona bearing N.E. by E. about seven leagues off. We had not less than ten fathoms all this day. The 16th we found the current setting N. by W.
The 17th December, about two p.m. we saw land, being the Table at Saldanha, and bore up towards it till three, when I ordered the master to steer E.S.E. and S.E. by E. to double the cape; but as all the people, sick and sound, desired to put into Saldanha bay, we bore up for it, and came to anchor about noon, [next day,] in 5-1/2 fathoms, the W. point bearing W.N.W. the island N.N.E. and the sugar-loaf S.W. As soon as we were anchored I sent on shore, when there was found engraven on a rock, Captain Middleton, of the Consent, 24th July, 1607. I went on shore the 21st; and bought 120 sheep, 12 bullocks, and two calves, of which I allowed a proportional share to the Hector. This market continued several days, in which we bought much cattle, paying in all 200 iron hoops for 450 sheep, 46 cows, 10 steers, 9 calves, and one bull.
SECTION 2. Departure from Saldanha, and Occurrences till the Ships parted Company.
By sun-rise of the first January, 1608, both vessels were under sail, and by six p.m. were ten leagues west-southerly[159] from the south point of the bay of Saldanha. The 19th we shipped much sea at the helm port, and at the hole abaft in my gallery, about two hours after midnight, which wet some of our bales of cloth. We were then in lat. 35° 22' S. [I allow thirteen leagues S.S.E. wind E.N.E. and N.E. six leagues drift S. and three leagues N.E. wind all westerly.[160]] Our too great quantity of Kintledge goods occasions our ship to labour greatly, which the company must have special care of on another voyage. The 20th I carefully aired and dried our cloth, oiled the fire-arms and sword blades belonging to the company, strengthened the packing cases, &c. This afternoon, contrary to expectation, and to the astonishment of all our mariners, we saw land bearing N.N.W. about twelve leagues off, being in the lat. of 34° S. If I had not had dear experience of the strong westerly current in my last voyage, I likewise had admired this; yet I am more westerly in my reckoning than any, having doubted the currents for causes before noted; being by reckoning 100 leagues more easterly than the sight of land warranted.
[Footnote 159: This unusual expression, and others similar, as west-northerly, east-southerly, and east-northerly, which frequently occur in this voyage, are most probably the same with the usual expressions of west by south, west by north, east by south, and east by north.--E.]
[Footnote 160: These observations within brackets are unintelligible: Probably notes in the log-book, for being attended to in calculating the ship's day's work; and either left unexplained as a species of short-hand writing of Keeling, or rendered unintelligible by the ignorant abbreviation of Purchas. Such often occur in this article of the Pilgrims; but, except in this instance, as an example, we have omitted such useless unintelligibilities.--E.]
The 17th of February we saw land, bearing E. about eight leagues from us, and, as I judged, in lat. 24° 20' S. About noon we were athwart two small islands, which seemed to make a good road; but not being sure of our latitude, we stood off and on till high noon, when we might take an observation, having no ground with 60 fathoms line within two miles of the shore. The 18th, in lat. 23° 37' we anchored in 71/2 fathoms sandy ground, the two islands bearing S.W. one mile distant. There was an island E. by N. from us about three leagues off, which the master supposed to be St Augustine, for which we proposed to search. The variation here was 15° 30'. The 19th we weighed in the morning, when we broke one of our anchors, through an original defect; which surely deserves much blame, but for which I refer to a certificate I made on the subject. We now steered for the seeming harbour or bay of St Augustine, having from our former anchorage in sailing towards it, from ten to twelve and twenty fathoms; and on coming near the point of the bay, we had no ground with 100 fathoms, till we came far into the bay, our skiffs going before, and then had ground at thirty, shoaling to eight fathoms. We anchored in eighteen fathoms, and laid out another anchor in forty fathoms, the deepest water being on the south shore, the other being made shallow by the coming down of rivers. The land bore W. by S. and N. from our anchorage, and to the north are certain shoals on which the sea breaks, so that it was only open to five points of the wind; but the road is very full of pits and deep water, and a strong stream runs always down from the river.
Captain Hawkins came on board me, and, as I was very unwell, I sent him ashore with the boats of both ships. He returned on board towards night, without having seen any people, though their tracks were quite recent in several places. He left some beads and other trifles in a canoe, to allure the natives. In his opinion we had small chance here of any refreshments; but my fishers from the other side of the bay told me of having seen great store of beasts bones, and bones certainly have once had flesh. George Evans, one of the Hector's men, was severely bitten by an alegarta, [alligator.] I gave orders to fill our water casks with all speed, and propose in the mean time to seek for refreshment. The tide flows here nearest east,[161] and rises high. The 21st we saw four natives, to whom I sent some beads and other baubles, making them understand by signs that we were in want of cattle, when they promised in the same manner to bring plenty next day. Seeing people on shore next day, I went a-land, and found them a subtle people, strong-built and well-made, almost entirely naked, except a cloth of bark carelessly hung before them. We bought a calf, a sheep, and a lamb, but they would only deal for silver. In the afternoon I rowed up the river, which I found shallow and brackish. The 24th we bought three kine, two steers, and four calves, which cost us about nineteen shillings and a few beads. These cattle have far better flesh than those we got at Saldanha, and have bunches of flesh on their shoulders, like camels, only more forward. Some affirmed that the people were circumcised. We here found the beautiful beast.[162]
[Footnote 161: As the bay of St Augustine, in lat. 23° 30' S. is on the west coast of Madagascar, where the coast is direct N. and S. the current of the tide could not set from the east. The expression in the text, therefore, probably means that it is high-water when the moon is nearly east.--E.]
[Footnote 162: This seems to refer to some creature then in the ship, and perhaps brought home with them to England. Astl. I. 316. a.--Mr Finch says, there were in the woods, near the river, great store of beasts, as big as monkies, of an ash colour, having a small head, a long tail like a fox, barred with black and white, and having very fine fur.--E.]
Where we rode at anchor the water by the ship's side was very fresh at high water, and very salt at low water, contrary to what might have been expected; and at high water it was very fresh on one side of the ship, and very salt on the other. In a gust of wind at N.W. on the 25th, our ship drifted and broke a cable, by which we lost the anchor. We bought this day a calf, a sheep, and a lamb, the sheep having a great tail; all three costing us 2s. 3d. I found certain spiders, whose webs were as strong as silk. All along the low land from E. to W about half a mile from the shore, there runs a ledge of rocks on which the sea continually breaks, between which and the shore are two fathoms water, wonderfully full of fish, and having a fine beach on which to haul the nets.
The 28th in the morning we got under sail to put to sea. This bay of St Augustine is a very unfit place for ships to touch at for refreshments, as these are to be had only in small quantities; and the bay is very untoward for riding at anchor, the water being deep and pitty and the ground foul, as appeared by cutting our cable. By the 15th March we had only got into lat. 15° 40' S. and I knew not what course to take to get out of the current, which was very swift setting to the south, as keeping mid-channel may endanger us upon In. de Nova;[163] and in keeping near shore God knows what danger may befal, as it is indiscreet to continue where the wind does not stem the current. The 17th we were in, lat. 14° 57' S. so that we have got 25 leagues farther north, and the main power of the current seems now lessened. My master is of opinion that the age of the moon may have peculiar influence over the currents, causing them to be strong till three or four days after the full: but I rather think that the deep bay between Cape Corientes and Mozambique causes an indraught or eddy of some stream or current, coming either from the N.E. or more easterly, and entering the channel of Mozambique at the N.W. of Madagascar, and so along the land to Cape Corientes; or else the stream from the N.W. of Madagascar, meeting with the land of Mozambique, may be drawn that way by the falling in of the land. If this supposition be true, we committed an error in falling in with the land till we had got to the north of Mozambique point, which bends far into the sea.[164]
[Footnote 163: This I understand to be the island of Juan de Nova, in the narrowing between Madagascar and the coast of Africa towards Mozambique.--ASTL. I.317.]
[Footnote 164: This is by no means the case, and we may therefore conjecture that Cape St Andrew in Madagascar is here meant, which is of that description, and is in some measure opposite Mozambique.--E.]
"Their sailing along the islands, and trucking at Tamara, with other occurrences, I have left out, as being more fully known by later experience. Leaving Abdalcuria they were forced to ride in Delisa road to the north of Socotora, till the monsoon freed them; at which time Captain Keeling set sail for Bantam with the Dragon, and Captain Hawkins in the Hector for Surat, as shall after follow."[165]
[Footnote 165: This latter paragraph is a side-note in the original by Purchas.--E.]
SECTION 3. Instructions learnt at Delisa respecting the Monsoon, from the Moors and Guzerates; with the Arrival of the Dragon at Bantam.
The Moors of Delisa affirm that pieces of ambergris are some years found weighing 20 quintals, and so large that many men may take shelter under their sides without being seen. This is upon the coast of Mombaza, Magadoxa, Pata, Brava, &c. which indeed are all one coast. From Delisa they make yearly voyages to the Comora islands to buy slaves; and they report that the natives there are very treacherous, having sometimes slain fifty persons by treason; for which reason they trade always afloat, and do not venture ashore. They affirmed that eight Hollanders had been three or four years in Pemba, two of whom had become Mahometans. According to their reckoning the southern monsoon begins yearly on the 1st May, the extremity of it continuing 100 days, and the most wind being in June and July. On the 10th August the south wind diminishes; and soon after the wind comes from the north, with much rain, and so continues for three or four months more. At this time they make most of the aloes on the island, being the juice of an evergreen, put into goats skins and dried.
The 23d May I sent on shore to weigh aloes, and received on board 1250 pounds, which cost 250 dollars, for the company. We bought in all 1833 pounds neat. The chief sent to borrow 500 dollars, which I refused to lend, but sent him two yards of fine coloured kersey, and a knife of my own. I sent again on shore, and bought 575 pounds of aloes for 115 dollars.
The 24th I was informed that the west monsoon began in this year on the 30th April, coming every year eleven days later; so that in thirty-three years they begin again on the same day of the month, which I conceive cannot be true.[166] I was farther informed, that the east monsoon will begin this year on the 13th October, both monsoons falling yearly eleven days later. They have only two monsoons yearly. That this year, called Neyrocze,[167] begins with the first of the east monsoon. The west monsoon here blows all south, and the east monsoon all north. After the 20th September, ships cannot depart from the Red Sea to the eastward. Chaul, Dabul, and Danda Rajipuri are good and safe ports, and rich trading towns on the coast of India. At Saada, Ilbookie, Anzoane, and Mootoo,[168] four of the Comora islands, there is abundance of cheap rice, and the people are good. Inghezeegee and Malala,[169] two others of the Comoras, have very little rice, and the people are very treacherous; and they report that about sixteen years ago an English ship lost many men by treachery on that island, which surely was James Lancaster in Raimond's voyage.[170]
[Footnote 166: This must be the case where they reckon by lunar months, as is done every where by the Mahometans.--ASTL. I. 318. c.]
[Footnote 167: This should be Neurúz, which in Persian signifies New-year's day.--ASTL. I. 318. d.]
[Footnote 168: Probably St Christopher's, St Esprit, Hinznan, and Mayotta,--E.]
[Footnote 169: Probably Gazidza or Angazezio, and Molalio, Moelia, or Senbracas.--E.]
[Footnote 170: In the account of that voyage, as already given in Chap. IX. Sect. 6. of this book, which was in 1591, Lancaster was said to have been lost in a storm. He may have got on shore in this island, and been massacred by the natives.--E.]
We were farther informed, that this day, 26th May, 1608, was the 224th from the Neyrooze, or new-year's-day, according to their account: That there is no rain on the coast of Arabia till the 70th day of this monsoon: That the 305th day from Neyrooze is the best time for going to Surat; and that in ten or twelve days they get to that port. Burrom, Mekella, and Cayxem, [Keyshem, Kashin, Kasseen, Kassin, or Kushem,] on the coast of Arabia, are good harbours for shelter in both monsoons; but are places of no trade. Xael or Xaer[171] has no harbour or road for any season, yet might be a vent for iron or lead. This place is commanded by a Turkish Aga, and they send thence for commodities to Keyshem, a day's journey to the west; but there is no going there at this season. In both monsoons there is a very heavy sea on the coast of Arabia, and the currents there set along with the wind. There is no riding at anchor at the entrance to Surat, so as to have shelter in the west monsoons, both on account of bad ground, and because the tides run with such rapidity as to overset ships that are not aground. This road of Delisa is very safe in the west monsoon; but only two miles either east or west it continually blows so strong that no ship can ride. I can give no reason for this, unless that the distance of the high mountains produce this remarkable difference, as there is much low ground between us and them.
[Footnote 171: This is the Portuguese orthography; in English it should be Shael, or Shaer; but the true name is Shahr, or Shohr, while some call it Seer.--ASTL. I. 318.I.]
We departed from Delisa on the 24th June, 1608; and on the 23d July we saw an island, and about noon two more, in lat. 4° 2' S. We left two of these to the north and one to the south of our course; the most northerly being a large high island full of trees. Between the two southermost of these three islands, ten leagues distant, and half way between them, there is a dangerous reef of rocks, to avoid which we steered through a very good passage within two leagues of the middle island, the reef being then to the south, about three leagues from us, and is very dangerous for ships going through by night. There seemed a likeness of a passage through between the middle island and the northermost, but it was not a league broad. The southern island is the largest of the three.[172]
[Footnote 172: These three islands seem to have been Pulo Minton, Good-Fortune, and Nassau, off the south-western coast of Sumatra.--E.]
The 26th July we were halfway between Priaman and Tecu, about three leagues from the shore, the two hummocks of Tecu, with high land over them, bearing N. by W. and S. by E. half a point east. There is a shoal four miles from shore, bearing N. and S. with the high land of Tecu. We had here 45 fathoms water 21/2 leagues from shore, being then N.E. by E. from the road of Priaman. In the afternoon we got into the road of Priaman, and saluted the town with five guns.
The governor of the town sent me a goat, and I sent him in return three yards of stammel cloth, one piece of blue calico, a stocked musket, a musket-barrel, and two sword blades. The messenger spoke good Portuguese, to whom I gave a piece of blue calico. He was accompanied by a person of Acheen, with whom I conversed in Arabic, and by whom I had great hope of trade. I went ashore early on the 29th, and going to the governor's house, he presented me with a buffalo, and appointed some of his chief men to make the price of pepper with me. Sitting down with about sixty of these men, they first proposed that the pepper should be weighed in town, while I insisted that it should be weighed in the island. They demanded fifty dollars the bahar, which much displeased me, as the Acheen man had desired me only to offer sixteen: But that was his craft, for he was a merchant, and wished to have engrossed much pepper before I bought, and then to have re-sold it to me at his own price. After much time and many words, we agreed at 22-1/2 dollars the bahar, besides six per centum custom. I at first refused to pay two other customs, or exactions rather, the one of 160 dollars, and the other not much less; but at length I consented, and writings were drawn up between us. During the last night a man lay on board my ship who spoke Portuguese, who offered, in the name of the widow of the former governor, calling her queen, to give me half the town if I would help her in taking it from the present governor. But I refused any interference, as not answerable for my sovereign, and sent him on shore. I this day sold cloth to Nakhada[173] for 159 masses of gold.
[Footnote 173: Nakhada, or Nakhadah, signifies the captain or commander of a ship in Arabic--ASTL. I. 519. d.]
The town and bounds of Priaman do not yield above 500 bahars of pepper yearly; but, with the parts adjoining, as Passaman, Tecu, Beroose, and the mountains over the town, there are gathered about 2500 bahars yearly, which quantity will load two good ships, and may be bought very reasonable, if a factory had means to buy all the year. Their pepper harvest is in August and September, and is fetched away only by those of Acheen and Java, the Guzerates not being permitted to trade here, by the express command of the King of Acheen. Therefore, a ship touching at Surat, and buying there especially blue calicos, white calicos, blue and white striped and chequered stuffs, with some small fine painted cloths, and then leaving a factory at Priaman, might lay the best foundation for profit that can be wished, against next year. I say against another year, for it does not seem to me that a ship could go to Surat and come hither in time the same year. For this purpose, however, the licence of the King of Acheen must be procured for our safe proceeding in these parts.
We made sail from Priaman on the 18th September, and on the 4th October got into the road of Bantam, where we found six ships of Holland, two of which were almost laden with cloves, and other two were to load with pepper. I found thirteen Englishmen here alive, and received a letter from Captain David Middleton of the Consent. The 6th I paid Uncte and Tegin, the two Chinese, their wages, and dismissed them. The 20th I called the merchants together, having formerly resolved to return with the Dragon for England, and we now concluded that our pinnace, when finished, should go for Banda with Brown and Sidall. John Hearne, John Saris, and Richard Savage, were to remain at Bantam; and when the pinnace returned from Banda, John Saris was to go in her to Sackadanea, in Borneo. The 15th November, I sent for Jaques L'Ermite, the commander of the Dutch vessels at Bantam, and discovered to him a plot of the Javans for cutting the throats of all the Hollanders, of which I had received particular intimation.
The ambassador of Siam came to visit me on the 22d, and dined with me, and asserted that a thousand pieces of red cloth might be sold in his country in two days, and a great quantity yearly, as it is used for housings to their elephants and horses. Gold, he said, was in such abundance in his country as only to be worth three times its weight in silver, though good gold. It has also great abundance of cheap precious stones. He said, moreover, that his king would esteem it a great happiness to have commerce with the King of England, with whom, as he understood, the King of Holland was not to be compared.
The 28th November, I took leave of the king, the governor, the admiral, the old sabander, Jura Bassa, Tanyong, and of the Hollanders, and went on board for altogether next day. The 2d December, at night, our merchants came aboard, bringing a letter from the King of Bantam to the King of England, with a present of two picols of Canton. Before we got out of the straits we espied a sail on the 12th December, which proved to be the Hector from Surat, where her captain, William Hawkins, remained. I understood that the Portuguese had taken eighteen of our men, several of whom were factors, and goods to the value of 9000 dollars. The 14th we came back to Bantam roads, forced either to lengthen our voyage, or to go home with lost reputation. The 16th there came a small vessel from Amsterdam, giving notice of peace between France, Spain, and the Dutch. I appointed Messrs Molineux and Pockham for England in the Dragon, taking the rest with me in the Hector for the Moluccas, into which other ship I removed on the 17th, the masters shifting ships. The 21st I forwarded Mr Towerson in all diligence, wishing him to depart in all speed; and on the 23d the Dragon made sail from Bantam, God prosper her voyage.[174]
[Footnote 174: Mr Tewerson seems from this time to have commanded the Dragon on the voyage home; but this whole narrative is so ill expressed and incoherent, that its meaning has often to be guessed at.--ASTL. I. 321.a.]
SECTION 4. Voyage of the Hector to Banda, with Occurrences there.
About one in the morning of the 1st January, 1609, we weighed anchor, and with an off-shore wind got round the east point, three leagues E.N.E. from our former anchorage. Thence easterly to another point other three leagues, a very long shoal with very little water extending between the two, to avoid which it is good to steer halfway between Java and the isles of Tonda, which are five leagues distant. East from the second point is the isle of Tanara, so close to the shore that it cannot be distinguished from any distance. From the second to the third point, are four leagues E.S.E. and one and a half mile off that point N. by W. is the isle of Lackee, between which and the point is only one and a half fathoms water, according to report. We rode all night in six fathoms, having the isle east of us a league. Weighing on the 4th, we steered within half a league of Lackee in seven or eight fathoms; from the isle to the west point of Jackatra being E.S.E. four leagues. There is a dangerous sand off the west point of Jackatra, wherefore it is good to keep nearer the island opposite that point.
The 8th I went to Jackatra,[175] and anchored far out. The king sent his sabander to desire powder and match, and I sent him 30 pounds of powder and a roll of match. I bought of them a Portuguese boy, given by the Hollanders to their king, but who refused to apostatize from Christianity, and paid for him 45 dollars. We have seen thirty or forty islands since leaving Bantam. The 10th we made sail from Jackatra. There is a sunken island even with the water, about two leagues W. by N. from the east point of Jackatra, which we left to larboard, going between it and the easter island. The two points forming Jackatra bay bear E.S.E. and W.N.W. four leagues distant, the eastermost island being in a straight line between both points. At noon on the 11th we were ten leagues N.E. from the east point of Jackatra. The 12th at noon, we were two leagues S.W. by S. from an island, having sailed thirty leagues E. by S. The 15th we came near Madura, contrary to my expectation, whence I suppose that the island of Java is not so long as it is laid down in the charts, or else that we had found a current setting to the east. The 18th we were near the islands of Nossaseres or Nussasira, which were N. by W. a league from us, in lat. 5° 30' S. The 21st, in the forenoon, we saw Celebes; but we could not fetch Macassar. Coming to anchor, we parted our cable and lost an anchor. The 4th February we saw Bourro. The 5th I held a council to consider what was best to be done, as the wind did not serve for the Moluccas, when it was concluded to go for Banda. We saw Amboyna E. by N. from Bourro, twelve leagues. The 6th we saw the high land of Banda, in my opinion 25 leagues E. by S. 1/2 S. from the eastern part of Amboyna.
[Footnote 175: On the Dutch making this place the metropolis of their Indian trade and dominion, they changed its name to Batavia, in honour of their own country, called by the Romans, insula Batavorum.--E.]
We got into the road or harbour of Banda on the 8th February, 1609, when the people and the Hollanders came to welcome me. The 9th I went on shore, and delivered his majesty's letter to Nera, together with a present, being a gilt cup and cover, a head-piece and gorget, and one of Mr Bucke's firelocks, which cost twenty-five dollars. I was received with much state, but they delayed giving an answer about our house till next day. The Hollanders fired five pieces at my landing, and as many when I returned on board, and I dined with them. The 11th we agreed for building a house. The 21st I went to Urtatan, to confer with the people, and on the 25th I went to Lantor, where I delivered our king's letter and present, being a smaller gilt cup and cover, a handsome target, a stocked musket; and a musket-barrel. In the night, Nakhada China, a spy of the Hollanders, came on board, and advised me to be speedy. The 13th the people of Lantor demanded for serepinang[176] 140 dollars, and I demanded leave to sell my cloth as I best might. The priest was sent to demand payment of Rooba-rooba[177] before we traded, which I refused unless they would bind themselves to load me with mace and nutmegs within four months. He offered them at 100 dollars, and I would not give past 90,[178] wherefore he took time for consideration; when I observed that they deferred till the Hollanders might arrive, which was now doubtful, as the monsoon was almost spent. He took his leave, without making any bargain, having a smooth outside, but a rough mind.
[Footnote 176: It appears in the sequel that this was some tax or custom.--E.]
[Footnote 177: Another tax or imposition.--E.]
[Footnote 178: We suppose the Katti is here meant, as no quantity is expressed in the text--ASTL. I. 323. c.]
The 16th three large Dutch ships came in, and shot thirty, sixteen, and nine pieces of excellent ordnance.[179] Two of these came from Ternate, where they had lost Paul Van Cardan, their admiral, with seventy-four of their men, being taken by the Spaniards. The Dutch offered a ransom for him of 50,000 dollars; but they would hearken to no terms, except the surrender of fort Machian, formerly taken from them by him. The 18th the Dutch officers of the two largest came to visit me, and staid to supper; yet an Englishman reported that they meant to surprise me before the end of a month.
[Footnote 179: This strange expression is probably meant to indicate the respective number of cannon in each ship.--E.]
The states sent again for Rooba-rooba, which I refused to pay; so they sent again to say, now that the Dutch were come, I should have no trade unless I gave above 100 dollars; but I refused to give more than 100. After a long dispute, we at length agreed at 100 dollars; Rooba-rooba, 380 dollars; Serepinang, 50 dollars; besides pissalin, being a duty to the four sabanders of four pieces of Sarassa, or Malayan painted cloth. We received a beam and weight, the cattee being 99 dollars, or 5 pounds 13 1/2 ounces avoirdupoise. The 20th we began to weigh, and the Hollanders coming on shore, agreed at 100 dollars, paying 400 for Rooba-rooba, together with serepinang and pissalin. We had to bribe the Dutch in secret, or we must have been idle. The 23d I made a secret agreement with the chief of Pulo-way to send a factory to that island, for which I had to lend him 300 dollars, and to give 100 dollars more as serepinang; and the Dutch hearing of this next day, used their endeavour to prevent me. The 29th six large Holland ships and two small pinnaces came into the roads, which I saluted with nine guns, and was only answered with three. The 1st April I received from Pulo-way 225-1/4 cattees of mace, and 1307 1/2 cattees of nutmegs. The 11th we began to carry our nuts on board, being so constrained by the Dutch, who meant to land in a day or two; so that we had not time to select the best, nor to let them lie long enough in sweats.
The 13th I went on shore, and proposed to the sabander of Nera, as I had done several times before, the formal surrender of Bands to the sovereignty of the King of England, before the Hollanders might land or commence their intended fort. The states seemed to like this proposal, and promised to take it into consideration, and to give me an answer, but I was doubtful of their inconstancy, neither did they come to any conclusion. The Dutch landed 1200 men on the 15th from 20 boats, and the natives fled. The 20th I went on shore to fetch rice, in part of a debt due by Daton Patee to our company; but the Hollanders had dishonestly taken it, though their admiral promised I should have it. I then went among the Javans to buy rice, but they universally said they were enjoined by the Dutch not to sell me any, although I offered five dollars the coyoung more than the Dutch paid. When I got home, I found the person whom the admiral had formerly sent to me, and desired him to tell the admiral, that his taking my rice was great injustice, and if he were a gentleman, he would not permit his base people to abuse me as I walked about. He answered, that the admiral was a weaver and no gentleman; and being an Englishman, I reprehended him for so speaking; but he affirmed that all the Dutch spoke so of him.[180]
[Footnote 180: We here omit a long series of ill-told disputes with the Dutch; who, presuming on their greatly superior force, interrupted the trade of the English at Banda, and finally obliged Keeling to withdraw, very imperfectly provided with mace and nutmegs, and much dissatisfied. The narrative in Purchas is so abrupt, disjointed, and inconclusive, that it was found quite impossible to give it any consistency or interest.--E.]
The 4th of May I went to Pulo-way, where I got 1000 cattees of nutmegs, and 200 cattees of mace. The 1st August, the Dutch gave me a letter of credit, for the payment at Bantam of all the debts due me at Banda; and this day I went on shore, at the request of the Dutch governor, to view their fort, which was a square redoubt, with thirty pieces of artillery, eight of which were good brass demi-cannon. The 10th I weighed a half hundred against the ordinary Banda weights, and found it to contain 9-1/2 cattees, so that the cattee appears to equal 5 pounds 14-1/3 ounces avoirdupoise. The 11th I anchored near Macassar, in the island of Celebes, hoping to get cloves there in barter for cloth; but learning that a Dutch ship had been lost there lately, I desisted from the attempt, as the road of Macassar was reported to be dangerous. The 21st we anchored off Jackatra, in Java, where we found two Dutch ships, which had brought our people and their goods from Amboyna. The 26th we met a praw, in which was Ralph Hearne, sent to me by Mr John Saris from Bantam, to say that he had ready 3481 bags of pepper for me. We got that day into the road of Bantam, when Mr Saris came immediately on board.
The 13th September, 1609, at the request of the King of Bantam, I sent twenty-five armed men to make him pastime, in honour of his having the night before consummated his marriage. The 23d, having token on board 4900 bags of pepper, I prepared for our homeward voyage; and on the 27th I appointed the following members of our factory at that place: Augustine Spalding chief factor, at £50 a year; Francis Kellie surgeon, at 40s. a month; John Parsons at 30s. a month; Robert Neale 29s. Augustine Adwell 24s. Etheldred Lampre 20s. William Driver 20s. William Wilson 22s. William Lamwell 16s. Philip Badnedge 16s. Francisco Domingo 12s. Juan Seraon 10s. Adrian, Mr Towerson's boy, 10s.[181] Using every possible diligence to get away, I hired six persons to go along with us for England in assistance to our crew; and on the 30th, delivered over the charge of the factory to Spalding, giving him strict injunctions to beware of the Dutch insolence and hatred towards us, and therefore to have as little intercourse with them as possible.
[Footnote 181: These wages are here particularized, as a curious record of the original wages of the Company's servants in India.--E.]
I took leave of the governor or regent of Bantam on the 2d October, 1609, requesting his favour to our factory, which he promised with seeming heartiness; and on the 3d I went on board, after taking leave of all our friends. The 1st November we were in lat. 25° S. with 24° variation, being by our reckoning 650 leagues from Bantam, which we had run in 24 days. The 29th, in lat. 32° 30' S. and above 13° variation, we had all day a severe gale of wind, which at night became a storm at W.S.W. from the northward,[182] and put us to try with our main course, continuing all night and next day. In this, as sundry times before, we found the report of Linschot to be true, that generally all easterly winds, coming about to the northwards, if accompanied by rain, come presently round to W.S.W. with considerable violence.
[Footnote 182: This expression is unintelligible; but from the sequel, it appears the gale had been originally easterly, had then changed to the north, and finally settled in a storm at W.S.W.--E.]
Early in the morning of the 8th December, 1609, we fell in with the Terra de Natal, some six leagues west, being at noon in lat. 81° 27' S. with the variation about 8° 30', we standing S.S.E. under low sails, with the wind at S.W. We met a Hollander, from whom we learnt that the Erasmus, a ship of the fleet which went home from Bantam at the time of my arrival there in the Dragon, had sprung a leak at sea; and, being left by the rest of the fleet, steered for the Mauritius, where she unladed her goods, which were loft there with twenty-five persons till they and the goods could be sent for, the rest of her company being in this vessel. They farther told us, that there are two harbours in the island of Mauritius; one called the north-west harbour, in somewhat less than 20° S. the other called the south-east harbour, in 28° 15' S. All kinds of refreshments are to be had there, as fish, turtles, and manatis, in great abundance.[183] It has an infinite number and variety of fowls. Hogs and goats, only newly introduced, are in some reasonable number, and are fast increasing. The island is healthy, and between 30 and 40 leagues in circumference. The variation there is 21° westwards. They came from Bantam in May, were a month in getting to the Mauritius, had remained there four months and a half, and had been six weeks from thence, seventeen days of which with contrary winds.
[Footnote 183: The Lamantin, Trichechus Manatas Australis, Southern Manati, or Fish-tailed Walrus of naturalists. This singular amphibious animal, or rather aquatic quadruped, inhabits the southern seas of Africa and America, especially near the mouths of rivers, pasturing on aquatic plants, and browsing on the grass which grows close to the water. It varies in size from eight to seventeen feet long, and from 500 to 800 pounds weight, and the flesh is said to be good eating.--E.]
The 22d of December we were in lat. 85° 28' S. within seven leagues of Cape Aguillas,[184] which shews like two islands from where we were, being to the S.E. of it. Coming more athwart, it resembled three isles, two bays, N.E. and N.W. making three conspicuous, low, and seemingly round points. We had ground in the evening in 77 fathoms upon ooze, being about five leagues south from shore, and, as I guess, nearly to the westwards of the shoalest part of the bank. When bound homewards on this coast, and finding no weather for observation, either for latitude or variation, we may boldly and safely keep in sixty fathoms with shelly ground, and when finding ooze we are very near Cape Aguillas. When losing ground with 120 fathoms line, we may be sure of having passed the cape, providing we be within the latitude of 36° S. The 23d we steered all night W. by N. and W.N.W. with afresh easterly gale, seeing the land all along about eight or ten leagues from us, all high land. About noon we were near the Cape of Good Hope, to which we sailed in seventeen hours from Cape Aguillas. Being within three leagues of the sugarloaf, we stood off and on all night. The 28th I received by the Dutch boat from the island, six sheep, the fattest I ever saw, the tail of one being twenty-eight inches broad, and weighing thirty-five pounds. I got a main-top-sail of the Dutch, of which we were in extreme want, and gave them a note on our company to receive twelve pounds twelve shillings for the same. For the fat sheep we got on Penguin island, we left lean in their room. The Dutch here behaved to us in a very honest and Christian-like manner. I left a note here of my arrival and the state of my company, as others had done before me. All the time we remained at the Cape, from the 23d December, 1609, to the 10th January, 1610, the wind was westerly and southerly; whereas the two former times of my being here, at the same season, it blew storms at east.
[Footnote 184: This cape is only in lat. 34° 4S' S. So that their latitude here could not exceed 35° 10', giving an error in excess of eighteen minutes in the text--E.]
The 10th January, 1610, we weighed and set sail homewards. The 20th about noon we passed the tropic of Capricorn; and that evening the Dutch officers came and supped with me, whom I saluted with three guns at parting. The 30th before day-light, we got sight of St Helena, having steered sixty-six leagues west in that latitude. We came to anchor a mile from shore, in twenty-two fathoms sandy ground, N.W. from the chapel. This island is about 270 or 280 leagues west from the coast of Africa. We were forced to steer close under the high land to find anchorage, the bank being so steep as to have no anchorage farther out.
We weighed on the 9th February, making sail homewards, having received from the island nineteen goats, nine hogs, and thirteen pigs. The 16th we saw the island of Ascension, seven or eight leagues to the W.S.W. In the morning of the 28th, the wind westerly and reasonably fair weather, we spoke the Dutch ship, which made a waft for us at his mizen-top-mast head. He told us that he had only eight or nine men able for duty, all the rest being sick, and forty-six of his crew dead. This was a grievous chastisement for them, who had formerly offered to spare me twenty men or more upon occasion, and a never-sufficiently-to-be-acknowledged mercy to us, that they should be in so pitiable a case, while we had not lost one man, and were even all in good health. Towards night, considering our leak, with many other just causes on our part, besides our want of means to aid them, and at my company's earnest desire, we made sail and left them, not without sensible Christian grief that we could give them no assistance. Indeed, without asking us to remain by them, they desired us to acquaint any Dutch ship we might meet of their extreme distress, that the best means might be pursued for their relief. We were then in lat. 45° 6' N.
The 1st May, having fine weather and the wind at S.W. we were in lat. 49° 13' N. Early in the morning of the 2d, the wind came S. and blew a storm, putting us under our fore course. Towards night we spoke a Lubecker, who told us Scilly bore E. by N. thirty-eight German miles from us, which are fifty leagues. I told them of the Dutchman's distress; and as the wind was fair, made sail for England. In the morning of the 9th, Beechy-head was three leagues from us N.N.E. and on the 10th May, 1610, we anchored in the Downs about sunset, having spent three years, one month, and nine days on this voyage.
SECTION V.
Narrative by William Hawkins, of Occurrences during his Residence in the Dominions of the Great Mogul.[185]
INTRODUCTION.
This and the next following section may be considered as supplementary to the one immediately preceding; as Captain Hawkins in the Dragon accompanied Captain Keeling, in the third voyage fitted out by the English Company; and Finch was in the same vessel with Hawkins, and accompanied him into the country of the Mogul. The present narrative is said, in its title in the Pilgrims, to have been written to the company, and evidently appears to have been penned by Hawkins himself, without any semblance of having been subjected to the rude pruning knife of Purchas; except omitting so much of the journal as related to occurrences before landing at Surat. Purchas gives the following account of it in a side-note.--E.
[Footnote 185: Purch. Pilg. I. 206.]
"Captain Keeling and William Hawkins had kept company all the outward-bound voyage, as already related, and therefore not necessary to be here repeated, to the road of Delisa, in Socotora, whence, on the 24th June, 1603, Captain Keeling departed in the Dragon, as before related. Captain Hawkins sailed from Delisa in the Hector, for Surat, on the 4th August, having previously built a pinnace, and having received from the general, Captain Keeling, a duplicate of the commission under the great seal."--Purch.
SECTION 1. Barbarous Usage at Surat by Mucrob Khan; and the treacherous Procedure of the Portuguese and Jesuits.
Arriving at the bar of Surat on the 24th August, 1608, I immediately sent Francis Bucke, merchant, and two others, on shore, to make known that I was sent by the King of England, as his ambassador to the king of the country, together with a letter and present. In answer, I received a message from the governor, by three of his servants accompanying those I sent, saying, he and all that country could afford were at my command, and that I should be made very welcome if I pleased to come on shore. I accordingly landed, accompanied by our merchants and others, equipped in the best manner I could, as befitting the honour of my king and country. On landing, I was well received after their barbarous manner, and vast multitudes of the natives followed after me, desirous of seeing a new-come people whom they had often heard of, but who had never before visited their country. When I drew near the governor's house, I was told he was not well, but I rather think he was drunk with affion [or opium,] being an aged man. I went therefore to the chief customer, being the only officer to whom sea-faring causes belonged; as the government of Surat pertained to two great noblemen, one of whom, Khan-Khana, was viceroy of the Decan,[186] and the other, Mucrob-Khan, was viceroy of Cambaya or Guzerat, who had no command in Surat except what regarded the king's customs, and with him only I had to deal.
[Footnote 186: He was only viceroy of the projected conquest of the Decan.--E.]
I told him that the purpose of my coming to Surat was to establish a factory there, and that I had a letter from the king of England to his sovereign for that effect, my sovereign being desirous to form a treaty of peace and amity with his; so that the English might freely come and go, and make sales and purchases, according to the usage of all nations; and finally, that my ship was laden with commodities from our country, which, according to the intelligence of former travellers, were there in request. To this he answered, that he would immediately dispatch an express to his master at Cambaya, as he could do nothing of himself in the premises without his orders. So, taking my leave, I departed to the lodging appointed for me, which was at the custom-house. Next morning I went to visit the governor of the city, to whom I made a present, and who received me with much gravity and outward show of kindness, bidding me heartily welcome, and saying that the country was at my command. After compliments on both sides, I entered upon my main business, when he told me that my affairs were not in his department, as all sea-faring or commercial matters belonged to Mucrob-Khan, to whom at Cambaya he promised to dispatch a footman, and would write a letter in my behalf both for the unloading of my ship and the establishment of a factory. In the meantime he appointed me to lodge with a merchant who understood Turkish, who was my trucheman, or interpreter, being the captain of that ship which was taken by Sir Edward Michelburn.
In consequence of the great rains and heavy floods it was twenty days before the messenger returned from Cambaya; in which interval many of the merchants entertained me in a very friendly manner, when the weather was such that I could get out of doors; for, during almost the whole time of the messenger's absence, it rained almost continually. At the end of twenty days, the messenger came back from Cambaya with the answer of Mucrob Khan, giving licence to land my goods, and to buy and sell for the present voyage; but that he could not grant leave to establish a factory, or for the settlement of future trade, without the commands of his king, which he thought might be procured, if I would take a two months journey to deliver my king's letter to his sovereign. He likewise sent orders to the customer, that all the goods I might land were to be kept in the custom-house till the arrival of his brother Sheck Abder Rachim, who was to make all convenient dispatch, on purpose to chuse such goods as were fit for the king's use. It may be noticed, however, that this pretence of taking some part of the goods of all men for the king, is merely for their own private gain. Upon this answer I made all dispatch to ease my ship of her heavy burden of lead and iron, which must of necessity be landed, and were placed under the care of the customer till the arrival of the great man. The time being precious, and my ship not able to stay long, I sent on board for three chests of money, with which to purchase such commodities as are vendible at Priaman and Bantam, being those which the Guzerates carry there yearly, and sell to great profit. I then began to make purchases, to the great dissatisfaction of the native merchants, who made loud complaints to the governor and customer of the leave granted me to buy these commodities, which would greatly injure their trade at Priaman and Bantam, supposing I meant only to have bought such goods as were fit for England. At the end of this business the great man arrived from Cambaya, who allowed me to ship my purchases.
In a council of all our merchants, respecting the delivery of the king's letter and the establishment of a factory, it was concluded that these weighty matters could only be properly accomplished by me, from the experience of my former travels, and my knowledge of the language, and as it was known to all that I was the person appointed ambassador for this purpose. I therefore agreed to remain for these ends, and made all haste to ship the goods and dispatch the vessel. This done, I called Mr Marlow and all of the ship's company who were on shore, and acquainted them with my intentions, directing them all to receive Mr Marlow as their commander; and to give him all due reverence and obedience as they had done me. I then accompanied them to the water-side, and bade them farewell.
Next day, when going about my affairs to wait upon Abder Rachim, I met ten or twelve of the better sort of our men in a great fright, who told me that our two barks, with thirty men, and all our goods, had been taken by a Portuguese frigate or two,[187] they only having escaped. I asked in what manner they were taken, and if they did not fight in their own defence?[188] They answered me, that Mr Marlow would not allow them, as the Portuguese were our friends. They said also that Bucke had gone to the Portuguese without a pawn, and had betrayed them; but, in fact, Bucke went on the oath and faithful promise of the Portuguese captain, but was never allowed to return. I sent immediately a letter to the captain-major of the Portuguese, demanding the release of our men and goods, as we were English, and our sovereigns were in peace and amity; adding, that we were sent to the Mogul's country by our king, with letters for the Mogul to procure licence for us to trade; and that I held the king's commission for the government of the English in that country; that his restoring his majesty's subjects and their goods would be well taken at his own king's hands, but the contrary would produce a breach between the crowns of England and Spain. On the receipt of this letter, as the messenger told me, the proud rascal vapoured exceedingly, most vilely abusing our king, whom he called a king of fishermen, and of a contemptible island, whose commission he despised; and scornfully refused to send me any answer.
[Footnote 187: These frigates could only be small armed boats, otherwise the English in the barks could not have been found fault with for not fighting.--E.]
[Footnote 188: This not fighting was upbraided to our men by the Indians as much disgrace; but was since recovered with interest, by our sea-fights with the Portuguese.--Purch.]
I chanced, on the following day, to meet the captain of one of the Portuguese frigates, who came on business ashore from the captain-major; which business, as I understand, was to desire the governor to send me to him as a prisoner, because we were Hollanders. Knowing what he was, I took occasion to speak to him of the abuses offered to the King of England and his subjects. He pretended that these seas belonged to the King of Portugal, and no one ought to come there without his licence. I told him, that the seas of India were as free to subjects of England as to those of Spain, and that the licence of the King of England was as valid as that of the King of Spain, and whoever pretended otherwise was a liar and a villain; and desired him to tell his captain-major, that in abusing the King of England he was a base villain, and a traitor to his own king, which I was ready to maintain against him with my sword, if he dared to come on shore, whereto I challenged him. Seeing that I was much moved, the Moors caused the Portuguese to depart. This Portuguese came to my house some two hours after, and offered to procure the release of my men and goods, if I would be liberal to him. I entertained him kindly, and gave him great promises; but before he left the town, my men and goods were sent off for Goa.
I had my goods ready about five days before I could get a clearance to ship them, waiting for the arrival of Abder Rachim, which was the 3d October; and two days afterwards the ship set sail. I was now left in Surat with only one merchant, William Finch, who was mostly sick, and unable to go abroad to do any business; all the rest of my attendants being two servants, a cook, and a boy, which were all the company I had to defend us from so many enemies, who went about to destroy us, and endeavoured to prevent my going to the Great Mogul. But God preserved me, and in spite of them all, I took heart and resolution to proceed on my travels. After the departure of our ship, I learnt that my men and goods had been betrayed to the Portuguese by Mucrob Khan and his followers; for it was a laid plot by Mucrob Khan and the Jesuit Peneiro, to protract time till the Portuguese frigates might come to the bar of Surat, which was done so secretly that we never beard of them till they had taken our barks.
So long as my ship remained at the bar I was much flattered, but after her departure I was most unsufferably misused; being in a heathen country, environed by so many enemies, who plotted daily to murder me and to cozen me of my goods. Mucrob Khan, to get possession of my goods, took what he chose, and left what he pleased, giving me such price as his own barbarous conscience dictated; where thirty-five was agreed, giving me only eighteen, not regarding his brother's bill, who had his full authority. Even on his own terms, it was hardly possible to get any money from his chief servant, as we only received a small part after the time appointed was expired, before Mucrob came to Surat; and after he came I was debarred of all, though he outwardly flattered and dissembled for almost three months, feeding me with continual promises. In the meantime he came three times to my house, sweeping me clean of all things that were good; and when he saw I had no more worth coveting, he gradually withdrew his attentions and pretended kindness. Most of this time William Finch was ill of the flux, but, thank God, he recovered past all hope. As for me I durst not venture out of doors, as the Portuguese were lurking about in crowds to assault or murder me, their armada being then at Surat.
Their first plot against me was thus. I was invited by Hagio [Haji] Nazam to the dispatching of his ship for Mecca, as it is the custom on such occasions to make great feasts for all the principal people of the town. It was my good fortune at this time, that a great captain belonging to the viceroy of Guzerat, residing in Amadavar, [Ahmedabad,] was then at Surat, and was likewise invited to this feast, which was held at the water-side, near which the Portuguese had two frigates of their armada, which came there to receive tribute for the ships about to depart, and likewise to procure refreshments. Out of these frigates there came three gallants to the tent where I was, and some forty Portuguese were scattered about the water-side, ready to join in the assault on the first signal. These three gallants that came to our tent, were armed in buff-coats down to their knees, with rapiers and pistols at their sides, and, immediately on entering, demanded who was the English captain? I presently rose, and told them I was the man; and seeing some intended mischief by their countenances, I immediately laid hand on my weapon. The Mogul captain, perceiving treason was meant against me, both he and his followers drew their swords; and if the Portuguese had not been the swifter, both they and their scattered crew had come ill off.
Another time some thirty or forty of them came to assault me in my house, having a friar along with them to animate their courage, and give them absolution. But I was always on my guard, and had a strong house with good doors. Many of the Portuguese at other times used to lurk for me and mine in the streets; so that I was forced to complain to the governor, that I could not go about my business on account of the Portuguese coming armed into the city to murder me; and represented that they were not in use at other times to come armed into the city. The governor then sent word to the Portuguese not to come armed into the city at their peril.
Mucrob Khan came to Surat accompanied by a Jesuit named Padre Peneiro, who had offered him 40,000 dollars to send me prisoner to Damaun, as I was afterwards certainly informed by Hassen Ally and Ally Pommory. On his arrival I went to visit him, giving him presents, besides those formerly given to his brother; and for a time, as already mentioned, I had many outward shows of kindness from him, till such time as I demanded my money, when he told me flatly he would not give me 20 mahmudies the vara, as had been agreed, but would rather give me back my cloth. I dissembled my sense of this unjust procedure as well as I could, entreating leave to proceed to Agra to wait upon the king; telling him I meant to leave William Finch as chief in my place, who would either receive the money or the goods, as he might please to conclude. Upon this he gave me his licence and a letter to the king, promising me an escort of forty horsemen; which promise he did not perform. After I got this licence, Father Peneiro put into his head that he ought not to allow me to go, as I would complain against him to the king; thus plotting to overthrow my intended journey. Mucrob Khan could not prevent my going, because I was sent by a king; but endeavoured to prevail on my interpreter and coachman to poison or murder me by the way; which invention was devised by the Jesuit. But God, of his mercy, discovered these plots, and the contrivances of the Jesuit took no effect.
SECTION 2. Journey of the Author to Agra, and his Entertainment at the Court of the Great Mogul.
William Finch being now in good health, I left all things belonging to our trade in his hands, giving him instructions how to conduct himself in my absence. So I began to take up soldiers to conduct me in safety; being denied by Muerob Khan. Besides some shot and bowmen whom I hired, I applied to a captain of the Khan-Khana, to let me have 40 or 50 horsemen to escort me to the Khan-Khana, who was then viceroy of Deccan, and resided in Bramport.[189] This captain did all in his power for me, giving me a party of Patan horsemen, who are much feared in these parts for their valour. If I had not done this I had surely been overthrown, as the Portuguese of Damaun had induced an ancient friend of theirs, a Hajah, who was absolute lord of a province called Cruly, situated between Damaun, Guzerat, and the Deccan, to be ready with 200 horsemen to intercept me; but I went so well provided with a strong escort, that they durst not encounter me; and for that time also I escaped. Then at Dayta,[190] another province or principality, my coachman having got drunk with some of his kinsmen, discovered that he was hired to murder me. Being overheard by some of my soldiers, they came and told me that it was to have been done next morning at the commencement of our journey, as we usually set out two hours before day. Upon this notice, I examined the coachman and his friends, in presence of the captain of my escort. He could not deny the truth, but would not reveal who had hired him, though much beaten; and cursed his bad luck that he could not effect his purpose. So I sent him back prisoner to the governor of Surat. My broker or interpreter afterwards told me, that both he and the coachman were hired by Mucrob Khan, by the persuasion of the Jesuit, the one to poison and the other to murder me. The interpreter said he was to receive nothing till the deed was done, which he never meant to perform, being resolved to be faithful. Thus God again preserved me. This was five days after the commencement of my journey, having left Surat on the 1st February, 1609.
[Footnote 189: The names of places in Hindustan are often very much corrupted in the early voyages and travels, so as sometimes to be unintelligible. Burhampoor, or Boorhanpoor, in Candeish, is certainly the place indicated in the text, about 260 English miles almost due east from Surat.--E.]
[Footnote 190: Neither Cruly nor Dayta are to be found in our best modern map of Hindostan by Arrowsmith. It may be noticed on this subject, that most places in Hindostan have more than one name; being often known to the natives by one name in their vernacular language, while another name is affixed in Persian, by the Mogul conquerors. The names of places likewise are often changed, at the pleasure of successive possessors; and the continual wars and revolutions have made wonderful changes in the distribution of dominion, since this journey of Hawkins.--E.]
Continuing my journey for Burhanpoor, some two days after leaving Dayta, the Patans who had hitherto escorted me went back, leaving me to be forwarded by another Patan captain, who was governor of that lordship, by whom I was kindly entertained. His name was Sher-Khan, and having been some time a prisoner among the Portuguese, and speaking that language fluently, he was glad to do me service, being of a nation that is in great enmity to the Portuguese. He escorted me in person with forty horsemen for two days, till we were past the dangerous places; during which time he encountered a troop of outlaws, of whom he took four alive and slew eight, all the rest escaping. Before leaving me, he gave me letters, authorising me to use his house at Burhanpoor, which was a very great courtesy, as otherwise I should hardly have known where to get lodgings, the city being so full of soldiers, which were preparing for war with the people of the Deccan. I arrived in safety at Burhanpoor, thanks be to God, on the eighteenth of February. Next day I went to court to visit the Khan-Khana, who was lord-general and viceroy of the Deccan, and made him a present, as the custom is, which he received very graciously. After three hours conference, he made me a feast; and being, risen from table, he invested me with two robes, one of fine woollen, and the other of cloth of gold; giving me a letter of recommendation to the king, which availed me much. Then embracing me, I departed. The language we spoke was Turkish, which he spoke very well.
I remained in Burhanpoor till the 2d of March, not being sooner able to effect the exchange of the money I had with me, and waiting likewise to join a caravan. Having then got a new escort of soldiers, I resumed my journey to Agra, where, after much fatigue and many dangers, I arrived in safety on the 16th April. Being in the city, and seeking out for a house in a secret manner, notice was carried to the king of my arrival, but that I was not to be found. He presently charged many troops both of horse and foot to seek for me, and commanded his knight-marshal to bring me in great state to court, as an ambassador ought to be; which he did with a great train, making such extraordinary haste, that he hardly allowed me time to put on my best apparel. In fine, I was brought before the king, bringing only a slight present of cloth, and that not esteemed, as what I had designed for the king was taken from me by Mucrob Khan, of which I complained to his majesty. After making my salutation, he bid me heartily welcome with a smiling countenance; on which I repeated my obeisance and duty. Having his majesty's letter in my hand, he called me to come near him, reaching down his hand from his royal seat, where he sat in great majesty on high to be seen of the people. He received the letter very graciously, viewing it for some time, both looking at the seal and at the way in which it was made up; and then called an old Jesuit who was present, to read and explain the letter. While the Jesuit was reading the letter, he spoke to me in the kindest manner, asking me the contents of the letter, which I told him: Upon which he immediately promised, and swore by God, that he would grant and allow with all his heart every thing the king had asked, and more if his majesty required. The Jesuit told him the substance of the letter, but discommended the style, saying that it was basely penned, writing vestia without majestad. On which I said to the king, "May it please your majesty, these people are our enemies: How can it be that this letter should be irreverently expressed, seeing that my sovereign demands favour from your majesty?" He acknowledged the truth of this observation.
Perceiving that I understood Turkish, which he spoke with great readiness, he commanded me to follow him into his presence-chamber, having then risen from the place of open audience, as he wished to have farther conference with me. I went in accordingly, and waited there two hours, till the King returned from his women. Their calling me to him, he said he understood that Mucrob Khan had not dealt well by me, but desired me to be of good cheer, for he would remedy all. It would seem that the enemies of Mucrob Khan had acquainted the king with all his proceedings; for indeed the king has spies upon the conduct of all his nobles. I made answer, that I was quite certain all matters would go well with me so long as his majesty was pleased to grant me his protection. After this, he presently dispatched a post to Surat with his commands to Mucrob Khan, earnestly enjoining him in our behalf, as he valued his friendship, which he would lose if he did not deal justly by the English, according to their desire. By the same messenger I sent a letter to William Finch, desiring him to go with this command to Mucrob Khan, at the receipt of which he wondered that I had got safe to Agra, and had not been murdered or poisoned by the way; of which speech Finch informed me afterwards.
After some farther conference with the king, as it grew late, he commanded that I should be brought daily into his presence, and gave me in charge to one of his captains, named Houshaber Khan, ordering that I should lodge at his house till a convenient residence could be procured for my use; and that when I was in want of any thing from the king, he was to act as my solicitor. According to his command, I resorted daily to court, having frequent conference with the king, both by day and by night; as he delighted much to talk with me, both of the affairs of England and other countries; and also made many enquiries respecting the West Indies, of which he had heard long before, yet doubted there being any such place, till I assured him I had been in the country.
Many days and weeks passed thus, and I became in high favour with the king, to the great grief of all mine enemies; when, chusing a favourable time, I solicited his order or commission for the establishment of our factory. He asked me, if I meant to remain at his court? to which I answered, that I should do so till our ships came to Surat, when I proposed to go home with his majesty's answer to the letter from my king. He then said, that he expected I should stay much longer, as he intended by our next ships to send an ambassador to the King of England, and he wished me to remain with him till a successor was sent to me from my sovereign: That my remaining would be of material benefit to my nation, as I should be in the way to put all wrongs to right, if any were offered to the English, as whatever I might see beneficial for them would be granted to my petitions; swearing by his father's soul, that if I remained with him, he would grant me articles for our factory to my full contentment, and would never go back from his word; and that besides he would give me ample maintenance. I answered, that I would consider of his proposal: And, as he was daily inciting me to stay, I at last consented; considering that I should be able to do good service both to my own sovereign and him, especially as he offered me an allowance of £4200 sterling for the first year, promising yearly to augment my salary till I came to the rank of 1000 horse; my first year being the allowance of commander of 400. The nobility of India have their titles and emoluments designated by the number of horse they command, from 40 up to 12,000, which last pay belongs only to princes and their sons.
Trusting, therefore, to his promises, and believing that it might be beneficial both to my nation and myself, I did not think it amiss to yield to his request; considering that I was deprived of the advantages I might have reaped by going to Bantam; and that your worships would send another in my place after half a dozen years, while in the mean time I might do you service and feather my own nest. Then, because my name was somewhat harsh for his pronunciation, he gave me the name of Ingles Khan, which is to say English lord: though in Persia khan is equivalent to duke. Being now in the height of favour, the Jesuits and Portuguese did every thing they could for my overthrow; and indeed the principal Mahometans about the king envied much to see a Christian in such favour.
Father Peneiro, who was with Mucrob Khan, and the Jesuits here at Agra, in my opinion did little regard their masses and other church matters, in studying how to overthrow my affairs. Advice being sent to Goa and Padre Peneiro at Surat or Cambaya, by the Jesuits here at Agra, of my favour with the king, they did all in their power to gain Mucrob Khan to aid the Portuguese; for which purpose the viceroy at Goa wrote to him, sending rich presents, together with many toys for the king. These presents, and many fair promises, so wrought with Mucrob Khan, that he sent a memorial to the king, accompanied by the present from the viceroy, stating, that permitting the English to trade in the land would occasion the loss of the maritime country about Surat, Cambaya, and other places; and that his ancient friends the Portuguese were much offended by his entertaining me, as a rumour went among them that I was now general of 10,000 horse, and was ready to assault Diu on the arrival of the next English ships. The letter of the Portuguese viceroy was much to the same effect. To all which the king answered, that he had but one Englishman at his court, whom they had no reason to fear, as he pretended to none of those things they alleged, and had refused an establishment near the sea, preferring to live at court.
The Portuguese were quite enraged with this answer, and laboured incessantly to get me out of the world. I then represented to the king the dangerous predicament in which I was, and the uncomfortable situation I was reduced to: My boy Stephen Grosvenor just dead, and my man Nicholas Ufflet extremely sick, who was the only English person with me, while I was myself beginning to fall much off. The king immediately called for the Jesuits, and assured them, if I died by any extraordinary casualty, that they should all feel it to their cost. The king was then very earnest with me to take a white maiden from his palace to be my wife, offering to give her slaves and all other things necessary, and promising that she would turn Christian; by which means, he said, my meat and drink would be properly looked after by her and her women, and I might live without fear. In answer, I refused to accept of any Mahometan woman, but said if any Christian could be found I would gratefully accept his royal bounty.
Then the king called to remembrance the daughter of one Mubarick Shah, who was an Armenian Christian, of the most ancient Christian race; Mubarick having been a captain, and in great favour with Acbar Padisha, this king's father. This captain had died suddenly, and without a will, leaving a vast deal of money, all of which was robbed by his brothers and kinsmen, or absorbed in debts due to him which could not be recovered, leaving only a few jewels to this his only child. Considering that she was a Christian of honest descent, and that I had passed my word to the king, I could no longer resist my fortune: Wherefore I took her, and, for want of a minister, I married her before Christian witnesses, my man Nicholas Ufflet acting as priest; which I thought had been lawful, till I met with the chaplain who came with Sir Henry Middleton, who shewed me the error; on which I was again married. Henceforwards I lived contented and without fear, my wife being willing to go where I went, and to live as I lived.[191]
[Footnote 191: She went away along with him for England; but as he died by the way, she afterwards married Mr Towerson.--Purch.]
After the settlement of this affair, news were sent me that the Ascension was coming to Surat, which was learnt from the men belonging to her pinnaces, which were cast away near that place. I then went to the king, and told him of this circumstance, craving his leave to repair to Surat, with his commission for settling trade at that port, which he was very willing to allow, limiting me to a certain time of absence, when I was to return again to Agra. When the king's chief vizir, Abdal Hassan, heard this, who was an enemy of all Christians, he told the king that my going would be the occasion of war, and might occasion the ruin of one of his great men, who had been sent to Goa to purchase toys for the king. Upon this, the king signified his pleasure that I was to remain; but gave immediate orders to have the commission effectually written and sent off to the chief factor at Surat. In fine, the commission was written out in golden letters under his great seal, as fully, freely, and firmly, for our benefit as we could possibly desire. This I presently obtained, and sent it off to William Finch at Surat.
Before its arrival, news came that the Ascension was cast away, and her men saved, but were not allowed to come to Surat. I immediately communicated this intelligence to the king, who was much dissatisfied with the conduct of Mucrob Khan, my great enemy, and gave me another order for their good usage, and that every means should be used to save the goods if possible. These two royal orders came almost at the same time to Surat, to the great joy of William Finch and the rest, who much admired how I had been able to procure them. Thus continuing in great favour with the king, being almost continually in his sight, and serving him for half the twenty-four hours, I failed not to have most of his nobles for my enemies, who were chiefly Mahometans; for it went against their hearts to see a Christian in so great favour and familiarity with the king, and more especially because he had promised to make his brother's children Christians, which he actually caused to be done about two years after my coming to Agra.
Some time after, some of the people belonging to the Ascension came to me, whom I could have wished to have behaved themselves better, as their conduct was much pried into by the king.[192] In all this time I had been unable to recover the debt due me by Mucrob Khan. At length he was sent for by the king, to answer for many faults laid to his charge, and much injustice and tyranny he had been guilty of to the people under his authority, having ruined many, who petitioned the king for justice. This dog now sent many bribes to the king's sons and the nobles about his person, to endeavour to make his peace, and they laboured, in his behalf. When news came that Mucrob Khan was near, the king sent orders to attach his goods, which were so abundant that the king was two months in viewing them, every day allotting a certain quantity to be brought before him. What the king thought fit for his own use he kept, and returned the rest to Mucrob Khan. In viewing these goods, there appeared certain muskets, with a rich corselet and head-piece, with other things, forming the present I intended for the king; which Mucrob had taken from me under pretence that they were for the king, and would not allow me to deliver myself. At the sight of these, I was so bold as to tell the king they were mine.
[Footnote 192: In a side-note at this place, Purchas says that Mr Alexander Sharpey, their general, came to Agra along with them; which is not mentioned in the text, but will be found in the narrative of Sharpens voyage in the sequel.--E.]
After the king had viewed these goods, a Banyan made a most grievous complaint to the king against Mucrob Khan, who had taken away his daughter, pretending she was for the king; but had deflowered her himself, and gave her afterwards to a Bramin who was in his service. The man who made this charge protested, that his daughter surpassed all women he had ever seen for beauty. This matter being examined into, and the offence clearly proved against Mucrob, he was committed as a prisoner into the custody of a noble of high rank; and the Bramin was condemned to be made a complete eunuch. Before this happened I went several times to visit Mucrob, who made many fair promises that he would deal honestly by me and be my friend, and that I should have my right. After his disgrace his friends daily solicited for him, and at length got him clear; but with commandment to pay every man his right, and that no more complaints should be heard against him, if he loved his life. So he paid every one his due except me, whom he would not pay. I then entreated him to deliver me back my cloth, that I might if possible end with him by fair means; but he put me off from day to day with fresh delays till his departure shortly after; for the king restored him his place again, and he was to go to Goa about a fair ballas ruby and other rarities which were promised to the king.
SECTION 3. The Inconstancy of the King, and the Departure of Captain Hawkins with Sir Henry Middleton to the Red Sea, and thence to Bantam, and afterwards for England.
All my going and sending to Mucrob Khan for my money and cloth were in vain, and seeing myself so grossly abused by him, I was forced to demand justice of the king, who commanded that the money should be brought before him; yet for all the king's commands, Mucrob did as he liked, and in spite of every thing I could do or say, he finally cheated me of 12,500 mahmudies which he owed me, besides interest.[193] The greatest man in the whole country was his friend, who with many others took his part, and were continually murmuring to the king about suffering the English to come into the country, saying, that if our nation once got footing in the country we would dispossess him of it.[194] The king, upon this, called me before him to make answer to these charges. I said, if any such matters were done or attempted, I was ready to answer with my life, for the English were in no respect that base nation that our enemies represented; and that all these things were laid to our charge merely because I demanded my due and could not get it. At this time I used to visit daily the king's chief favourites and nearest relatives, who spoke to him in my favour, so that he commanded no more such injuries to be offered me. So, thinking to use my best endeavour to recover my loss, I spoke to the chief vizier, that he might aid me; but he answered me in a threatening manner, that if I opened my mouth again on this subject, he would oblige me to pay 100,000 mahmudies, which the king had lost in his customs at Surat, to which no persons durst now trade for fear of the Portuguese, who were displeased because the king entertained me, and granted licence for the English to trade. Owing to this I was constrained to be silent, for I knew that my money had been swallowed up by these dogs.
[Footnote 193: On some other occasions in these voyages, the mahmudy is said to be worth about a shilling.--E.]
[Footnote 194: This may appear somewhat in the spirit of prophecy, as the English are now masters of a very large portion of the Mogul empire in Hindostan. This unwieldy empire broke in pieces by its own weight, and the original vices of its constitution; after which its fragments have gradually been conquered by the India Company, whose dominions now include Delhi and Agra, two of its great capitals, and many of its finest provinces--E.]
Mucrob Khan was now ordered in public to make ready to depart upon an appointed day for Guzerat, whence he was to proceed to Goa, and was on that day to come to court to take leave, as is the custom. At this time three principal merchants of Surat came to court about affairs in which they had been employed by the king or the chief vizier. Likewise, some six days before this, a letter came to the king from the Portuguese viceroy, accompanied by a present of many rarities; in which letter the viceroy represented how highly the King of Portugal was dissatisfied at the English being admitted into the king's dominions, considering the ancient amity between him and his majesty. After many compliments, the viceroy stated, that a merchant had arrived at Goa with a very fine ballas ruby, weighing 350 rotties, of which the pattern was sent. On coming to take his leave, accompanied by Padre Peneiro, who was to go along with him, the three Surat merchants being in the presence, Mucrob Khan made his speech to the king, saying that he hoped to obtain the great ruby, and many other valuable things, for his majesty from the Portuguese, if the privileges granted to the English were disannulled; and besides, that it would occasion great loss to his majesty and his subjects, if the English were suffered any more to frequent his ports. In confirmation of this, he called upon the Surat merchants to declare to his majesty what loss was occasioned by the English, as they best knew. They affirmed that they were all likely to be undone because of the English trading at Surat, and that no toys or curiosities would hereafter come into his majesty's dominions, because the Portuguese, being masters of the sea, would not suffer them to go in or out of the ports, because of the licence granted to the English. All this was a plot concerted by the Portuguese with Mucrob Khan and the vizier, with the assistance of the jesuits; and by means of these speeches, and the king's anxiety to procure the great ruby, together with the promises of the padres to procure many rarities for his majesty, my affairs were utterly overthrown; and the king commanded Mucrob Khan to inform the Portuguese viceroy, that the English should not be suffered any more to come into his ports.
I now saw plainly that it would be quite bootless for me to make any attempt to counteract these plots, by petitioning the king, till a good while after the departure of Mucrob Khan, as my enemies were very numerous, though they had received many presents from me. When I saw a convenient time, I resolved to petition the king again, having in the mean time found a fit toy to present, as the custom is, for no man who makes a petition must come empty handed. On presenting this petition, the king immediately granted my request, commanding the vizier to make me out another commission or licence in as ample form as before, and expressly commanded that no person should presume to speak to him to the contrary, it being his fixed resolution that the English should have freedom to trade in his dominions. Of this alteration the Jesuits at Agra had immediate notice; for no matter passes in the court of the Mogul, however secret, but it may be known in half an hour, by giving a small matter to the secretary of the day; for every thing is written down, and the writers or secretaries have their appointed days in turn. The Jesuits instantly sent off a speedy messenger with letters to Peneiro and Mucrob Khan, giving them notice of this new turn in my affairs; on receipt of which they immediately resolved not to proceed to Goa till I were again overthrown. Thereupon Mucrob Khan transmitted a petition to the king, and letters to his friend the vizier, stating that it was not for his majesty's honour to send him to Goa, if the promises made to the Portuguese were not performed; and that the purpose of his journey would be entirely frustrated, if the new licence given to the English were not recalled. On reading this, the king went again from his word and recalled my licence, esteeming a few toys promised him by the Jesuits beyond his honour.
Being desirous to see the final issue of these things, I went to Hogio Jahan, [Haji Jehan], who was lord-general of the king's palace, and second officer of the kingdom, entreating him to stand my friend. He went immediately to the king, telling him that I was sore cast down, because Abdul Hassan, the chief vizier, would not deliver me the commission which his majesty had accorded to me. Being in the presence, and very near the king, I heard him give the following answer: "It is very true that the commission is sealed and ready for delivery; but owing to letters received front Mucrob Khan, and better consideration respecting the affairs of my ports in Guzerat, I do not now think fit that it should be granted." Thus was I tossed and tumbled, like a merchant adventuring his all in one bottom, and losing all at once by storms or pirates. In regard likewise to my pension, I was mightily crossed; as many times when I applied to Abdul Hassan, he would make answer, "I know well that you are in no such need, as your own master bears your charges, and the king knew not what he did in giving to you, from whom he ought on the contrary to receive." I represented to him that it was his majesty's pleasure, and none of my request, and being his majesty's gift, I saw no reason for being deprived of my right. Then he would bid me have patience, and he would find me out a good living. Thus was I put off from time to time by this mine enemy; insomuch that all the time I served at court I could not get a living that would yield me any thing, the vizier giving me always my living on assignments on places that were in the hands of outlaws or insurgents, except once that I had an assignment on Lahor by special command of the king, but of which I was soon deprived; and all I received from the beginning was not quite £300, and even of this a considerable portion was spent upon the charges of men sent to the lordships on which my pension was assigned.
Seeing now that the living which the king had bestowed upon me was taken away, I was past all hope; for before this, on hearing that our ships were arrived, I expected the king would perform his former promises, in hopes of receiving rare things from England. When I now presented a petition to the king concerning my pension, he turned me over to Abdul Hassan, who not only refused to let me have my pension, but gave orders that I should be no more permitted to come within the red rails, being the place of honour in the presence; where all the time of my residence hitherto I was placed very near the king's person, only five men of the whole court being before me.
My affairs being thus utterly overthrown, I determined, with the advice of my friends, to know exactly what I had to rest upon, and either to be well in or well out. I therefore made ready and presented a petition to the king, representing how I had been dealt with by Abdul Hassan who had himself appropriated what his majesty had been pleased to order for my living: That the expences of my residence at court for so long a time, at his majesty's command, and under promises to provide for me, would be my utter ruin; wherefore, I humbly entreated his majesty to take my case into his gracious consideration, either to establish me as formerly, or to grant me leave to depart. In answer to this, he gave me permission to go away, and commanded a safe conduct to be given me, to pass freely and without molestation throughout his dominions. On receiving this passport, I came to make my obeisance, and to take my leave, when I entreated to have an answer to the letters of my sovereign. On this Abdul Hassan came to me from the king, and utterly refused in a disdainful manner; saying, that it was not meet for so great a monarch to write a letter to any petty prince or governor. To this I answered, that the king knew more of the mightiness of the King of England than to suppose him a petty governor.
I went home to my house, using all my endeavours to get my goods and debts gathered together, meaning to purchase commodities with the money remaining, and exerted every diligence to get out of the country, waiting only for the return of Nicholas Ufflet from Lahor with some indigo then in charge of William Finch, who was determined to go home over land, as he had no hope of our ever being able to embark at Surat. I would willingly have gone home by the same route, but it was well known that I could not travel through Turkey, especially in company with a female. I was forced therefore to curry favour with the Jesuits, to procure me a pass or seguro from the Portuguese viceroy, to go by way of Goa to Portugal, and thence to England. But when the mother and kindred of my wife saw that I was about to take her away, and supposing they should never see her more, they were so importunate with me, that I was forced to engage that she should go no farther with me than Goa, which was in India, and where they could go to visit her; and that, if at any time I were to go to Portugal or elsewhere, I should then leave her with such a dower as is usual with the Portuguese when they die. But knowing that if my wife should chuse to go with me, all these might have no effect, I concerted with the Jesuits to procure me two seguros or passports; one giving me free permission and liberty of conscience to reside and trade at Goa, which only I meant to show to my wife's relations; while the other was to contain an absolute grant for a free passage to Portugal, and so for England, with my wife and goods, so as not to be hindered by any interference of my wife's relations; any thing that I might be under the necessity of conceding to them to be void and of no effect, but that I should have liberty to stay or go when I pleased, with liberty of conscience for myself. This last seguro was desired to be transmitted to me at Cambaya by the fleet of Portuguese frigates, as at my departure our ships were not yet come.
The fathers would readily have done this and much more for me, only to get me out of the country. About this time I had notice of the arrival of three English ships at Mocha, and that they were surely to come to Surat at the proper season; which news were sent me from Burhanpoor by Nicholas Banham, who had gone from me six weeks before for the recovery of some debts, and with letters for our ships if any came, and it were possible to send them. While I was preparing to depart, news came of the return of Mucrob Khan from Goa, with many rare and fine things for the king; but he brought not the balas ruby, saying that it was false; or at least he made this excuse, lest, if he had given the Portuguese merchant his price, it might be valued much lower when it came to the king, and he be forced to pay the overplus, as had happened before on similar occasions. I likewise understood that Mucrob Khan did not receive such satisfaction from the Portuguese as he expected.
At this time my great enemy the chief vizier was thrust out of his place, owing to the complaints of many of the nobles who were in debt for their expences, and were unable to procure payment of their pensions, having their assignments either upon barren places, or on such as were in rebellion, Abdul Hassan having retained all the good districts to himself, and robbed them all. From these complaints and others he had much ado to escape with his life, being degraded from his high office, and ordered to the wars in the Deccan. One Gaih Beg, who was the king's chief treasurer, and whose daughter was chief queen or favourite, was made vizier in his stead. The new vizier was one who, in outward show at least, made much of me, and was always willing to serve me on occasion. His son and I were great friends, having often visited at my house, and was now raised to high dignities by the king. On this change of affairs, and being certified through various channels of the arrival of our ships, I determined to try what I could now do to re-establish my affairs; and knowing that nothing could be accomplished through these Moors without gifts and bribes, I sent my broker to procure me some jewels fit to be presented to the king's sister and new paramour, and to the new vizier and his son. After receiving my gifts, they began on all sides to solicit my cause.
News came to Agra, from certain Banyans at Diu, that three English ships were seen off that place, and three days afterwards other intelligence was received that they were anchored at the bar of Surat. Upon these news, the visier asked me if I had a proper gift for the king, on which I showed him a ruby ring, and he desired me to prepare for going to court along with him, when he would present my petition to the king, who, he said, was already won over to my interest. So, once more coming before his majesty, and my petition being read, he presently granted the establishment of our factory, and that the English might come and trade in all freedom at Surat, commanding the vizier to make out my commission or licence to that effect with all expedition. The vizier made me a sign to come forwards and make my obeisance, which I did according to the custom. But mark what followed. A nobleman of high rank, and in great favour with the king, who was a most intimate friend both of the late vizier and of Mucrob Khan, having been brought up along with them from childhood as pages together to the king, made a speech to the king to the following effect: "That the granting of this licence would be the ruin of all his majesty's sea-ports and people, as his majesty had been already certified by several of his subjects: That it was not consistent with the king's honour to contradict what he had granted to the Portuguese, his ancient friends: And that whoever solicited in favour of the English knew not what they were about; or, if they knew, were not friends to his majesty." Upon this speech my business was again quite overthrown, and all my time and presents thrown away, as the king now said he would not allow the English to trade at his sea-ports, owing to the inconveniences that had already arisen from their trading at Surat. But as for myself, if I would remain in his service, he would command that the allowance he had formerly granted me should be given to my satisfaction. I declined this, unless the English were allowed the freedom of trade according to his promise; saying that my own sovereign would take care that I should not want. I then requested his majesty would be pleased to give me an answer to the letter I had brought him from my sovereign; but after consulting some time with his viziers, this was refused.
I now took my leave, and departed from Agra the 2d of November, 1611, being in a thousand difficulties what course I had best take. I was in fear lest the Portuguese might poison me for the sake of my goods; it was dangerous to travel through the Deccan to Masulipatam on account of the wars; I could not go by land to Europe by reason of the Turks; and I was resolved not to remain among these faithless infidels. I arrived at Cambaya the 31st December, 1611, where I had certain news of our ships being at Surat, to which place I sent a foot-messenger with a letter, saying that the friars at Cambaya asserted that four large ships, with certain gallies and frigates, wore preparing at Goa to attack our ships, and that the Portuguese were contriving treachery against Sir Henry Middleton; all of which the fathers wished me to apprize him of, which I afterwards found was a political contrivance to put Sir Henry in fear, that he might depart.
As for me, my ostensible object was to go home by means of the Portuguese, as I had promised my wife and her brother, who was now with us, and to delude him and the friars till I could get away on board our ships, which I was sure to know by the return of my messenger. In the mean time I used every endeavour to get away my wife's brother, who departed two days afterwards for Agra, without once suspecting that I meant to go in the English ships. Nicholas Ufflet now went from Cambaya to examine the road; and when two days journey from Cambaya, he met Captain William Sharpey, Mr Fraine, and Mr Hugh Greete, who were sent to me at Cambaya by Sir Henry to my no small joy. Wherefore, making all the haste I could to prepare for my departure, I left Cambaya on the 18th January, 1612, and got to our ships on the 26th of the same month, when I was most kindly received and welcomed by Sir Henry Middleton.
We departed from Surat on the 11th February, and arrived at Dabul on the 16th, where we took a Portuguese ship and frigate, out of which we took some quantity of goods. Leaving Dabul on the 5th March for the Red Sea, with intention to revenge our wrongs both on the Turks and Moguls, we arrived there on the 3d April, where we found three English ships, whose general was Captain John Saris. Having dispatched our business in the Red Sea, we sailed from thence the 16th August, 1612, and arrived at Tecu in Sumatra the 19th October. Our business there being ended, we departed thence on the night of the 19th November, and struck that night, three leagues off, on a bed of coral, in about three fathoms water, but by the great mercy of God escaped being lost; yet we were forced to put back to Tecu to stop our leaks, for which purpose we had to unload our ship. The leaks being somewhat stopped, and our goods reloaded, we departed again the 8th December, and arrived at Bantam the 21st of that month.
As Sir Henry did not think his ship, the Trades-increase, in sufficient condition for going home that season, he was forced to remain and have her careened. Having closed accounts with Sir Henry to his satisfaction, I shipped my goods in the Solomon, which came for our voyage,[195] for saving a greater freight, but could not be admitted in her myself; Captain Saris, however, accommodated me in the Thomas, and it was agreed that the Solomon and we were to keep company. We accordingly sailed from Bantam on the 30th January, 1613, and arrived at Saldanha bay the 21st April, having much foul weather for near 200 leagues from the Cape. We here found four ships of Holland, which left Bantam a month before us. The Hollanders were very kind to us all, and especially attentive to me, as they had heard much of my favour and high estate at Agra, by an agent of theirs who resided at Masulipatam. Some eight days afterwards the Expedition came in,[196] and brought me a letter from your worships, which was delivered two days after. The wind coming fair, we departed from Saldanha the 21st May, 1613.[197]
[Footnote 195: This uncommon expression is not easily explicable, as the ships under Saris appear to have been in the employ of the same company. It probably refers to the partial subscriptions for particular voyages, in use at the first establishment of the Company.--E.]
[Footnote 196: This alludes to the twelfth voyage fitted out by the English East India Company, under the command of Christopher Newport, of which hereafter.--E.]
[Footnote 197: We have formerly seen, from a side-note of Purchas, that Captain Hawkins died before reaching England, and that his Armenian wife afterwards married Mr Towerson. The journal here breaks off abruptly, and Purchas remarks, that he had omitted many advices of the author, respecting forts, Indian factories, &c. not fitting for every eye.--E.]
4. A brief Discourse of the Strength, Wealth, and Government of the Great Mogul, with some of his Customs.[198]
I first begin with his princes, dukes, marquisses, earls, viscounts, barons, knights, esquires, gentlemen, and yeomen; for as the Christian sovereigns distinguish their nobility by these titles, so do the Moguls distinguish theirs by the numbers of horse they are appointed to command; unless it be those whom he most favours, whom he honours with the title of Khan and Immirza; none having the title of Sultan except his sons. Khan, in the Persian language, is equivalent to duke with us in Europe. Immirza is the title given to the sons of the king's brother. These titles or ranks are of 12,000 horse, of which there are only four, being the king himself, his mother, his eldest son, Prince or Sultan Parvis, and one more named Khan Azam, who is of the blood-royal of the Usbecks. The next rank, equivalent to our dukes, are leaders of 9000 horse, of whom there are three. Then of marquisses, or commanders of 5000, there are eighteen. The others are from 2000 down to 20; of all which ranks there are 2950. Besides which there are 5000 men, called Haddies, who receive monthly pay, equal to from one to six horsemen. Of such officers as belong to the court and camp there are 36,000, as porters, gunners, watermen, lackies, horse-keepers, elephant-keepers, matchlock-men, frasses or tent-men, cooks, light-bearers, gardeners, keepers of wild beasts, &c. All these are paid from the royal treasury, their wages being from ten to three rupees[199]. All the captains under the king are obliged, on eight days warning, to furnish the number of horsemen which belong to the rank they respectively hold, from 12,000 down to 20, for all which they draw pay, and which they are obliged to maintain; making a total of three lacks, or 300,000 horse.
[Footnote 198: This appears to have been written by Captain Hawkins, as appended to his narrative by Purchas. It is said by the author, that he had partly seen these things, and partly learnt them by information, from the chief officers and overseers of the court.--E.]
[Footnote 199: The rupee, or rupia, as it is called in the original, is stated by Purchas, in a side-note, at 2s. each; while, he adds, some call it 2s. 3d. and others 2s. 6d. In fact, the rupee varies materially in its value according to circumstances, which will be fully explained in the sequel.--E.]
The entire compass of the dominions of the Great Mogul is two years travel for caravans; reaching from Agra, which is in a manner in the heart of all his kingdoms, in various directions, to Candahar, to Soughtare[200] in Bengal, to Cabul, Deccan, Surat, and Tatta in Sinde. His empire is divided into five great kingdoms: Punjab, of which Lahore is the capital; Bengal, of which Sonargham[201] is the chief place; Malwa, of which Ugam [Ougein] is the capital; Deccan, with its capital Bramport [Burhanpoor]; and Guzerat, having Amadavar [Ahmedabad] as its capital. Delhi is reckoned the chief or royal city of the great kingdom of the Mogul in India, where all the ceremonials of his coronation are performed. There are six principal fortresses or castles, Agra, Gualiar, Nerwer, Ratamboor, Hassier, and Roughtaz; in which castles his treasures are securely kept.[202]
[Footnote 200: This name is so completely corrupted as to be inexplicable.--E.]
[Footnote 201: This name is nearly in the same predicament with Soughtare, unless Chunarghur be meant, including Oude Allahabad and Bahar in Bengal.--E.]
[Footnote 202: The three last names are inexplicable, unless Ruttampoor be meant for one of them. But this slight sketch of the Mogul empire is so exceedingly imperfect and unsatisfactory, as not to merit any commentary.--E.]
In all this great empire there are three arch enemies, which all his power has been unable to subdue; these are, Amberry Chapu in the Deccan, Baadur, the son of Muzafer, who was formerly king of Guzerat, and Rajah Rahana in Malwa. The present Great Mogul[203] has five sons, Sultan Cussero, Sultan Parvis, Sultan Chorem, Sultan Shariar, and Sultan Bath. He has two young daughters, and 300 wives, four of whom, being the chief, are reckoned queens; Padisha Bann, the daughter of Kaime Khan; Nour Mahal, the daughter of Gaih Beg; the third is the daughter of Sein Khan; and the fourth is the daughter of Hakim Hamaun, who was brother to his own father the Padisha Akbar.[204]
[Footnote 203: His name is no where given by Hawkins; but in the journal of Sir Thomas Rae, who went a few years afterwards ambassador to the same king, he is called Jehan-Guire.--E.]
[Footnote 204: We have here omitted a long account of the Mogul treasures in gold, silver, and jewels, and an immense store of rich ornaments in gold, silver, and jewellery, together with the enumeration of horses, elephants, camels, oxen, mules, deer, dogs, lions, ounces, hawks, pigeons, and singing birds, extremely tedious and uninteresting.--E.]
The daily expences of the Mogul for his own person, and for feeding his cattle of all sorts, among which are some royal elephants, and all other particular expences, as dress, victuals, and other household charges, come to 50,000 rupees a-day; and the daily expences of his women amount to 30,000 rupees.
The custom of the Mogul is, to take possession of all the treasure belonging to his nobles when they die, giving among the children what he pleases; but he usually treats them kindly, dividing their fathers land among them, and giving great respect to the eldest son, who is generally promoted in time to the full rank of his father. In my time Rajah Gaginat, a great lord or prince among the idolaters, died, when his effects being seized to the king's use, besides jewels, silver, and other valuables, his treasure in gold only amounted to 60 mauns, every maun being 25 pounds weight.
The king has 300 royal elephants on which he himself rides; and when brought before him they appear in great state, having thirty-two men going before them with streamers. The housings or coverings of these elephants are very rich, being either cloth of gold or rich velvet; each royal elephant is followed by his female, and his cub or cubs, usually having four or five young ones as pages, some seven, eight, or nine. These royal elephants, which are the largest and handsomest, eat every day to the value of ten rupees, in sugar, butter, grain, and sugar canes. They are so tame and well managed, that I one day saw the king order one of his sons, named Shariar, a child of seven years old, to go to the elephant and be taken up by his trunk, which was so done, the elephant delivering him to his keeper, who rules him with a hooked iron. When any of these elephants are brought Jean before the king, those having charge of them are disgraced unless they have all the better excuse: so that every one strives to bring his in good order, even though he may have to spend of his own funds.
When the Mogul goes out to hunt, his camp is about as much in compass as the city of London, or even more; and I may even say that at least 200,000 people follow him on this occasion, every thing being provided as for the use of a large city. The elephant is of all beasts the most sagacious, of which I shall give one instance, which was reported to me as a certainty. An elephant upon a hard journey having been ill-used by his keeper, and finding the fellow asleep one day near him, but out of his reach, and having green canes brought him as food, he took hold of a cane by one end with his trunk, and reached the other end to the keeper's head, which was bare, his turban having fallen off, and twisting the cane among his long hair, drew the fellow towards him, and then slew him.
The king has many dromedaries, which are very swift, and are used for coming with great speed to assault any city, as was once done by this king's father, who assaulted Ahmedabad in Guzerat, when he was supposed to be at Agra; going there with 12,000 men in nine days upon dromedaries, striking such terror into the Guzerats by his sudden arrival, that they were easily reduced. This king has much reduced the numbers of the Rajaput captains, who were idolaters, and has preferred Mahometans, who are weak-spirited men, void of resolution; so that this king is beginning to lose those parts of the Deccan which were conquered by his father. He has a few good captains yet remaining, whom his father highly valued; but they are out of his favour, as they refused to join him in his unnatural rebellion against his own father. For this purpose, being in Attabasse, the regal seat of a kingdom called Porub,[205] he rose in rebellion with 80,000 horse, intending to have taken Agra and got possession of his father's treasure, who was then engaged in conquering the Deccan.
[Footnote 205: Probably an error for the royal city of the kingdom of Porus, in the time of Alexander the Great; in which case Attabasse may be what is now called Attock Benares, on the main stream of the Indus, in the Punjab, or the eastern frontier of Lahore.--E.]
Before the former emperor Akbar departed for the wars in the Deccan, he gave orders to his son Selim, who is now emperor, to go with the forces he commanded against Raja Rahana, the great rebel in Malwa, who coming to a parley with Selim, told him he would get nothing in warring against him but hard blows; and he had much better, during his father's absence in the Deccan, go against Agra, and possess himself of his father's treasure and make himself king, as there was no one able to resist him. Selim followed this advice: but his father getting timely notice, came in all haste to Agra to prevent him, and sent immediately a message to his son, that he might either come and fall at his feet for mercy, or try the chance of a battle. Considering his father's valour, he thought it best to submit to his father, who committed him to prison, but soon released him at the intercession of his mother and sisters. In consequence of this rebellion Selim was disinherited, and his eldest son Cussero was proclaimed heir-apparent; all the younger sons of Akbar having died in the Deccan or in Guzerat.
Akbar died shortly after, having restored Selim to his inheritance while on his death-bed. But Cussero raised troops against his father, and being defeated and taken prisoner, still remains confined in the palace, but blinded, according to report. Since that time he has caused all the adherents of his son to be put to cruel deaths, and has reigned since in quiet; but is ill beloved by the greatest part of his subjects, who are in great fear of him. While I was at his court, I have seen him do many cruel deeds. Five times a week he orders some of his bravest elephants to fight in his presence, during which men are often killed or grievously wounded by the elephants. If any one be sore hurt, though he might very well chance to recover, he causes him to be thrown into the river, saying, "Dispatch him, for as long as he lives he will continually curse me, wherefore it is better that he die presently." He delights to see men executed and torn in pieces by elephants.
In my time, a Patan of good stature came to one of the king's sons, called Sultan Parvis, and petitioned to have some place or pension bestowed on him. Demanding whether he would serve him, the Patan said no, for the prince would not give him such wages as he would ask. The prince asked him how much would satisfy him, on which he said that he would neither serve his father nor him unless he had 1000 rupees a-day, equal to £100 sterling. On the prince asking what were his qualifications that he rated his services so highly, he desired to be tried at all kind of weapons, either on foot or on horseback, and if any one was found to surpass him, he was willing to forfeit his life. The prince having to attend his father, ordered the Patan to be in the way. At night, the king's custom being to drink, the prince told him of the Patan, whom the king commanded to be brought before him. Just at this time a large and very fierce lion was brought in, strongly chained, and led by a dozen men. After questioning the Patan, as to whence he came, his parentage, and what was his valour, that he demanded such wages, the Patan desired the king to put him to a trial: Then, said the king, go and wrestle with that lion. The Patan replied, that this was a wild, beast, and it would be no trial of his manhood to make him go against the lion without a weapon. The king however insisted upon it, and the poor fellow was torn in pieces. Not yet satisfied, but desirous to see more sport, the king sent for ten of his horsemen who were, that night on guard, whom he commanded, one after the other, to buffet with the lion. They were all grievously wounded, and three of them lost their lives. The king continued three months in this cruel humour; in which time, merely for his pleasure, many men lost their lives, and many were grievously wounded. Afterwards, and till I came away, twelve or fifteen young lions were made tame, and used to play with each other in the king's presence, frisking about among people's legs, yet doing no harm in a long time.
His custom is every year to be two months out hunting; and when he means to begin his journey, if he comes from his palace on horseback, it is a sign he goes to war; but if on an elephant or in a palanquin, his expedition will only be for hunting.
He cannot abide that any one should have precious stones of value without offering them to him for sale, and it is death for any one to possess such without immediately giving him the refusal. A Banyan, named Herranand, who was his jeweller, had bought a diamond of three meticals weight, for which he paid 100,000 rupees, yet had not done it so covertly but news of it was brought to the king; and some friend of Herrenand presently acquainted him that it had come to the king's knowledge. Upon this the jeweller waited on the king, saying that his majesty had often promised to come to his house, and that now was the proper time, as he had a fine present to make him, having bought a diamond of great weight. The king smiled, and said, "Thy luck has been good." By these and such means the king has engrossed all the finest diamonds, as no one dare purchase one from five carats upwards without his leave. All the lands of the whole monarchy belong to the king, who giveth and taketh at his pleasure. If any one, for instance, has lands at Lahore, and is sent to the wars in the Deccan, his lands at Lahore are given to another, and he receives new lands in or near the Deccan. Those lands which are let pay to the king two-thirds of the produce; and those which are given away in fee pay him one-third. The poor riots, or husbandmen who cultivate the land, are very hardly dealt by, and complain much of injustice, but little is given them. At his first coming to the throne he was more severe than now, so that the country is now so full of outlaws and thieves, that one can hardly stir out of doors in any part of his dominions without a guard, as almost the whole people are in rebellion.
There is one great Ragane[206] between Agra and Ahmedabad, who commands an extent of country equal to a good kingdom, maintaining 20,000 horse and 50,000 foot; and as his country is strong and mountainous, all the force of the king has never been able to reduce him. There are many of those rebels all through his dominions, but this is one of the greatest. Many have risen in Candahar, Cabul, Mooltan, Sindy, and the kingdom of Boloch.[207] Bengal, Guzerat, and the Deccan are likewise full of rebels, so that no one can travel in safety for outlaws; all occasioned by the barbarity of the government, and the cruel exactions made upon the husbandmen, which drive them to rebellion.
[Footnote 206: Hawkins calls rebels, as the Moguls did, all those that refused subjection; though some of them were perhaps originally independent kings, as this Ragane or Ranna, supposed to have been the true successor of Porus, who was conquered by Alexander. He is now reduced, or rather, as they say, peaceably induced to acknowledge the Mogul, and to pay tribute.--Purch.]
[Footnote 207: Probably meaning the Ballogees, a people on the south-side of the Wulli mountains, bordering to the southward on Candahar.--E.]
In the morning, at break of day, the king is at his beads, praying, on his knees, upon a Persian lambskin, having some eight rosaries, or strings of beads, each containing 400. The beads are of rich pearl, ballace rubies, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, aloes wood, eshem, and coral. At the upper end of a large black stone on which he kneels, there are figures graven in stone of the Virgin and Christ, so, turning his face to the west, he repeats 3200 words, according to the number of his beads. After this he shews himself to the people, receiving their salams or good-morrows; a vast multitude resorting every morning to the palace for that purpose. After this he takes two hours sleep, then dines, and passes his time among his women till noon. From that time till three o'clock he shews himself again to the people, looking at sports and pastimes made by men, or at fights of various animals. At three o'clock, all the nobles then in Agra, who are in health, resort to court, when the king comes forth to open audience, sitting in his royal seat, and all the nobles standing before him, each according to his degree. The chiefs of the nobles standing within the red rail, and all the rest without, all being properly placed by the lieutenant-general. The space within the red rail is three steps higher than where the rest stand, and within this red rail I was placed among the chiefest of the land. All the rest are placed in their order by officers, and they likewise are placed within another rail in a spacious place; and without the rail stand all kinds of horsemen and foot-soldiers belonging to his captains, and all other comers. At these rails there are many doors kept by a great number of porters, who have white rods to keep every one in order.
In the middle of the place, right before the king, stands one of the king's sheriffs or judges, together with the chief executioner, who is attended by forty executioners, distinguished from all others by a peculiar kind of quilted caps on their heads, some with hatchets on their shoulders, and others with all sorts of whips, ready to execute the king's commands. The king hears all manner of causes in this place, staying about two hours every day for that purpose; for the kings in India sit in judgment every day, and their sentences are put in execution every Tuesday.
After this he retires to his private chamber for prayer, when four or five kinds of finely-dressed roast meats are set before him, of which he eats till his stomach is satisfied, drinking after this meal one cup of strong drink. He then goes into a private room, into which no one enters but such as are named by himself, where for two years I was one of his attendants; and here he drinks other five cups of strong liquor, being the quantity allowed by his physicians. This done, he chews opium, and being intoxicated, he goes to sleep, and every one departs to his home. He is awakened after two hours to get his supper, at which time he is unable to feed himself, but has it thrust into his mouth by others, which is about one o'clock in the morning; after which he sleeps the rest of the night.
During the time that he drinks his six cups of strong liquor, he says and does many idle things; yet whatsoever he does or says, whether drunk or sober, there are writers who attend him in rotation, who set every thing down in writing; so that not a single incident of his life but is recorded, even his going to the necessary, and when he lies with his wives. The purpose of all this is, that when he dies all his actions and speeches that are worthy of being recorded may be inserted in the chronicle of his reign. One of the king's sons, Sultan Shariar, a boy of seven years old, was called by him one day when I was there, and asked if he chose to accompany him to some place where he was going for amusement. The boy answered he would either go or stay, as it pleased his majesty to command. Because he had not said, that he would go with all his heart along with his majesty, he was sore beaten by the king, yet did not cry. The king therefore asked him, why he cried not? Because, he said, his nurse had told him that it was the greatest possible shame for a prince to cry when beaten; and that ever since he had never cried, and would not though beaten to death. On this his father struck him again, and taking a bodkin, thrust it through his cheek; yet would he not cry, though he bled much. It was much wondered at by all that the king should so treat his own child, and that the boy was so stout-hearted as not to cry. There is great hopes that this child will exceed all the rest.
SECTION VI.
Observations of William Finch, Merchant, who accompanied Captain Hawkins to Surat, and returned overland to Europe.[208]
INTRODUCTION.
This article is said by Purchas to have been abbreviated out of the larger journal kept by Finch during his voyage to India and residence there, and seems a most useful supplement to the preceding section, being in many circumstances more full and satisfactory than the relation of Hawkins. In the Pilgrims of Purchas it does not follow the former relation, but that was owing to its not reaching him in time, as is stated in the following note, which is both characteristic of that early collector of voyages and travels, and of the observations of William Finch.
[Footnote 208: Purch. Pilg. I. 414.]
"This should have followed next after Master Hawkins, with whom William Finch went into the Mogolls country, if I then had had it. But better a good dish, though not in duest place of service, than not at all: Neither is he altogether born out of due time, which comes in due place, while we are yet in India, and in time also, before the Mogoll affairs received any latter access or better maturity: And for that circumstance failing, you shall find it supplied in substance, with more accurate observations of men, beasts, plants, cities, deserts, castles, buildings, regions, religions, than almost any other; as also of ways, wares, and wars."--Purchas.
SECTION 1. Remembrances respecting Sierra Leona, in August 1607, the Bay, Country, Inhabitants, Rites, Fruits, and Commodities.
The island, which we fell in with some ten leagues south from the bay of Sierra Leona, in lat. 8° N. has no inhabitants; neither did I learn its name. It has some plantains, and, by report, good watering and wooding for ships; but about a league from the shore there is a dangerous ledge of rock, scarcely visible at high water. The bay of Sierra Leona is about three leagues broad, being high land on the south side, full of trees to the very edge of the water, and having several coves, in which we caught plenty and variety of fish. On the farther side of the fourth cove is the watering place, having excellent water continually running. Here on the rocks we found the names of various Englishmen who had been there. Among these was Sir Francis Drake, who had been there twenty-seven years before; Thomas Candish, Captain Lister, and others. About the middle of the bay, right out from the third cove, lieth a sand, near about which there are not above two or three fathoms, but in most other parts eight or ten close in shore. The tide flows E.S.E. the highest water being six or eight feet, and the tide is very strong. The latitude is 8° 30' N.
The king of Sierra Leona resides at the bottom of the bay, and is called by the Moors Borea, or Captain Caran, caran, caran, having other petty kings or chiefs under him; one of whom, called Captain Pinto, a wretched old man, dwells at a town within the second cove; and on the other side of the bay is Captain Boloone. The dominions of Borea stretch 40 leagues inland, from which he receives a tribute in cotton-cloth, elephants teeth, and gold; and has the power of selling his people as slaves, some of whom he offered to us. Some of them have been converted to Christianity by the Portuguese priests and Jesuits, who have a chapel, in which is a table inscribed with the days that are to be observed as holy. The king and a few of his principal attendants are decently clothed in jackets and breeches; but the common people have only a slight cotton-cloth round their waists, while the women have a kind of short petticoat or apron down to their knees; all the rest of their bodies, both men and women, being quite naked; the young people of both sexes having no dress whatever. All the people, both men and women, have all parts of their bodies very curiously and ingeniously traced and pinked [tatooed], and have their teeth filed very sharp. They pull off all the hair from their eye-lids. The men have their beards short, black, and cropped, and the hair on their heads strangely cut into crisped paths or cross alleys; while others wear theirs in strange jagged tufts, or other foolish forms; the women's heads being all close shaved.
Their town contains not more than thirty or forty houses, all irregularly clustered together, all thatched with reeds; yet each has a kind of yard inclosed with mud walls, like our hovels or hog-styles in England. Instead of a locked and bolted door, the entrance is only closed by a mat, having nothing to be stolen; and for bedsteads they have only a few billets covered by a mat; yet some have hangings of mats, especially about their beds. Their furniture consists of two or three earthen pots to hold water, and to boil such provisions as they can get; a gourd or two for palm-wine; half a gourd to serve as a drinking cup; a few earthen dishes for their loblolly or pottage; a basket for the maria [wife], to gather cockles; and a knapsack for the man, made of bark, to carry his provisions, with his pipe and tobacco. When a negro man goes from home, he has always his knapsack on his back, in which he has his provisions and tobacco, his pipe being seldom from his mouth; besides which, he has always his do-little sword by his side, made by themselves of such iron as they get from the Europeans; his bow also, and quiver full of poisoned arrows, pointed with iron like a snake's-tongue, or else a case of javelins or darts, having iron heads of good breadth and made sharp, sometimes both.
The men of this country are large and well-made, strong and courageous, and of civilized manners for heathens; as they keep most faithfully to their wives, of whom they are not a little jealous. I could not learn their religion; for though they have some idols, they seem to know that there is a God in heaven, as, when we asked them about their wooden puppets, they used to lift up their hands to heaven. All their children are circumcised, but I could not learn the reason why. They are very just and true in their dealings, and theft is punished with instant death. When any one dies, a small thatched roof is erected over his bier, under which are set earthen pots kept always full of water, and some earthen plates with different kinds of food, a few bones being stuck up around the body. To the south of this bay, some thirty or forty leagues into the interior country, there are very fierce people, who are cannibals, and sometimes infest the natives of Sierra Leona.
[Illustration: map]
The inhabitants of Sierra Leona feed on rice, of which they only cultivate what is indispensibly needful for their subsistence, in small patches near their dwellings, which they clear by burning the woods. They likewise sow another very small grain, called pene, of which they make bread, not much unlike winter savory. They rear a few poultry about their houses, using no other animal food, except when they sometimes get a fawn of the wild deer, a few of which are found in the mountains, or some wild fowl. They feed also on cockles and oysters, of which there are vast quantities on the rocks and trees by the sea-side, but these have rather an insipid taste; and they catch plenty of excellent fish, by means of wears and other devices. They also feed on herbs and roots, cultivating about their dwellings many plantains, gourds, pumpkins, potatoes, and guinea pepper. Tobacco likewise is planted by every one, and seems to constitute half their food. The hole of their tobacco pipe is very large, and made of clay well burnt into the lower end of which they thrust a small hollow cane eighteen inches long, through which they suck the smoke, both men and women swallowing most of it. Every man carries a small bag called a tuffio, in his knapsack, in which is his pipe and tobacco, and the women have their tuffio in their wrappers, carrying their pipes in their hands. They prepare their tobacco for smoking by straining out its juice while quite green, and they informed us by signs that it would otherwise make them drunk. They afterwards shred it very small, and dry it on an earthen dish over the embers. On an island in the bay we saw about half a dozen goats, and no where else in this country.
They have innumerable kinds of fruits growing wild in the woods, in which are whole groves of lemon trees, especially near the town and watering-place, and some few orange trees. Their drink is mostly water, yet the men use great quantities of palmito wine, which they call moy, giving little or none to the women. It is strange to see their manner of climbing the palmito trees, which are of great size and height, having neither boughs nor branches except near the top. Surrounding the tree and his own, body by means of a withe, or band of twisted twigs, on which he leans his back, and jerking up his withe before him, he foots it up with wonderful speed and certainty, and comes down again in the same manner, bringing his gourd full of liquor on his arm. Among their fruits are many kinds of plumbs; one like a wheaten plumb is wholesome and savoury; likewise a black one, as large as a horse plumb, which is much esteemed, and has an aromatic flavour. A kind called mansamilbas, resembling a wheaten plumb, is very dangerous, as is likewise the sap of the boughs, which is perilous for the sight, if it should chance to get into the eyes.[209] Among their fruits is one called beninganion, about the size of a lemon, with a reddish rind, and very wholesome; also another called bequill, as large as an apple, with a rough knotty skin, which is pared off, when the pulp below eats like a strawberry, which likewise it resembles in colour and grain, and of which we eat many. There are abundance of wild grapes in the woods, but having a woody and bitterish taste. The nuts of the palmito are eaten roasted. They use but little pepper and grains, the one in surgery and the other in cooking. There is a singular fruit, growing six or eight together in a bunch, each as long and thick as one's finger, the skin being of a brownish yellow colour, and somewhat downy, and within the rind is a pulp of a pleasant taste; but I know not if it be wholesome.
[Footnote 209: Probably the Manchencel--E.]
[Illustration: map]
I observed in the woods certain trees like beeches, bearing fruit resembling beans, of which I noticed three kinds. One of these was a great tall tree, bearing cods like those of beans, in each of which was four or five squarish beans, resembling tamarind seeds, having hard shells, within which is a yellow kernel, which is a virulent poison, employed by the negroes to envenom their arrows. This they call Ogon. The second is smaller, having a crooked pod with a thick rind, six or seven inches long, and half that breadth, containing each five large beans an inch long. The third, called quenda, has short leaves like the former, and much bigger fruit, growing on a strong thick woody stalk, indented on the sides, nine inches long and five broad, within which are five long beans, which are also said to be dangerous. I likewise saw trees resembling willows, bearing fruit like pease-cods.
There is a fruit called Gola, which grows in the interior. This fruit, which is inclosed in a shell, is hard, reddish, bitter, and about the size of a walnut, with many angles and corners. The negroes are much given to chew this fruit along with the bark of a certain tree. After one person has chewed it a while, he gives it to his neighbour, and so from one to another, chewing it long before they cast it away; but swallowing none of its substance. They attribute great virtues to this for the teeth and gums; and indeed the negroes have usually excellent teeth. This fruit passes also among them for money.[210] Higher within the land they cultivate cotton, which they call innumma, and of which they spin very good yarn with spindles, and afterwards very ingeniously weave into cloths, three quarters of a yard broad, to make their girdles or clouts formerly mentioned; and when sewed together it is made into jackets and breeches for their great men. By means of a wood called cambe, they dye their purses and mats of a red colour.
[Footnote 210: In a side-note; Purchas calls this the fruit of the carob tree.--E.]
The tree on which the plantains grow is of considerable height, its body being about the thickness of a man's thigh. It seems to be an annual plant, and, in my opinion, ought rather to be reckoned among reeds than trees; for the stem is not of a woody substance, but is compacted of many leaves wrapped close upon each other, adorned with leaves from the very ground instead of boughs, which are mostly two yards long and a yard broad, having a very large rib in the middle. The fruit is a bunch of ten or twelve plantains, each a span long, and as thick as a man's wrist, somewhat crooked or bending inwards. These grow on a leafy stalk on the middle of the plant, being at first green, but grow yellow and tender as they ripen. When the rind is stripped off, the inner pulp is also yellowish and pleasant to the taste. Beneath the fruit hangs down, from the same stalk, a leafy sharp-pointed tuft, which seems to have been the flower. This fruit they call bannana, which they have in reasonable abundance. They are ripe in September and October. We carried some with us green to sea, which, were six weeks in ripening. Guinea pepper grows wild in the woods on a small plant like privet, having small slender leaves, the fruit being like our barberry in form and colour. It is green at first, turning red as it ripens. It does not grow in bunches like our barberry, but here and there two or three together about the stalk. They call it bangue. The pene, of which their bread is made, grows on a small tender herb resembling grass, the stalk being all full of small seeds, not inclosed in any bask. I think it is the same which the Turks call cuscus, and the Portuguese yfunde.
The palmito tree is high and straight, its bark being knotty, and the wood of a soft substance, having no boughs except at the top, and these also seem rather reeds than boughs, being all pith within, inclosed by a hard rind. The leaf is long and slender, like that of a sword lilly, or flag. The boughs stand out from the top of the tree on all sides, rather more than a yard long, beset on both sides with strong sharp prickles, like saw-teeth, but longer. It bears a fruit like a small cocoa-nut, the size of a chesnut, inclosed in a hard shell, streaked with threads on the outside, and containing a kernel of a hard horny substance, quite tasteless; yet they are eaten roasted. The tree is called tobell, and the fruit bell. For procuring the palmito wine, they cut off one of the branches within a span of the head, to which they fasten a gourd shell by the mouth, which in twenty-four hours is filled by a clear whitish sap, of a good and strong relish, with which the natives get drunk. The oysters formerly mentioned grow on trees resembling willows in form, but having broader leaves, which are thick like leather, and bearing small knobs like those of the cypress. From these trees hang down many branches into the water, each about the thickness of a walking-stick, smooth, limber, and pithy within, which are overflowed by every tide, and hang as thick as they can stick of oysters, being the only fruit of this tree.
They have many kinds of ordinary fishes, and some which seemed to us extraordinary; as mullets, rays, thornbacks, old-wives with prominent brows, fishes like pikes, gar-fish, cavallios like mackerel, swordfishes, having snouts a yard long, toothed on each side like a saw, sharks, dogfish, sharkers, resembling sharks, but having a broad flat snout like a shovel, shoe-makers, having pendents at each side of their mouths like barbels, and which grunt like hogs, with many others. We once caught in an hour 6000 fishes like bleaks. Of birds, there are pelicans as large as swans, of a white colour, with long and large bills. Herons, curlews, boobies, ox-eyes, and various other kinds of waterfowl. On land, great numbers of grey parrots, and abundance of pintados or Guinea fowls, which are very hurtful to their rice crops. There are many other kinds of strange birds in the woods, of which I knew not the names; and I saw among the negroes many porcupine quills. There are also great numbers of monkeys leaping about the trees, and on the mountains there are lions, tigers, and ounces. There are but few elephants, of which we only saw three, but they abound farther inland. The negroes told us of a strange beast, which our interpreter called a carbuncle, which is said to be often seen, but only in the night. This animal is said to carry a stone in his forehead, wonderfully luminous, giving him light by which to feed in the night; and on hearing the slightest noise he presently conceals it with a skin or film naturally provided for the purpose. The commodities here are few, more being got farther to the eastwards. At certain times of the year, the Portuguese get gold and elephants teeth in exchange for rice, salt, beads, bells, garlick, French bottles, copper kettles, low-priced knives, hats, linen like barber's aprons, latten basins, edge-tools, bars of iron, and sundry kinds of specious trinkets; but they will not give gold for toys, only exchanging victuals for such things.
"This diligent observer hath taken like pains touching Saldanha bay: But as we touch there often, and have already given many notices of that place, we shall now double the Cape, and take a view along with him of Cape St Augustine."--Purch.
SECTION 2. Observations made at St Augustine in Madagascar, and at the Island of Socotora.
St Augustine, in the great island of St Lawrence or Madagascar, is rather a bay than a cape or point, as it has no land much bearing out beyond the rest of the coast. It is in 23° 30' S. latitude, the variation here being 15° 40, and may be easily found, as it has breaches[211] on either side some leagues off to the W.S.W. Right from the bay to seaward the water is very deep; but within the bay the ground is so very shelvy, that you may have one anchor to the north in 22 fathoms, and your other anchor in more than 60; while in some places nearer shore you will not have two feet at low water, and deep water still farther in; the whole ground a soft ooze. Within a mile or two of the bay the land is high, barren, and full of rocks and stones, with many small woods. Two rivers run into the bottom of the bay, the land about them being low, sandy, and overflowed; and these rivers pour in so much water into the bay that their currents are never stemmed by the tide, which yet rises two fathoms, by which the water in the bay is very thick and muddy. Great quantities of canes are brought down by these rivers, insomuch that we have seen abundance of them twenty or thirty leagues out at sea. This bay is open to a north-west wind, yet the force of the sea is broken by means of a ledge of rocks. We caught here smelts of a foot long, and shrimps ten inches: The best fishing is near the sandy shore off the low land, where the natives catch many with strong nets. Within the woods we found infinite numbers of water-melons growing on the low lands, which yielded us good refreshment. But we had nothing from the rivers, except that one of our men was hurt by an alligator. The water also was none of the best; but we got wood in plenty.
[Footnote 211: Probably meaning breakers.--E.]
This place did not seem populous, as we never saw above twenty natives at any one time. The men were comely, stout, tall, and well-made, of a tawny colour, wearing no cloathing excepting a girdle or short apron made of rind of trees. Their beards were black and reasonably long; and the hair of their heads likewise black and long, plaited and frizzled very curiously; neither had their bodies any bad smell. They carry many trinkets fastened to their girdles, adorned with alligators teeth, some of them being hollow, in which they carry tallow to keep their darts bright, which are their chief weapons, and of which each man carries a small bundle, together with a fair lance, artificially headed with iron, and kept as bright as silver. Their darts are of a very formidable and dangerous shape, barbed on both sides; and each man carries a dagger like a butcher's knife, very well made. They therefore showed no regard for iron, and would not barter their commodities for any thing but silver, in which we paid twelve-pence for a sheep, and 3s. 6d. for a cow. They asked beads into the bargain, for which alone they would give nothing except a little milk, which they brought down very sweet and good in gourds.
Their cattle have great bunches on their fore-shoulders, in size and shape like sugar-loaves, which are of a gristly substance and excellent eating. Their beef is not loose and flabby like that at Saldhana, but firm and good, little differing from that of England. Their mutton also is excellent, their sheep having tails weighing 28 pounds each, which therefore are mostly cut off from the ewes, not to obstruct propagation. In the woods near the river there are great numbers of monkeys of an ash-colour with a small head, having a long tail like a fox, ringed or barred with black and white, the fur being very fine.[212] We shot some of these, not being able to take any of them alive. There are bats also, as large almost in the bodies as rabbits, headed like a fox, having a close fur, and in other respects resembling bats, having a loud shrill cry. We killed one whose wings extended a full yard. There are plenty of herons, white, black, blue, and divers mixed colours; with many bastard hawks, and other birds of an infinite variety of kinds and colours, most having crests on their heads like peacocks. There are great store of lizards and camelions also, which agree in the description given by Pliny, only it is not true that they live on air without other food; for having kept one on board for only a day, we could perceive him to catch flies in a very strange manner. On perceiving a fly sitting, he suddenly darts out something from his mouth, perhaps his tongue, very loathsome to behold, and almost like a bird-bolt, with which he catches and eats the flies with such speed, even in the twinkling of an eye, that one can hardly discern the action. In the hills there are many spiders on the trees, which spin webs from tree to tree of very strong and excellent silk of a yellow colour, as if dyed by art. I found also hanging on the trees, great worms like our grubs with many legs, inclosed within a double cod of white silk.
[Footnote 212: Called the beautiful beast in Keeling's voyage.--Purch.]
There grows here great store of the herb producing aloes, and also tamarind trees by the water side. Here also is great abundance of a strange plant which I deem a wild species of cocoa-nut, seldom growing to the height of a tree, but of a shrubby nature, with many long prickly stalks some two yards long. At the end of each foot-stalk is a leaf about the size of a great cabbage-leaf, snipt half round like a sword-grass. From the tops of this plant, among the leaves, there spring out many woody branches, as thick set with fruit as they can stand, sometimes forty of them clustering together on one branch. These are about the size of a great katharine pear; at the first greenish, and shaped almost like a sheep's bell, with a smooth rind flat at top; within which rind is a hard substance almost like a cocoa-nut shell, and within that is a white round hollow kernel of a gristly consistence, yet eatable, and in the central hollow about a spoonful of cool sweet liquor, like cocoa-nut milk. There is another tree, as big as a pear-tree, thick set with boughs and leaves resembling those of the bay, bearing a large globular fruit like a great foot-ball, hanging by a strong stalk; The rind is divided by seams into four quarters, and being cut green, yields a clammy substance like turpentine. The rind is very thick, consisting of divers, layers of a brown substance like agaric, but harder, and contains thirteen cells, in each of which is contained a large kernel of a dirty white colour, hard, bitter, and ill tasted.
In Socotora[213] the natives of Guzerat and the English build themselves slight stone-houses, with pieces of wood laid across and covered with reeds and branches of the date palm, merely to keep out the sun, as they fear no rain during the season of residing here. The stones are easily procured for this purpose, as the whole island seems almost nothing but stones; yet about the head of the river, and a mile farther inland, there is a pleasant valley replenished with date trees. On the east side of this vale is a small town called Dibnee, very little inhabited except in the date harvest. In the months of June and July the wind blows in this valley with astonishing violence; yet only a short gun-shot off towards the town of Delisha, over against the road where the ships ride, there is hardly there a breath of wind. About 100 years ago [1500] this island was conquered by the King of Caixem, or Cushem, as the Arabs pronounce it, a sovereign of no great force, as his army does not exceed two or three thousand soldiers. Besides Socotora, this king has likewise the two Irmanas and Abba del Curia. The Irmanas, or Two Brethren, are small uninhabited stony and barren isles, having nothing but turtles. Abba del Curia is large, having great abundance of goats, and some fresh water, but not above three or four inhabitants, as we were told. Amer Benzaid, son to the King of Kissem, resides at Socotora, which he rules under his father. He trades to the Comora islands and to Melinda, for which he has two good frigates,[214] in which rice and mello [millet] are brought from the main, being their chief food.
[Footnote 213: In his abbreviation of Finch's observations Purchas has not clearly distinguished where those respecting Madagascar end, and those made at Socotora begin.--E.]
[Footnote 214: It has been formerly noticed, that, frigates, in these early navigators, were only small barks, in opposition to tall ships, galleons, and caraks: These frigates, and those frequently mentioned as belonging to the Portuguese and Moors in India at this time, could only be grabs, or open sewed vessels, already frequently mentioned in the course of this collection.--E.]
All the Arabs in this island are soldiers, being in a manner slaves to the snakee or prince, whom they attend and obey all his commands, some few of them having fire-arms. Every one of them wears a crooked dagger at his left side, like a wood-cutter's knife, without which they must not be seen abroad. They have also thin broad targets, painted. The dagger-handles and sheaths of the better sort are ornamented with silver, and those of the ordinary people with copper or red latten. These Arabs are tawny, industrious, and civil, of good stature, and well-proportioned in their limbs, having their hair long, and covered with turbans like the Turks, and a cloth round their waist hanging to their knees; having seldom any other apparel, except sometimes sandals on their feet fastened with thongs. They either carry their sword naked on their shoulder, or hanging at their side in a sheath. They are fond of tobacco, yet are unwilling to give any thing for it. Some of them wear a cloth of painted calico, or some other kind, over their shoulders, after the fashion of an Irish mantle or plaid; while others have shirts and surplices, or wide gowns, of white calico, and a few have linen breeches like the Guzerats. Some of their women are tolerably fair and handsome, like our sun-burnt country girls in England; and they are all dressed in long wide smocks down to the ground, made of red, blue, or black calico, having a cloth over their heads, with which they usually hide their faces, being very dainty to let themselves be seen, yet are scarcely honest. Though the men be very poor, and have, hardly enough to serve their needs, yet their women, of whom some men have four, five, or six, are much laden with silver ornaments, and some with gold. I have seen one, not of the best, who had in each ear at least a dozen great silver rings, almost like curtain rings, with as many of a smaller kind; two carkanets or chains of silver about her neck, and one of gold bosses; ten or twelve silver manillias or bracelets on each arm, each as thick as a little-finger, but hollow; almost every finger covered with rings, and the small of her legs covered with silver rings like horse-fetters. In all these ornaments they jingle like morrice-dancers on the slightest motion. They are, however, seldom seen, being kept very close by their jealous husbands. They delight in beads of amber, crystal, and coral; but, having little wherewith to buy them, they either beg them, or deal for them privately. The children, except those of the better sort, usually, go entirely naked till of some age. They are married at ten or twelve years old.
They call themselves mussulmen, that is, true believers in the faith of Mahomet; and they alledge this reason for themselves, that all the world are of their religion, and only a handful of ours. They eat their meat on mats spread on the ground, using their hands in a very unmannerly fashion, having neither spoons, knives, nor forks. Their usual drink is water, yet do they drink wine in private when they can get it; and they make at the proper season some wine of dates which is strong and pleasant.
So much for the Arab conquerors of Socotora. They call the native inhabitants, whom they have conquered, cafrs, or misbelievers, or heretics, if you will, who are subjected to slavery, except some who live in the mountains in a kind of savage liberty like wild beasts; those who live under subjection to the Arabs not being allowed to carry weapons of any kind. These are well-shaped, but much darker than the Arabs, wearing nothing on their heads but their long hair, which seems to be never cut, and staring all round as if frightened. They have a coarse cloth of goats hair woven by themselves about their middles, and slight sandals on their feet. The women are all dressed in smocks of coloured calico or other coarse stuff, hanging to their feet, having seldom any thing on their heads; but, in imitation of the Arab women, they have manillias of iron or painted earthen ware about their legs and arms, and strings of beads instead of carkanets about their necks, painting their faces with yellow and black spots in a frightful manner. According to the report of the Arabs, they are all mere heathens, observing no marriage rites, but have their women in common. Their native language is quite different from Arabic, which however most of them understand. They live very miserably, many of them being famished with hunger. They are not permitted to kill any flesh, so that they are forced to live on such fish as they can catch in the sea, and what dates they may procure, having no means to purchase rice, except by means of their women prostituting themselves to the Guzerats when they reside here. Such as are employed to keep the cattle belonging to the Arabs maintain themselves on milk.
I could not learn of any merchandize produced in this island, except aloes and dragon's blood; and some black ambergris is said to be got on the shores of Abba del Curia. They could make, in my opinion, more aloes than could be used in all Christendom, as the plant from which it is procured grows every where in great abundance, being no other than the semper vivum of Dioscorides, with whose description it agrees in seed, stalk, &c. It is all of the red prickly sort, much chamferred in the leaves, and so full of resinous juice as to be ready to burst. The chief time of preparing the aloes is in September, when the north winds blow, after the fall of some rain. Being gathered, it is cut in small pieces, and cast into a pit in the ground, which is paved and cleaned from all filth. It lies here to ferment in the heat of the sun, which causes the juice to flow out; which is put into skins that are hung up in the wind to dry and grow hard. They sold it to us for twenty ryals the quintal, or 103 pounds English; but we were told afterwards that they sold it to others for twelve, which may very well be, considering its abundance, and the ease with which it is made. The date tree produces ripe fruit twice a-year, one harvest being in July while we were there. Dates are a principal part of their sustenance, being very pleasant in taste. When thoroughly ripe, the dates are laid in a heap on a sloping skin, whence runs a liquor into earthen pots set in the earth to receive it. This is their date wine, with which they sometimes get drunk. When thus drained, the stones are taken out, and the dates are packed up very hard in skins, in which they will keep a long time. They sometimes gather them before they are completely ripe, and dry them after taking out the stones. These are the best of all, and eat as if they were candied. They will not keep whole. In every valley where dates grow, the king has a deputy during the harvest, who sees all gathered and brought to an appointed place, no one daring to touch a date on pain of death without order, or other severe punishment. After all are gathered, the deputy divides the produce in three equal parts; one for the king, one for the Arabs, and one for the cafrs; which are distributed, but not alike to each.
Socotora has abundance of civet cats,[215] which are taken in traps in the mountains by the cafrs, who sell them for twelve-pence each. Flesh is dear in this island; a cow costing ten dollars, and one goat or two sheep a dollar. Their cattle have good firm and fat beef, like those in England. The goats are large, and have good flesh; and the sheep are small with coarse wool. The goats and sheep are very abundant. They make very good butter, but it is always soft like cream, and is sold for four-pence or six-pence a pound. Goat's milk may be bought for three-pence the quart. Plenty of hens may be had, at the rate of five for a dollar, or about twelve-pence each. In the whole island there are not above two or three small horses of the Arab breed, and a few camels. At Delisha they take great quantities of lobsters and other good fish. A few cotton plants are found growing on the strand; where likewise there grows among the stones a shrubby plant, having large thick round green leaves, as big as a shilling, with a fruit like capers, of which it is a kind, called eschuc, and is eaten in sallads. Oranges are scarce and dear. There is very fine sweet bazil. On the shore, many fine shells are found, mixed with cuttle-fish bones, and vast quantities of pearl-oyster shells, which the people say are driven thither by the winds and waves, as no pearl-oysters are to be found here-about. The people are very poor, and rank beggars, who buy what they are able and beg all they can get, yet are honest and give civil usage. Their best entertainment is a china dish of coho, a black bitterish drink, made of a berry like that of the bay tree, which is brought from Mecca. This drink is sipped hot, and is good for the head and stomach.[216]
[Footnote 215: The Civet, or Vierra Civetta of naturalists, is an animal somewhat allied to the weazel; but the genus is peculiarly distinguished by an orifice or folicle beneath the anus, containing an unctuous odorant matter, highly fetid in most of the species; but in this and the Zibet the produce is a rich perfume, much esteemed in the east.--E.]
[Footnote 216: This Coho of Finch is evidently coffee.--E.]
At our first landing in Socotora, the people all fled from us for fear into the mountains, having formerly received injurious treatment from the Portuguese, who they said had carried off some of them forcibly. Their town which they left, is all built of stone covered with spars and palm branches, with wooden doors, and very ingenious wooden locks. Near the sea-side stands their church, enclosed by a wall like that of a church-yard, having within a couple of crosses and an altar, on which lay frankincense, with sweet wood and gums. When we first got speech of them, they pretended this was Abba del Curia, and not Socotora, which we afterwards found to be false. We walked up two or three miles into the country, not seeing a single pile of green grass, but many date trees. We saw one other very strange tree or plant, something more than the height of a man, very thick at the root, and tapering upwards almost to a point. The trunk was very smooth and without bark, and near the top some long branches without leaves, bearing reddish flowers, which change afterwards to a fruit not unlike the date in form and size, which is at first green. It contains many small whitish kernels, which as well as the branches are very bitter, and full of a resinous substance. We also saw another church having a cross on its top.[217]
[Footnote 217: Of this church and the whole island, see the voyage of Juan de Castro. For, in times past, the natives were Christians; which, as all others not of their faith, the Mahometans call cafrs. Being rude and brutish, they were the easier prey to the Arabs.--Purch.]
SECTION 3. Occurrences in India, respecting the English, Dutch, Portuguese, and Moguls.
The 28th August, 1608, Captain Hawkins with the merchants and some others landed at Surat. He was received into a coach and carried before the dawne, [or dewan.] We had very poor lodgings allotted to us, being only the porter's lodge of the custom-house; where next morning the customers came and tumbled about our trunks to our great displeasure, though we had only brought our necessaries on shore. We were invited to dinner by a merchant, who gave us good chear, but we had sour sauce to our banquet, for he was the person who had sustained almost the whole loss in the ship taken by Sir Edward Michelburne. The captain also of that ship dined with us. When that affair was told us, our captain said he had never heard of any such matter, and supposed it must have been done by a Hollander; but they affirmed it was to their certain knowledge an English ship, and deplored their hard fortunes, affirming there were thieves of all nations, yet they were not disposed to impute that fault to honest merchants. This liberal sentiment somewhat revived us; and we were invited the day after to supper by Mede Colee, the captain of that ship.
The 2d October we embarked our goods and provisions, gave a present to Schekh Abdel-reheime, and got a dispatch for our departure; but the customers refused a licence till they should search our ship, yet meeting with some frigates in their own river, which they supposed to be Malabars, they durst not venture down to our ship. These frigates [grabs] were Portuguese, who desired that no one should come to talk with them; yet Mr Buck rashly went on board and was detained.[218]
[Footnote 218: At this place is given a confused relation of several incidents at Surat, obviously garbled and abbreviated by Purchas, so as to be difficultly intelligible. As these are already contained in the journal of Hawkins, they are here omitted.--E.]
At this time I was ill of the bloody flux, of which Mr Dorchester died, but I was cured under God by an Englishman, named Careless.[219] From him I learnt many things respecting India; and particularly of the great spoil done by the Hollanders to the Portugals at Malacca the last year. The Hollanders were lying before Malacca with sixteen ships, besieging that place by sea and land, in conjunction with several native kings, when news were sent to the Portuguese viceroy, then before Acheen with all the gallants of India, having with him a very great fleet of ships, gallies, and frigates, with 4000 soldiers, having been commanded to conquer Acheen and to build a castle there, and afterwards to plunder Johor, and to chastise the Moluccas for trading with the Hollanders. Upon notice from Andrea Hurtado, who then commanded at Malacca, of the distress to which that place was reduced, the viceroy set sail from Acheen to attack the Hollanders. The Dutch general got timely notice of his motions, and having re-embarked his men and artillery, went forth to meet the viceroy. After a long and bloody fight, the Dutch had to draw off to stop the leaks of their admiral; on which the Portuguese let slip the opportunity, and fell to rioting and merriment, with great boasts of their victory, not looking any more for the Hollanders. But they, having stopped their leaks and refitted at Johor, came unexpectedly on the Portuguese, most of whom were feasting ashore, and sunk and burnt all their ships; insomuch, if the viceroy had not previously detached six ships on some other service, the Portuguese naval power in India had been all utterly destroyed. After this, the Portuguese in Malacca were infected by a heavy sickness, in which most of them died, among whom was the viceroy, and the governor of Manilla, who had brought a reinforcement of 2000 Spanish troops, so that their power was laid in the dust.
[Footnote 219: He seems to have been resident in Surat; but the particulars are omitted by Purchas.--E.]
This year a new viceroy was expected from Portugal with a strong fleet, to drive the Hollanders out of India. This fleet consisted of nine ships of war, and six others for trade; which were all separated in the gulf of Guinea, and never met again afterwards. Two of them came to Mosambique, where they were fired by the Hollanders, who likewise much distressed the castle, but could not take it; and the season, requiring their departure, they set sail for Goa, being fifteen ships and a pinnace, where they rode at the bar, defying the great Captain Hurtado, who durst not meet them. Another of the Portuguese commercial ships, having advice that the Dutch lay off Goa, went to the northwards, where they landed their money and goods, and set their ship on fire, and the soldiers fell together by the ears for sharing the money. The Dutch fleet, leaving Goa, sailed all along the Malabar coast, plundering and burning every thing, they could meet, and it was reported they had leave from the Samorin to build a castle at Chaul.[220]
[Footnote 220: This must be an error, as the country of the Samorin, at Calicut, is in the south of Malabar, and Chaul is far to the north in the Concan.--E.]
The 1st of February, 1609, our captain, Mr Hawkins, departed from Surat, with an escort of fifty peons and some horse. About this time there was a great stir about the queen mother's ship, which was to be laden for Mocha.[221] The Portuguese fleet of twenty-two frigates then rode off the bar of Surat, and demanded 100,000 mamudies for her pass, and at last agreed to take somewhat more than 1000 dollars, with sundry presents, which the Moguls were forced to give them. At this time Mucrob Khan gave me fair words, but the devil was in his heart, for he minded nothing less than payment of his debts, striking off 17,000 from 41,000 to which our accounts extended. At last he gave me his cheet for a part, though with great abatements, which I was glad to get, esteeming it better to secure some than lose all. In the beginning of April I was seized with a burning fever, of which I recovered by losing a great deal of blood, and ten days fasting, and on the fever, leaving me I was tormented with miserable stitches. Next month also I had another severe fever.
[Footnote 221: Mecca is probably here meant; this ship being destined to carry the Mogul pilgrims. The queen mother of the Moguls, mother to the reigning emperor.--E.]
The 12th May, news came that Malek Amber, King of the Deccan, had besieged Aurdanagur[222] with 22,000 horse; which place had been the metropolis of the Deccan, formerly conquered by Akbar; and that, after several assaults, the Moguls had offered to surrender the city, on condition that he would withdraw his army four or five coss[223] from the city, that they might remove with bag and baggage in security. This being done, they issued out with all their forces, and making an unexpected assault on the unprovided enemy, gave them a total defeat with great slaughter. As it was feared that Malek Amber might revenge this defeat upon the other parts of the country, the Khan-Khana raised numerous forces, and demanded 300,000 mamudies[224] towards the charges, sending also an experienced Deccan leader to govern the city.
[Footnote 222: Probably a corruption of Aurungabad.--E.]
[Footnote 223: In this and other early voyages, the coss is always named course. It is rated by Purchas at a mile and a half English. There are two cosses, the Hindoostanee, and the Rajeput, the former being 44-4/9 to a degree, and the latter 32. The Hindoostanee is equal to 1.56, and the Rajeput coss to 2.18 English miles.--E.]
[Footnote 224: This demand is inexplicable, as it is no where stated of whom it was demanded: Besides, the sum, only £15,000, is quite inadequate for the maintenance of numerous forces.--E.]
The 20th July, Shah Selim, the great Mogul, commanded his generals, Khan-Khana and Rajah Mansing, two great commanders, to invade and conquer all the kingdoms of the south to Cape Comorin, for which purpose a prodigious army was assembled. In order to resist this invasion, the three great kings of the south combined their troops, making head near Bramport, (Burhampoor or Boorhanpoor,) on the Mogul frontiers, where both armies were in camp, waiting the end of winter. These three kings, Malek Amber, King of the Deccan, whose chief city is Genefro;[225] the King of Visiapour; and the King of Golconda, whose chief city is Braganadar.[226]
[Footnote 225: This name is so inexplicably corrupt as not even to admit of conjectural amendment--E.]
[Footnote 226: This name is in the same unintelligible predicament with Genefro.--E.]
In August, I received a flying report of on English pinnace being on the coast at Gandooe[227] (Gundavee,) which, on departing from thence, was forced in again by three Portuguese frigates. I supposed this might belong to some of our shipping, which, standing for Socotora, had not been able to fetch that place, and had been forced to this coast. This was actually the case, as the pinnace belonged to the Ascension, manned by the master, John Elmer, with five men and two boys, and was in want of wood and water. The master and four of his company came to Surat on the 28th of August; but I had much ado to get leave to bring them into the town, as the people pretended we were merely allowed to trade. The truth was, they stood in fear of the Portuguese, and detained these men till they should send for instructions to the nabob, who was at the distance of four coss. What was still worse, five Portuguese frigates or grabs went into the Gundavee river and captured our pinnace, weighing up its two falcons,[228] which had been thrown overboard. We received worse news on the 5th September, the Ascension having been cast away; and next day about seventy of her company who were saved came to Surat, whom the people of the town obliged to remain outside of the walls among the trees and tombs. I was not even able to procure leave for the general himself to enter the city, though he brought letters of recommendation from Mocha, besides letters for the great Mogul from the King of England. Such was their fear of the Portuguese, in whose names two jesuits threatened fire, faggots, and utter desolation, if any more English were received. All I could do for them was sending them necessary provisions, and carrying them to the tank, where they were more conveniently lodged, yet still among the tombs. At length the governor appointed them better lodgings, at a small aldea two coss from Surat; and with much difficulty I obtained leave for Mr Rivet, Mr Jordan, and the surgeon to come to Surat, to provide necessaries for the rest. I had other trouble, occasioned by the disorderly and riotous conduct of some of the Ascension's people; more especially owing to one William Tucker, who when in liquor killed a calf, a crime held worse than murdering a man among the Banians. I was therefore glad of their departure for Agra, except fifteen who were sick and unwilling to go so far, and some who returned again.
[Footnote 227: Gundavee, a small river about 20 miles south of the Taptee, or river of Surat.--E.]
[Footnote 228: Small cannon of about two libs, ball--E.]
The 6th of October, came letters from Mr Hawkins, informing us that he had married an Armenian woman; and other letters at the end of next month, desiring me to go up to Agra. In December we were in much fear of Badur, a descendant of the Kings of Cambaya, who lay within two days march of Surat, with 600 horse and many foot. Owing to this, the governor cessed all the inhabitants according to their abilities, with the lodgement and entertainment of soldiers, rating me at ten men. I went immediately to wait upon him, and told him that I had twenty English at his service, for which he thanked me, and freed me of all farther charges. The Banians were forced to labour hard to barricade all the streets of the city, great guards were stationed at the gates, and some cannon were drawn from the castle. A reinforcement of fifty horse was sent from the garrison of Carode,[229] which had been very insufficient to protect the town; but the governor of Ahmedabad sent 1000 horse and 2000 foot to our succour, on which Badur withdrew to his strong-holds. Two years before our arrival, this chief had sacked Cambay, of which his grandfather had been king. The 18th January, 1610, I went from Surat on my way to Agra; but it is proper I should give here some account of Surat.
[Footnote 229: Currode is a small place about 12 miles S.S.E. from Surat.--E.]
This city stands about twenty miles from the sea, on the bank of a fair river, [the Taptee,] and is of considerable size, with many good houses belonging to merchants. About three miles from the mouth of the river, where on the south side is a small low island overflowed in the rainy season, is the bar where ships load and unload, having three fathoms water at spring tides;[230] and above this is a fair channel all the way to the city, capable of receiving loaded vessels of fifty tons. This river extends upwards to beyond Bramport, [Boorhanpoor;] and from thence, as some say, all the way to Mussel Patem.[231] In coming up the river, the castle of Surat is on the right hand or south side of the river, being moderately large, handsome, well walled, and surrounded by a ditch. The ramparts are provided with many good cannons, some of which are of vast size. It has one gate on the inland side with a draw-bridge, and a small postern to the river. The captain of this castle has a garrison of 200 horse. In front of the castle is the Medon, [Meidan, or esplanade,] being a pleasant green, having a may-pole in the middle, on which they hang a light and other decorations on great festivals. On this side, the city of Surat is open to the green, but is fenced on all other sides by a ditch and thick hedges, having three gates, one of which leads to Variaw, a small village at the ford of the Taptee leading to Cambay. Near this village on the left hand is a small aldea, pleasantly situated on the bank of the river, where is a great pagoda much resorted to by the Indians. A second gate leads to Boorbanpoor; and a third to Nonsary,[232] a town ten coss from Surat, where much calico is manufactured, standing near a fine stream or small river. About ten coss farther in the same direction is Gondoree, [Gundavee,] and a little further Belsaca, [Bulsaur,] the frontier town towards Damaun. Just without Nunsary gate is a handsome tank of sixteen sides, surrounded on all sides by stone steps, three quarters of an English mile in circuit, and having a small house in the middle. On the farther side of this tank are several fine tombs with a handsome paved court, behind which is a small grove of Mango trees, to which the citizens resort to banquet. About half a coss beyond this, is a great tree much venerated by the Banians, who alledge that it is under the protection of a dew, or guardian spirit, and that although often cut down and grubbed up from the roots by order of the Moors, it has yet constantly sprung up again.
[Footnote 230: This depth probably refers to the anchorage below the bar.--E.]
[Footnote 231: Masulipatam, or, more correctly, Mutshelipatnam, is at the mouth of the Kistna, on the opposite coast of India.--E.]
[Footnote 232: Nunsary is a small river, with a town of the same name, 16 or 18 miles south of the Taptee.--E.]
Near the castle of Surat is the Alphandica, where are stairs down to the river for landing and shipping goods, and within the alphandica are store-rooms for keeping goods till they are cleared; the customs being two and a half per centum for goods, three for provisions, and two for money. Without the gate of the alphandica is the great Gondoree or Bazar, being the market-place for all kinds of merchandize. Right before this gate is a tree with an arbour, where the fokeers, [faquiers,] or Indian holy men, sit in state. Between this and the castle, at the entrance of the green, or atmeidan, is the market for horses and cattle. A little lower, and on the opposite side of the river, is a pleasant small town named Ranele, inhabited by a people called Naites, who speak a different language, and are mostly seamen. The streets of this town are narrow, with good houses, each of which has a high flight of steps to its door. The people are very friendly to the English, and have many pleasant gardens, which attract many to pass much of their time there. On the trees round this village there are an infinite number of those great bats we saw at St Augustine in Madagascar, which hang by their claws from the boughs, and make a shrill noise. This bird is said by the people to engender by the ear, and to give suck to their young.
The winter begins here about the 1st of June, and continues till the 20th September, but not with continual rains as at Goa; having only heavy rain for six or seven days every full and change of the moon, with much wind, thunder and lightning. At the breaking up of the winter, there is always a cruel storm, called tuffoon, fearful even to men on land. This is not equally severe every year, but once in two or three years at the most. The monsoons, or periodical winds, serve here for going to the south in April and September, and for Mocha in February and March. From the south, ships come here in December, January, and February, and from Mocha about the 5th September, after the rains. From Ormus they sail for the coast of India in November: But none dare pass without a licence of the Portuguese, for which they exact whatever they think proper, erecting, by their own authority, a custom-house on the seas, confiscating both ship and goods to the taker, if they do not produce a regular pass.
SECTION 4. Journey to Agra, and Observations by the Way; with some Notices of the Deccan Wars.
The 18th January, 1610,[233] I departed from Comuariaw, or Cumraie, a small village 3 coss from Surat, to Mutta, a great aldea, 7 coss. The 21st to Carode, 8 coss, a large country town, having the Surat river on the north. This place has a castle, with a garrison of 200 Patan horse, who are good soldiers. The 22d to Curka, 12 c. a great village with a river on its south side. In the way between Carode and Curka, or Kirkwah, is Beca, or Behara, a castle with a great tank and a pleasant grove. 23d to Necampore, a large town under the Pectopshaw, 10 c. In this way begins a great ridge of mountains on the right hand,[234] reaching towards Ahmedabad, among which Badur occupies several strong-holds, which all the force of the king of the Moguls has not been able to reduce. These mountains extend to Boorhanpoor, and on them breed many wild elephants. The 24th to Dayta, 8 c. a great town, having to pass in the midway a troublesome stony rivulet. This town has a castle, and is almost encompassed by a river, being situated in a fertile soil. The 25th to Badur, 10 c. a filthy town full of thieves, where is made a kind of wine of a sweet fruit called mewa, but I found it unwholesome except it be burnt.
[Footnote 233: In this journal, conjectural emendations of names from Arrowsmith's excellent map of India, are given in the text as synonima, to avoid perpetual notes; and the distances are always to be understood as cosses, given exactly as in the original, without correction. It must, however, be noticed that the names in the text are often so corrupt, or different from those now in use, that it is often impossible to trace the route.--E.]
[Footnote 234: The Vindhaya mountains are obviously here meant; but they are on the left hand of the route between Surat and Boorhanpoor.--E.]
This is the last town of note in the land of Pectopshaw, who is a small king or rajah of the Gentiles, keeping on the tops of inaccessible mountains, which begin at Curka, and extend to many cosses distance. He holds possession of two fair cities, Salere and Muliere, where the mamudies are coined. Each of these towns has two mighty castles, the roads to which only admit of two men abreast, or an elephant at most; having also on the way eighty small fortresses dispersed among the mountains to guard the passage. On the tops of these mountains there is good pasture and abundance of grain, with numerous fountains or streams, which run thence into the plains. Akbar besieged him for seven years, and was in the end obliged to compound with him, giving him Narampore Dayta and Badur, with several other aldeas, for safely conducting his merchants along this plain; so that he is now in peace with the king, to whom he sends presents yearly, and leaves one of his sons in Boorhanpoor as a pledge of his fealty. He is said to have always in readiness 4000 mares of an excellent breed, and 100 elephants.
Leaving Badur on the 26th, I went 7 coss to Nonderbar, or Nundabar, a city, short of which are many tombs and houses of pleasure, with a castle and a fair tank. The 27th to Lingull, 10 c. a beastly town, with thievish inhabitants, a dirty castle, and a deep sandy road near the town. 28th 10 c. to Sindkerry, or Sindkera, a great dirty town. On the way, the governor of Lingull, with others as honest as himself, would have borrowed some money of me; but finding I would only give him powder and shot, he desisted, and allowed our carts to pass without farther trouble. Beyond Sindkera runs a small river of brackish water, by drinking of which I got the bloody flux, which continued with me all the way to Boorhanpoor. The 29th 10 c. to Taulneere, or Talnere, a thievish road, but a fair town with a castle and river, which is not passable in the rains without a boat.[235] The 30th 15 c. to Chupra, or Choprah, a great town. I rested here two days on account of the rains; in which time came the governor of Nundabar with 400 horse, without whose company I could not have continued my journey without danger, as Khan-Khana had been defeated and obliged to retire to Boorhanpoor, after losing the strong and rich town of Joulnapore, or Jalnapoor, on which the Deccaners became so insolent, that they made inroads as far as the Taptee, plundering many of the passengers.
[Footnote 235: The author seems not to have been aware that this was the Taptee, or river of Surat.--E.]
The 2d February we went 6 c. to Rawel, or Arawul, a country village, where unseasonable thunder, wind, and rain, combining with my disease, had nearly made an end of me, so that we made mukom, or halted, on the 3d and 4th. The 5th I went to Beawle, or Beawull, 10 c. a large town with a good castle. Next day we were again stopt by bad weather. The 7th, 16 c. to Ravere, a great town; and the 8th, 10 c. to Boorhanpoor, where I pitched my tent in a yard belonging to the Armenians, not being able to get a house for money, the city being so full of soldiers. About 2 c. short of Boorhanpoor is Babuderpoor a fair city; and between the two the army of Khan-Khana was encamped on the north side of the road, consisting of about 15,000 horse, 200 elephants, and 100 cannon of different sizes, the encampment extending two coss in length. Within twenty or thirty coss to the south, Amber chapon, an Abashed,[236] who was general of the army of the king of Deccan, lay encamped at the head of 10,000 of his own cast, all brave soldiers, and about 40,000 Deccaners; so that the Moguls had certainly lost the city of Boorhanpoor, had not the prince Sultan Parvis with Rajah Mausing come down with great forces; as Amber chapon had sent to demand the surrender of Boorhanpoor, deeming that Khan-Khana was unable to hold it against him.
[Footnote 236: Assuredly meaning an Abyssinian.--E.]
Boorhanpoor is a very large but beastly city, situated in a low damp place, and consequently very unhealthy, which is farther augmented by the water being bad. The castle is on the N.E. of the city, on the banks of the river which runs by Surat. In the river beside the castle, there is an image of an elephant in stone, so naturally made, that an elephant one day, coming to the river to drink, ran against it with all his force, and broke both his teeth. The forehead of this image is painted red, and many simple Indians worship it. About two coss from the castle is a garden belonging to Khan-Khana, called the Loll baug, all the way between being pleasantly shaded by rows of trees. The garden has many fine walks, with a beautiful small tank shaded by trees; and at the entrance is a fine lofty banqueting-house, likewise among trees.
I rested till the 12th under my tent, for the recovery of my health, which God was pleased to grant. Two days after my arrival, news came that Ravere and other neighbouring places had been sacked by 1500 Deccan horse, so that we were thankful to God for our safe arrival, as the way was not now passable for 1000 horse. I was here informed, by letters from an Armenian, of a prodigious disaster sustained by the Portuguese armada on the Malabar coast, consisting of fifty frigates or grabs, and two gallies, which being dispersed by a storm, was suddenly assailed by the Malabar pirates issuing from many creeks, who took many of their fleet and burnt most of the rest. On the 12th I rode out to visit the prince, and on the 13th I made him a present. He received me very courteously, and promised me every thing I asked. The prince was attended by 20,000 horse and 300 elephants; having along with him Asaph Khan with about 3000, and Emersee Rastein, late King of Candahar, with some thousand veterans. While I remained in the camp, Rajah Mansing joined with 10,000 horse, all Rajaputs, and near 1000 elephants; so that all the plains for a vast distance were covered with tents, making a most splendid appearance. Along with the army were many large boats, for transporting the troops across large rivers. On the prince removing, I returned to Boorhanpoor; and as he advanced three coss towards the enemy, I went on the 26th to take my leave, when news were brought of the defeat of some of Rajah Mansing's troops.
The 1st of March I departed for Agra along with the governor of Boorhanpoor and that day we travelled 12 c. to Barre, a great village, having passed by a very steep and stony road across the great ridge of mountains, [Callygong hills,] which come from Ahmedabad.[237] On this way, and about four coss from Boorhanpoor, we passed the strong and invincible castle of Hasser, seated on the top of a high mountain, and said to be large enough to contain forty or fifty thousand horse. On the top are many tanks and fine pasture grounds. In the time of its former sovereign, Badur Shah, it is said to have been defended by 600 pieces of cannon. Akbar besieged it for a long time, surrounding it on all sides, and at length took it by composition. For it is said there bred such innumerable quantities of small worms in the waters of the fort, that the people swelled and burst, by which mortality the king was forced to submit and surrender, the place being impregnable by any human force. The 3d we came to Candah, eleven c. a small aldea, the road being stony and very troublesome. The 4th to Magergom, four c. a large aldea, and by a very bad road. The 5th ten c. to Kergom, or Kargaw, a large village and a steep road. The 6th thirteen c. to Bircool, a small village. The 7th eight c. to Taxapore, or Tarrapoor, a small town, within two coss of which we passed a fine river called Nervor, [Nerbuddah,] which runs into the sea at Broach. On the bank of this river is a pretty town with a good castle, immediately under which is the ferry. About a coss lower down is an overfall where the water is not above three feet deep, but a mile in breadth, by which camels usually pass. The 8th five c. to Mandow, three coss of which the road goes up a steep mountain, having no more than breadth for a coach.
[Footnote 237: This is an error of Finch. The Vindhaya mountains, which run from Guzerat eastwards, are on the north of the Nerbuddah river; whereas the mountain ridge in the text divides the valley of the Nerbuddah from that of the Taptee, and joins the western Gauts near Surat.--E.]
This ridge of mountains, [the Vindhaya,] extends E. and W.[238] On the top, and at the very edge of the table land, stands the gate of the city, over which is built a handsome fort and pleasure-house. The walls extend all along the side of the mountain for many cosses. On the left hand of the entrance, at two or three miles distance from the gate, is a strong fort on the top of a pointed mountain, and some ten or twelve more dispersed in other places. For two coss or better within the outer gate, this city is all ruined, except many tombs and mosques which yet remain, interspersed among the tottering walls of many large houses. The old city of Mandow is four coss from the S. to the N. gate, and measures ten or twelve coss from east to west, beyond which to the east are good pasture grounds for many cosses. On the top of the mountain are some fifteen or sixteen tanks, dispersed about the city. What still remains of this city is very well built, but small in comparison with its former greatness, yet has many goodly buildings, all of stone, and very lofty gates, the like of which, I believe, is not to be seen in Christendom. At the entrance on the south, within the gate of the city now inhabited, as you pass along, there stands a goodly mosque on the left hand, and over against it a splendid sepulchre, in which are interred the bodies of four kings in exceedingly rich tombs. By the side of which stands a high tower of 170 steps in height, built round with windows and galleries to each room, with many fine arches and pillars, the walls being all inlaid in a most beautiful manner with green marble or some other rich stone. On the north side, where we came forth from this city; there lay a cannon, the bore of which was eighteen inches diameter. The gate is very strong, having six others within, all very strong, with large walled courts of guard between gate and gate. All along the side of the mountains runs a strong wall, with turrets or flankers at intervals, although the hill is so steep in itself that it is hardly possible for a man to creep upon all fours in any part of it, so that it appears absolutely impregnable; yet was taken, partly by force and partly by treason, by Humaion, grandfather of the present Great Mogul, from Sheic Shah Selim, whose ancestors conquered it from the Indians about 400 years ago. This Shah Selim was a powerful King of Delhi, who once forced Humaion to flee into Persia for aid; and, returning from Persia, put Selim to the worst, yet was unable to conquer him. He even held out during the whole reign of Akbar, keeping upon the mountains. Beyond the walls, the suburbs formerly extended four coss to the north, but are now all in ruins, except a few tombs, mosques, and goodly serais, in which no persons now dwell.
[Footnote 238: The original says N.E. and S.W. but in our best and latest map of Hindoostan, the direction is nearly E. and W. or perhaps E. by N. and W. by S.--E.]
The 9th we went four coss by a very bad stony road to Luneheira. Between this and the ruins, at three c. from Mandow, is a fine tank inclosed with stone, having a banqueting-house in the middle, and a fair house on the south side, now in ruins, from which to the banqueting-house is an arched bridge. The 10th to Dupalpore, fourteen c. a small town and the road good. The 11th twelve long cosses to Ouglue, or Oojain, a fair city, in the country called Malwah, a fertile soil abounding with opium. In this country the coss is two English miles. We halted the 12th. The 13th to Conoscia eleven c. 14th, eight c. to Sunenarra, or Sannarea, by a bad stony way, among a thievish people, called graciae, inhabiting the Hills on our left hand, who often plunder the caffilas, or caravans, and a hundred of them had done so now to a caravan, if we had not prevented them by our arrival. This is a small town, short of which we passed a great tank full of wild fowl. The 15th ten c. to Pimelegom, a shabby aldea. At the end of the fourth coss we passed Sarampore, or Sarangpoor, a great town with a castle on its south side, and a handsome town-house. Here are manufactured much good cotton cloth and handsome turbans. Short of this town we met Khan Jehan, a great favourite of the king, with 10,000 horse, many elephants, and a number of boats, going to join the army at Boorhanpoor. On the way also we met many of Rajah Mansing's Rajapoots, he having in all about 20,000, so that it was thought the army would amount to 100,000 horse when all assembled.
From the 16th to the 26th of March, we travelled 74 coss to Qualeres, or Colarass, a small pretty town, encompassed with tamarind and mango trees.[239] The 27th to Cipry, or Shepoory, seven Surat cosses of a mile and a half each, by a desert road. Two nights before, some sixty or seventy thieves assailed in the dark a party of 150 Patan soldiers, mistaking them for a caffila that had just gone before, by whom ten of them were slain and as many taken, the rest escaping in the dark. The 28th to Narwar twelve c. through a rascally desert full of thieves. In the woods we saw many chuckees, stationed there to prevent robbery; but they alledge that the fox is oft times set to herd the geese. This town stands at the foot of a steep stony mountain, and on the top is a castle having a steep ascent rather more than a mile, which is intersected by three strong gates. The fourth gate is at the top of the ascent, where no one is allowed to enter without an order from the king. Within, the town is large and handsome, being situated in a curious valley on the top of the mountain. This fortified summit is said to be five or six coss in circuit, walled all round, and having towers and flankers every here and there, so that it is impregnable unless by treachery. This was formerly the gate or barrier of the kingdom of Mandow, and has been very beautiful, and secured by means of strong works with abundance of cannon, but is now much gone to ruin.
[Footnote 239: It has been thought better to omit the minute enumeration of stages in the sequel, where no other information occurs; more especially as their names can seldom be referred to those in modern maps of India.--E.]
The 29th we went seven c. to Palacha, or Pelaiche; 80th, twelve c. to Antro, or Anter; 31st, six c. to Gualior, a pleasant city with castle; and on the top of a pyramidal hill, is a ruined building in which several great men have been interred. The castle of Gualior is on the west side of the town, on a steep craggy cliff, six coss in circuit, or, as some say, eleven, which is all enclosed with a strong wall. On going up to the castle from the city, the entry is by a strong gate into a handsome court enclosed with strong walls, where a numerous guard is always kept, no person being allowed to enter without a public order. From thence a narrow stone causeway leads to the top, with walls on both sides, having three gates at intervals on the ascent, all strongly fortified, with courts of guard at each. At the top of all is another strong gate, at which is a curious colossal figure of an elephant in stone. This gate is highly ornamented, and has a stately house adjoining, the walls of which are curiously adorned with green and blue stones, and the roof with sundry gilded turrets. This is the house of the governor, in which is a place for the confinement of nobles who have fallen under the displeasure of the King of the Moguls. He is said to have two other castles devoted as prisons for the nobles. Rantipore, or Rantampoor, is one of these, forty c to the W. to which are sent such nobles as are intended to be put to death, which is generally done two months after their arrival; when the governor brings them to the top of the wall, and giving them a bowl of milk, causes them to be thrown over the rocks. The other is Rotas, in Bengal, to which are sent those nobles who are condemned to perpetual imprisonment, and from whence very few return. On the top of the mountain of Gualior is a considerable extent of very good ground, with many fair buildings, and three or four good tanks or reservoirs of water. Below, on the same side with the town, there are many houses cut out of the solid rock, serving both as habitations, and as shops and warehouses; and at the foot of the hill on the north-west side, is a spacious park inclosed with a stone wall, within which are several fine gardens and pleasure-houses, and which is also useful for securing horses in time of war from marauders. This castle of Gualior was the main frontier of the kingdom of Delhi towards Mandow, and the ascent from the petah, or town, to the top of the rock, is near a mile.
Leaving Gualior on the 1st April, 1610, we arrived at Doolpoor on the 2d, being nineteen c. Within two c. before reaching that place, we passed a fine river, called the Cambue, or Chumbull, as broad as the Thames, a little short of which we went through a narrow and dangerous pass between two hills. The castle of Doolpoor is very strong, having four walls within each other, with steep ascents to each, the outermost having a deep and broad ditch. This castle is three quarters of a mile through, and has similar walls and gates to be passed on going out Its inhabitants are mostly Gentiles. The 3d April we went to Jahjaw, nine c. and next day other nine c. to Agra. In the afternoon the captain carried me before the king, where I found Mr Thomas Boys, three French soldiers, a Dutch engineer, and a Venetian merchant, with his son and servant, all newly come by land from Christendom.
In May and part of June, the city of Agra was much distressed with frequent fires by day and night, some part or other of the city being almost ever burning, by which many thousand houses were consumed, with great numbers of men, women, children, and cattle, so that we feared the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah had gone forth against the place. I was long and dangerously ill of a fever, and in June the heat was so excessive that we thought to have been broiled alive. The 28th June arrived Padre Peneiro, an arch knave, a jesuit I should say, who brought letters from the Portuguese viceroy with many rich presents, tending entirely to thwart our affairs. In this time Mucrob Khan[240] was complained against to the king by our captain, Mr Hawkins, when Abdal Hassan, the grand vizier, was ordered to see that we had justice: But birds of a feather flock together, and Mucrob Khan, partly by misstatements and partly by turning us over to a bankrupt banyan, would only pay us with 11,000 mamudies instead of 32,501-1/2 which he was due, and even that was not paid for a long time.
[Footnote 240: Finch uniformly calls this person Mo. Bowcan, but we have substituted the name previously given him by Hawkins.--E.]
In July news came of the bad fortune of the king's army in the Deccan; which, when within four days march of Aumednagur, hoping to raise the siege of that place, was obliged by famine and drought to retreat to Boorhanpoor, on which the garrison was forced to surrender after enduring much misery. The royal army in the Deccan consisted of at least 100,000 horse, with an infinite number of elephants and camels; so that, including servants, people belonging to the baggage, and camp followers of all kinds, there could not be less than half a million, or 600,000 persons in the field. The water in the country where they were, became quite insufficient for the consumption of so vast a multitude, with all their horses, elephants, camels, and draught cattle, insomuch that a mussock of water was sold in camp for a rupee, and all kinds of victuals were sold excessively dear. The army of the King of Deccan spoiled the whole country around, and getting between the Moguls and their supplies from Guzerat and Boorhanpoor, prevented the arrival of any provisions at the camp, daily vexing them with perpetual and successful skirmishes, and by cutting off all foraging parties and detachments; so that the whole army was in imminent danger, and was only extricated by a speedy retreat to Boorhanpoor; at their return to which they did not muster above 30,000 horse, having lost an infinite number of elephants, camels, and other cattle, that had died for want of forage and water.
This month also, news came of the sacking of a great city called Putana in the Purrop,[241] and the surprisal of its castle, where a considerable treasure belonging to the king was deposited, the citizens having fled without making any resistance. But the successful insurgent was almost immediately besieged and taken in the castle by a neighbouring great omrah; and on the return of the fugitive citizens, he sent twelve of their chiefs to the king, who caused them to be shaven, and to be carried on asses through the streets of Agra in the garb of women, and it is said that next day they were beheaded.
[Footnote 241: This name and province are difficultly ascertainable. The Purrop has possibly a reference to the kingdom of Porub, the Indian name of Porus, so celebrated in the invasion of India by Alexander. If this conjecture be right, the Potana of the text was Pattan or Puttan, in the north of Guzerat, the ancient Naherwalch.--E.]
Likewise this same month, the king made a great stir about Christianity, affirming before his nobles that it was the true religion, while that of Mahomet was all lies and fables. He had ordered all the three sons of his deceased brother to be instructed by the jesuits, and christian apparel to be given them, to the great wonderment of the whole city; and finally these princes were baptized solemnly, being conducted to the church by all the Christians in the city, to the number of about sixty horse, Captain Hawkins being at their head, with St George's ensign carried before him, in honour of England, displaying them in the court in the presence of the king. The eldest was named Don Philippo, the second Don Carlo, and the third Don Henrico. On the 3d September following, another young prince was christened by the name of Don Duarte, being grandson to a brother of the Emperor Akbar. This king gave frequent charges to the fathers to instruct all these princes in the Christian religion; yet all this has since clearly appeared to have been mere dissimulation.[242]
[Footnote 242: It is possible that Selim, unwilling to put to death such near relations, fell upon this device to render them ineligible among the Moguls to the succession, by which to secure the throne to himself and his sons.--E.]
SECTION 5. Description of Futtipoor, Biana, &c.; of Nill, or Indigo; and of other Matters.
The 1st of November I was sent to Biana to buy nill, or indigo. I lodged the first night at Menhapoor, a great serai or public inn, seven c. from Agra, near which the queenmother has a garden, and Moholl, or summer-house, very curiously contrived. The 2d I halted at Kanowa, or Kanua, eleven c. At every coss from Agra to Ajmeer, 130 coss, there is erected a stone pillar, owing to the following circumstance. At Ajmeer is the tomb of a celebrated Mahometan saint, called Haji Mondee; and as Akbar had no children, he made a pilgrimage on foot to that famous shrine, ordering a stone pillar to be erected at every coss, and a Moholl, with lodgings for sixteen of his principal women, at the end of every eight coss; and after his return he had three sons.
At twelve coss from Agra, on this road, is the famous city of Futtipoor, built by Akbar, and inclosed by a fair stone wall, still quite fresh, having four great gates, some three English miles between each. Within the walls, the whole extent of the city lies waste like a desert and uninhabited, being very dangerous to pass through in the night time. Much of the ground is now occupied as gardens, and much of it is sown with nill, or different kinds of grain, so that, one could hardly suppose he were in the middle of what was so lately a great and populous city. Before the gate towards Agra, in a stony ascent near a coss in length, are the ruins of an extensive suburb. At the S.W. gate, for two English miles from the city, there are ruins of many fine buildings; and on the left are many fine walled gardens, to the distance of three miles from the city. At the entrance of the N.E. gate is a goodly bazar, or market, all of stone, being a spacious straight-lined and paved street, with handsome houses on both sides, half a mile long. Close, within the gate is the king's serai, consisting of extensive stone buildings, but much ruined. At the head of this street stands the king's house, or Moholl, with much curious building; beyond which, on an ascent, is the goodliest mosque in all the east. It has a flight of some twenty-four or thirty steps to the gate, which is, in my opinion, one of the loftiest and handsomest in the world, having a great number of clustering pyramids on the top, very curiously disposed. The top of this gate may be distinctly seen from the distance of eight or ten miles. Within the gate, is a spacious court curiously paved with stone, about six times the size of the exchange of London, with a fine covered walk along the sides, more than twice as broad and double the height of those in our London exchange, supported by numerous pillars all of one stone; and all round about are entrances into numerous rooms, very ingeniously contrived. Opposite the grand gate stands a fair and sumptuous tomb, most artificially inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and inclosed by a stone ballustrade curiously carved; the ceiling being curiously plastered and painted. In this tomb is deposited the body of a calender, or Mahometan devotee, at whose cost the whole of this splendid mosque was built. Under the court-yard is a goodly tank of excellent water; none other being to be had in the whole extent of the city, except brackish and corroding, by the use of which so great a mortality was occasioned among the inhabitants of this city, that Akbar left it before it was quite finished, and removed his seat of empire to Agra, so that this splendid city was built and ruined in the space of fifty or sixty years.
The name of this place at first was Sykary, signifying seeking or hunting: But on his return from his pilgrimage to Ajmeer, and the subsequent birth of his son Selim, the present emperor, Akbar, changed its name to Futtipoor, or the city of content, or heart's desire obtained. Without the walls, on the N.N.W. side of the city, there is a goodly lake of two or three coss in length, abounding with excellent fish and wild-fowl; all over which grows the herb producing the hermodactyle, and another bearing a fruit like a goblet, called camolachachery, both very cooling fruits. The herb which produces the hermodactyle, is a weed abounding in most tanks near Agra, which spreads over the whole surface of the water. I did not observe its leaf; but the fruit is enclosed in a three-cornered hard woody shell, having at each angle a sharp prickle, and is a little indented on the flat sides, like two posterns or little doors. The fruit while green is soft and tender, and of a mealy taste, and is much eaten in India; but, in my opinion, it is exceedingly cold on the stomach, as I always after eating it was inclined to take spirits. It is called Singarra. The camolachachery, or other fruit resembling a goblet, is flat on the top, of a soft greenish substance, within which, a little eminent, stand six or eight fruits like acorns, divided from each other, and enclosed in a whitish film, at first of a russet green, having the taste of nuts or acorns, and in the midst is a small green sprig, not fit to be eaten.
Canua is a small country town, eighteen c. from Agra, W. by S. around which very good indigo is made, owing to the strength of the soil and brackishness of the water. It makes yearly about 500 M.[243] Ouchen, three c. distant, makes very good indigo; besides which no town but Biana is comparable to Canua. The country which produces the excellent indigo, which takes its name from Biana, is not more than twenty or thirty coss long. The herb nill, from which indigo is made, grows in form not much unlike chives or chick-pease, having a small leaf like that of senna, but shorter and broader, set on very short foot-stalks. The branches are hard and woody, like those of broom. The whole plant seldom exceeds a yard high, and its stem, at the biggest in the third year, does not much exceed the size of a man's thumb. The seed is enclosed in a small pod about an inch long, and resembles fenugreek, only that it is blunter at both ends, as if cut off with a knife. The flower is small, and like hearts-ease. The seed is ripe in November, and is then gathered. When sown, the herb continues three years on the ground, and is cut every year in August or September, after the rains. The herb of the first year is tender, and from it is made notee, which is a heavy reddish indigo, which sinks in water, not being come to perfection. That made from the plant of the second year, called cyree, is rich, very light, of a perfect violet colour, and swims in water. In the third year the herb is declining, and the indigo it then produces, called catteld, is blackish and heavy, being the worst of the three. When the herb is cut, it is thrown into a long cistern, where it is pressed down by many stones, and the water is then let in so as to cover it all over. It remains thus certain days, till all the substance of the herb is dissolved in the water. The water is then run off into another cistern which is round, having another small cistern in the centre. It is here laboured or beaten with great staves, like batter or white starch, when it is allowed to settle, and the clear water on the top is scummed off. It is then beaten again, and again allowed to settle, drawing off the clear water; and these alternate beatings, settlings, and drawing off the clear water, are repeated, till nothing remain but a thick substance. This is taken out and spread on cloths in the sun, till it hardens to some consistence, when it is made up by hand into small balls, laid to dry on the sand, as any other thing would drink up the colour, and which is the cause of every ball having a sandy foot. Should rain fall while in this situation, the indigo loses its colour and gloss, and is called aliad. Some deceitfully mix the crops of all the three years, steeping them together, which fraud is hard to be discovered, but is very knavish. Four things are required in good indigo; a pure grain, a violet colour, a gloss in the sun, and that it be light and dry, so that either swimming in water or burning in the fire it casts forth a pure light violet vapour, leaving few ashes.
[Footnote 243: The meaning of this quantity is quite unintelligible; but may possibly mean 500 maunds.--E.]
The king's manner of hunting is thus. About the beginning of November, he goes from Agra accompanied by many thousands, and hunts all the country for thirty or forty coss round about, and so continues till the end of March, when the great heats drive him home again. He causes a tract of wood or desert to be encompassed about by chosen men, who contract themselves to a near compass, and whatever is taken in this enclosure, is called the king's sykar, or game, whether men! or beasts, and who ever lets aught escape loses his life, unless pardoned by the king. All the beasts thus taken, if man's meat, are sold, and the money given to the poor: If men, they become the king's slaves, and are sent yearly to Cabul, to be bartered for horses and dogs; these being poor miserable and thievish people, who live in the woods and deserts, differing little from beasts. One day while the king was hunting, about the 6th January, 1611, he was assaulted by a lion[244] which he had wounded with his matchlock. The ferocious animal came upon him with such sudden violence, that he had in all probability been destroyed, had not a Rajaput captain interposed, just as the enraged animal had ramped against the king, thrusting his arm into the lion's mouth. In this struggle, Sultan Chorem, Rajah Ranidas, and others, came up and slew the lion, the Rajaput captain, who was tutor to the lately baptized princes, having first received thirty-two wounds in defence of the king; who took him into his own palanquin, and with his own hands wiped away the blood and bound up his wounds, making him an omrah of 3000 horse, in recompence of his valorous loyalty.
[Footnote 244: The lion of these early travellers in India was almost certainly the tyger.--E.]
This month of January 1611, the king was providing more forces for the Deccan war, although the king of that country offered to restore all his conquests as the price of peace. Azam Khan was appointed general, who went off at the head of 20,000 horse, with whom went Mohabet Khan, another great captain, together with a vast treasure. With these forces went John Frenchman and Charles Charke[245], engaged in the king's service for these wars.
[Footnote 245: This Charles Charke I have spoken with since in London, after having served several years in India.--Purch.]
The 9th January, 1611, I departed from Agra for Lahore, to recover some debts, and carried with me twelve carts laden with indigo, in hopes of a good price.[246] In seven days journey, I arrived at Delhi, eighty-one coss from Agra. On the left hand is seen the ruins of old Delhi,[247] called the Seven Castles and Fifty-two Gates, now only inhabited by Gogars, or cattle herds. A short way from Delhi is a stone bridge of eleven arches, over a branch of the Jumna, whence a broad way, shaded on each side with great trees, leads to the tomb of Humaion, grandfather of the present king. In a large room spread with rich carpets, this tomb is covered by a pure white sheet, and has over it a rich semiane, or canopy. In front are certain books on small tressels, beside which stand his sword, turban, and shoes; and at the entrance are the tombs of his wives and daughters. Beyond this, under a similar shaded road, you come to the king's house and moholl, now ruinous. The city is two coss in extent, between gate and gate, being surrounded by a wall which has been strong, but is now ruinous, as are many goodly houses. Within and around the city, are the tombs of twenty Patan kings, all very fair and stately. All the kings of India are here crowned, otherwise they are held usurpers. Delhi is situated in a fine plain; and about two coss from thence are the ruins of a hunting seat, or mole, built by Sultan Bemsa, a great Indian sovereign. It still contains much curious stone-work; and above all the rest is seen a stone pillar, which, after passing through three several stories, rises twenty-four feet above them all, having on the top a globe, surmounted by a crescent. It is said that this stone stands as much below in the earth as it rises above, and is placed below in water, being all one stone. Some say Naserdengady, a Patan king, wanted to take it up, but was prevented by a multitude of scorpions. It has inscriptions.[248] In divers parts of India the like are to be seen.
[Footnote 246: It has not been deemed necessary to retain the itinerary of this journey, consisting of a long enumeration of the several stages and distances, the names of which are often unintelligible. Any circumstances of importance are however retained.--E.]
[Footnote 247: There are said to be four Delhis within five coss. The oldest was built by Rase; who, by advice of his magicians, tried the ground by driving an iron stake, which came up bloody, having wounded a snake. This the ponde or magician said was a fortunate sign. The last of this race was Rase Pethory; who, after seven times taking a Patan king, was at last by him taken and slain. He began the Patan kingdom of Delhi. The Patans came from the mountains between Candahar and Cabul. The second Delhi was built by Togall Shah, a Patan king. The third was of little note. The fourth by Sher-shah-selim, and in it is the tomb of Humaion.--Purchas.]
[Footnote 248: Purchas alleges that these inscriptions are in Greek and Hebrew and that some affirm it was erected by Alexander the Great--E.]
It is remarkable, that the quarries of India, and especially those near Futtipoor, are of such a nature that the rock may be cleft like logs, and sawn like planks of great length and breadth, so as to form the ceilings of rooms and the roofs of houses. From this monument, which is two coss from Delhi, there is said to be a subterraneous passage all the way to Delhi castle. This place is now all in ruins, and abounds in deer. From Delhi, in nine stages, I reached Sirinam, or Sirhind, where is a fair tank with a pleasure-house in the middle, to which leads a stone bridge of fifteen arches. From thence is a canal to a royal garden, at the distance of a coss, with a paved road forty feet broad, overshaded by trees on both sides. This garden is square, each side a coss or more in length, enclosed with a brick wall, richly planted with all kinds of fruits and flowers, and was rented, as I was told, at 40,000 rupees. It is crossed by two main walks forty feet broad, raised on mounds eight feet high, having water in the middle in stone channels, and thickly planted on both sides with cypress trees. At the crossing of these walks is an octagon moholl, with eight chambers for women, and a fair tank in the middle, over which are other eight rooms, with fair galleries all round. The whole of this building is of stone, curiously wrought, with much fine painting, rich carving, and stucco work, and splendid gilding. On two sides are two other fine tanks, in the midst of a fair stone chounter? planted round with cypress trees; and at a little distance is another moholl, but not so curious.
From Sirhind, in five stages, making forty-eight coss, I came to a serai called Fetipoor, built by the present king Shah Selim, in memory of the overthrow of his eldest son, Sultan Cussero, on the following occasion. On some disgust, Shah Selim took up arms in the life of his father Akbar, and fled into Purrop, where he kept the strong castle of Alobasse,[249] but came in and submitted about three months before his father's death. Akbar had disinherited Selim for his rebellion, giving the kingdom to Sultan Cussero, Selim's eldest son. But after the death of Akbar, Selim, by means of his friends, got possession of the castle and treasure. Cussero fled to Lahore, where he raised about 12,000 horse, all good Mogul soldiers, and getting possession of the suburbs, was then proclaimed king, while his father was proclaimed in the castle. After twelve days came Melek Ali the Cutwall against him, beating the king's drums, though Selim was some twenty coss in the rear; and giving a brave assault, shouting God save King Selim, the prince's soldiers lost heart and fled, leaving only five attendants with the prince, who fled and got thirty coss beyond Lahore, in his way to Cabul. But having to pass a river, and offering gold mohors in payment of his passage, the boatman grew suspicious, leapt overboard in the middle of the river, and swam on shore, where he gave notice to the governor of a neighbouring town. Taking fifty horse with him, the governor came to the river side, where the boat still floated in the stream; and taking another boat, went and saluted Cussero by the title of King, dissemblingly offering his aid and inviting him to his house, where he made him prisoner, and sent immediate notice to the king, who sent to fetch him fettered on an elephant. From thence Selim proceeded to Cabul, punishing such as had joined in the revolt; and on his return with his son a prisoner, at this place, Fetipoor, where the battle was fought, as some say, he caused the eyes of Cussero to be burnt out with a glass, while others say he only caused him to be blindfolded with a napkin, tied behind and sealed with his own seal, which yet remains, and carried him prisoner to the castle of Agra. Along all the way from Agra to Cabul, the king ordered trees to be planted on both sides; and in remembrance of the exploit at this place, he caused it to be named Fetipoor, or Heart's Content, as the city formerly mentioned had been named by Akbar in memory of his birth.[250]
[Footnote 249: Purrop, or Porub, has been formerly supposed the ancient kingdom of Porus in the Punjab, and Attobass, here called Alobasse, to have been Attock Benares--E.]
[Footnote 250: There are several places in India of this name, but that in the text at this place is not now to be found in our maps, on the road between Delhi and Lahore.--E.]
From hence I went to Lahore, twenty-nine coss, in three stages, arriving there on the 4th of February, 1611. The 28th there arrived here a Persian ambassador from Shah Abbas, by whom I learnt that the way to Candahar was now clear, having been impassable in consequence of the war occasioned by Gelole, a Turk, who had tied to Persia with 10,000 Turks, when, having got a jagheer on the frontiers, he endeavoured to make himself independent, but was overthrown, and lost his head.
SECTION 6. Description of Lahore, with other Observations.
Lahore is one of the greatest cities of the east, being near twenty-four coss in circuit, round which a great ditch is now digging, the king having commanded the whole city to be surrounded by a strong wall. In the time of the Patan empire of Delhi, Lahore was only a village, Mooltan being then a flourishing city, till Humaion thought proper to enlarge Lahore, which now, including its suburbs, is about six coss in extent. The castle or royal town is surrounded by a brick wall, which is entered by twelve handsome gates, three of which open to the banks of the river, and the other nine towards the land. The streets are well paved, and the inhabitants are mostly Banyan handicrafts, all white men of any note living in the suburbs. The buildings are fair and high of brick, with much curious carvings about the doors and windows; and most of the Gentiles have their house doors raised six or seven steps from the street, and of troublesome ascent, partly for greater security, and to prevent passengers from seeing into their houses. The castle is built on the S.E. bank of the Rauvee, a river that flows into the Indus, and down which many barges of sixty tons and upwards navigate to Tatta in Sindy, after the falling of the rains, being a voyage of about forty days, passing by Mooltan, Sidpoor, Backar, &c.
The river Rauvee comes from the N.E. and passing the north side of the city, runs W.S.W. to join the Indus. Within the castle is the king's palace, which is on the side towards the river, and is entered by the middle gate on that side, after entering which, you go into the palace by a strong gate on the left hand, and a musket-shot farther by a smaller gate, into a large square court, surrounded by atescanna, in which the king's guard keeps watch. Beyond this, and turning again to the left, you enter by another gate into an inner court, in which the king holds his durbar, or court, all round which are atescannas,[251] in which the great men keep watch, and in the middle of the court is a high pole on which to hang a light. From thence you go up to a fair stone jounter, or small court, in the middle of which stands a fair devoncan,[252] with two or three retiring rooms, in which the king usually spends the early part of the night, from eight to eleven o'clock. On the walls is the king's picture, sitting cross-legged on a chair of state, on his right hand Sultan Parvis, Sultan Chorem, and Sultan Timor, his sons; next whom are Shah Morat and Don Shah, his brothers, the three princes who were baptized being sons of this last. Next to them is the picture of Eemersee Sheriff, eldest brother to Khan Azam, with those of many of the principal people of the court. It is worthy likewise of notice, that in this hall are conspicuously placed the pictures of our Saviour and the Virgin Mary.
[Footnote 251: This unexplained word probably signifies a corridore, or covered gallery.--E.]
[Footnote 252: Perhaps a divan, or audience hall.--E.]
From this devoncan, or hall of audience, which is pleasantly situated, overlooking the river, passing a small gate to the west, you enter another small court, where is another open stone chounter to sit in, covered with rich semianes, or canopies. From hence you enter a gallery, at the end of which nest the river is a small window, from which the king looks forth at his dersanee, to behold the fights of wild beasts on a meadow beside the river. On the walls of this gallery are the pictures of the late Emperor Akbar, the present sovereign, and all his sons. At the end is a small devoncan, where the king usually sits, and behind it is his bed-chamber, and before it an open paved court, along the right-hand side of which is a small moholl of two stories, each containing eight fair chambers for several women, with galleries and windows looking both to the river and the court. All the doors of these chambers are made to be fastened on the outside, and not within. In the gallery, where the king usually sits, there are many pictures of angels, intermixed with those of banian dews, or devils rather, being of most ugly shapes, with long horns, staring eyes, shaggy hair, great paws and fangs, long tails, and other circumstances of horrible deformity, that I wonder the poor women are not frightened at them.
Returning to the former court, where the adees, or guards, keep watch, you enter by another gate into the new durbar, beyond which are several apartments, and a great square moholl, sufficient to lodge two hundred women in state, all having several apartments. From the same court of guard, passing right on, you enter another small paved court, and thence into another moholl, the stateliest of all, containing sixteen separate suites of large apartments, each having a devoncan, or hall, and several chambers, each lady having her tank, and enjoying a little separate world of pleasures and state to herself, all pleasantly situated, overlooking the river. Before the moholl appropriated to the mother of Sultan Cussero, is a high pole for carrying a light, as before the king, as she brought forth the emperor's first son and heir.
Before this gallery is a fair paved court, with stone gratings and windows along the water; beneath which is a pleasure garden; and behind are the king's principal lodgings, most sumptuously decorated, all the walls and ceilings being laid over with pure gold, and along the sides, about man's height, a great number of Venetian mirrors, about three feet asunder, and in threes over each other; and below are many pictures of the king's ancestors, as Akbar his father, Humaion his grandfather, Babur his great-grandfather, the first of the race who set foot on India, together with thirty of his nobles, all clad as calenders or fakiers. In that disguise Babur and his thirty nobles came to Delhi to the court of Secunder, then reigning, where Babur was discovered, yet dismissed under an oath not to attempt any hostilities during the life of Secunder, which he faithfully performed. On the death of Secunder, Babur sent his son Humaion against his successor Abram, from whom he conquered the whole kingdom. There afterwards arose a great captain, of the displaced royal family in Bengal, who fought a great battle against Humaion near the Ganges, and having defeated him, continued the pursuit till he took refuge in the dominions of Persia; where he procured new forces, under the command of Byram, father to the Khan Khana, and reconquered all, living afterwards in security. On the death of Humaion, Akbar was very young, and Byram Khan was left protector of the realm. When Akbar grew up, and assumed the reins of government, he cast off Byram, and is said to have made away with him, when on a roomery, or pilgrimage to Mecca. The son of Byram, Khan-khana, or khan of the khans, in conjunction with his friends and allies, is a great curb on Shah Selim, being able to bring into the field upwards of 100,000 horse. Shah Selim affirms himself to be the ninth in lineal male descent from Tamerlane, or Timur the Great, emperor of the Moguls.[253]
[Footnote 253: We have here left out a farther description of the palace and other buildings at Lahore, which in fact convey little or no information.--E.]
The 17th of May came news that the Patan thieves had sacked the city of Cabul, having come suddenly against it from their mountains with 11,000 foot and 1000 horse, while the governor was absent on other affairs at Jalalabad, and the garrison so weak that it was only able to defend the castle. In six hours they plundered the city, and retired with their booty. For the better keeping these rebels in order, the king has established twenty-three omrahs between Lahore and Cabul, yet all will not do, as they often sally from their mountains, robbing caravans and plundering towns. The 18th of August, there arrived a great caravan from Persia, by whom we had news of the French king's death, from an Armenian who had been in the service of Mr Boys.
On the west side of the castle of Lahore is the ferry for crossing over the Rauvee on the way to Cabul, which is 271 cosses, and thence to Tartary and Cashgar. Cabul is a large and fair city, the first seat of the present king's great-grandfather Babur. At forty cosses beyond is Gorebond, or Gourhund, a great city bordering on Usbeck Tartary; and 150 coss from Cabul is Taul Caun, a city in Buddocsha, or Badakshan of Bucharia. From Cabul to Cashgar, with the caravan, it is two or three months journey, Cashgar being a great kingdom under the Tartars. A chief city of trade in that country is Yarcan, whence comes much silk, porcelain, musk, and rhubarb, with other commodities; all or most of which come from China, the gate or entrance into which is some two or three months farther. When the caravan comes to this entrance, it must remain under tents, sending by licence some ten or fifteen merchants at once to transact their business, on whose return as many more may be sent; but on no account can the whole caravan be permitted to enter at once.
From Lahore to Cashmere, the road goes first, part of the way to Cabul, to a town called Gojrat, forty-four coss; whence it turns north and somewhat easterly seventy coss, when it ascends a high mountain called Hast-caunk-gaut, on the top of which is a fine plain, after which is twelve coss through a goodly country to Cashmere, which is a strong city on the river Bebut, otherwise called the Ihylum, or Collumma. The country of Cashmere is a rich and fertile plain among the mountains, some 150 coss in length, and 50 broad, abounding in fruits, grain, and saffron, and having beautiful fair women. This country is cold, and subjected to great frosts and heavy falls of snow, being near to Cashgar, yet separated by such prodigious mountains that there is no passage for caravans. Much silk and other goods are however often brought this way by men, without the aid of animals, and the goods have in many places to be drawn up or let down over precipices by means of ropes. On these mountains dwells a small king called Tibbet,[254] who lately sent one of his daughters to Shah Selim, by way of making affinity.
[Footnote 254: Little Thibet, a country hardly known in geography, is on the north-west of Cashmere, beyond the northern chain of the Vindhia mountains.--E.]
Nicholas Uphet, [or Ufflet] went from Agra to Surat by a different way from that by which I came, going by the mountains of Narwar, which extend to near Ahmedabad in Guzerat. Upon these mountains stands the impregnable castle of Gur Chitto, or Chitore, the chief seat of the Ranna, a very powerful rajah, whom neither the Patans, nor Akbar himself, was ever able to subdue. Owing to all India having been formerly belonging to the Gentiles, and this prince having always been, and is still, esteemed in equal reverence as the pope is by the catholics, those rajahs who have been sent against him have always made some excuses for not being able to do much injury to his territories, which extend towards Ahmednagur 150 great cosses, and in breadth 200 cosses towards Oogain, mostly composed of, or inclosed by inaccessible mountains, well fortified by art in many places. This rajah is able on occasion to raise 12,000 good horse, and holds many fair towns and goodly cities.
Ajmeer, the capital of a kingdom or province of that name, west from Agra, stands on the top of an inaccessible mountain, three coss in ascent, being quite impregnable. The city at the foot of the hill is not great, but is well built and surrounded by a stone wall and ditch. It is chiefly famous for the tomb of Haji Mundee, a saint much venerated by the Moguls, to which, as formerly mentioned, Akbar made a roomery, or pilgrimage on foot, from Agra, to obtain a son. Before coming to this tomb, you have to pass through three fair courts; the first, covering near an acre of ground, all paved with black and white marble, in which many of Mahomet's cursed kindred are interred. In this court is a fair tank all lined with stone. The second court is paved like the former, but richer, and is twice as large as the Exchange at London, having in the middle a curious candlestick with many lights. The third court is entered by a brazen gate of curious workmanship, and is the fairest of all, especially near the door of the sepulchre, where the pavement is curiously laid in party-coloured stones. The door is large, and all inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and the pavement about the tomb is all mosaic of different-coloured marbles. The tomb itself is splendidly adorned with mother-of-pearl and gold, having an epitaph in Persian. At a little distance stands his seat in an obscure corner, where he used to sit foretelling future events, and which is highly venerated. On the east side are three other fair courts with each a fair tank; and on the north and west are several handsome houses, inhabited by sidèes, or Mahometan priests. No person is allowed to enter any of these places except bare-footed.
Beyond Ajmeer to the west and south-west, are Meerat Joudpoor and Jalour, which last is a castle on the top of a steep mountain, three coss in ascent, by a fair stone causeway,[255] broad enough for two men. At the end of the first coss is a gate and court of guard, where the causeway is enclosed on both sides with walls. At the end of the second coss is a double gate strongly fortified; and at the third coss is the castle, which is entered by three successive gates. The first is very strongly plated with iron; the second not so strong, with places above for throwing down melted lead or boiling oil; and the third is thickly beset with iron spikes. Between each of these gates are spacious places of arms, and at the inner gate is a strong portcullis. A bow-shot within the castle is a splendid pagoda, built by the founders of the castle, ancestors of Gidney Khan, who were Gentiles. He turned Mahometan, and deprived his elder brother of this castle by the following stratagem: Having invited him and his women to a banquet, which his brother requited by a similar entertainment, he substituted chosen soldiers well armed instead of women, sending them two and two in a dowle,[256] who, getting in by this device, gained possession of the gates, and held the place for the Great Mogul, to whom it now appertains, being one of the strongest situated forts in the world.
[Footnote 255: This is probably a stair.--E.]
[Footnote 256: A dowle, dowly, or dooly, is a chair or cage, in which their women are carried on men's shoulders.--Purch.]
About half a coss within the gate is a goodly square tank, cut out of the solid rock, said to be fifty fathoms deep, and full of excellent water. A little farther on is a goodly plain, shaded with many fine trees, beyond which, on a small conical hill, is the sepulchre of King Hasswaard, who was a great soldier in his life, and has been since venerated as a great saint by the people in these parts. Near this place is said to be kept a huge snake, twenty-five feet long, and as thick as the body of a man, which the people will not hurt. This castle, which is eight coss in circuit, is considered as the gate or frontier of Guzerat. Beyond it is Beelmahl, the ancient wall of which is still to be seen, near twenty-four coss in circuit, containing many fine tanks going to ruin. From thence to Ahmedabad or Amadaver, by Rhadunpoor, is a deep sandy country.
Ahmedabad is a goodly city on a fine river, the Mohindry, inclosed with strong walls and fair gates, with many beautiful towers. The castle is large and strong, in which resides the son of Azam Khan, who is viceroy in these parts. The streets are large and well paved, and the buildings are comparable to those of any town in Asia. It has great trade; for almost every ten days there go from hence 200 coaches[257] richly laden with merchandize for Cambay. The merchants here are rich, and the artisans very expert in carvings, paintings, inlaid works, and embroidery in gold and silver. At an hour's warning this place has 6000 horse in readiness: The gates are continually and strictly guarded, no person being allowed to enter without a licence, or to depart without a pass. These precautions are owing to the neighbourhood of Badur, whose strong-hold is only fifty coss to the east, where nature, with some aid from art, has fortified him against all the power of the Moguls, and whence some four years ago, proclaiming liberty and laws of good fellowship,[258] he sacked Cambaya by a sudden assault of 100,000 men, drawn together by the hope of plunder, and with whom he retained possession for fourteen days.
[Footnote 257: Perhaps camels ought to be substituted for coaches; or at least carts drawn by bullocks.--E.]
[Footnote 258: This is very singular, to find liberty and equality in the mouths of Indian despots and slaves.--E.]
Between Ahmedabad and Trage, there is a rajah in the mountains, who is able to bring 17,000 horse and foot into the field, his people, called Collees or Quuliees, inhabiting a desert wilderness, which preserves him from being conquered. On the right hand is another rajah, able to raise 10,000 horse, who holds an impregnable castle in a desert plain. His country was subject to the government of Gidney Khan, but he has stood on his defence for seven years, refusing to pay tribute. This rajah is reported to have a race of horses superior to all others in the east, and said to be swifter than those of Arabia, and able to continue at reasonable speed a whole day without once stopping; of which he is said to have a stud of 100 mares. From Jalore to the city of Ahmedabad, the whole way is through a sandy and woody country, full of thievish beastly men, and savage beasts, as lions, tygers, &c. About thirty coss round Ahmedabad, indigo is made, called cickell, from a town of that name four coss from Ahmedabad, but this is not so good as that of Biana.
Cambaya is thirty-eight coss from Ahmedabad, by a road through sands and woods, much infested by thieves. Cambay is on the coast of a gulf of the same name, encompassed by a strong brick wall, having high and handsome houses, forming straight paved streets, each of which has a gate at either end. It has an excellent bazar, abounding in cloth of all kinds, and valuable drugs, and is so much frequented by the Portuguese, that there are often 200 frigates or grabs riding there. The gulf or bay is eight coss over, and is exceedingly dangerous to navigate on account of the great bore, which drowns many, so that it requires skilful pilots well acquainted with the tides. At neap tides is the least danger. Thieves also, when you are over the channel, are not a little dangerous, forcing merchants, if not the better provided, to quit their goods, or by long dispute betraying them to the fury of the tide, which comes with such swiftness that it is ten to one if any escape. Cambay is infested with an infinite number of monkies, which are continually leaping from house to house, doing much mischief and untiling the houses, so that people in the streets are in danger of being felled by the falling stones.
Five coss from Cambay is Jumbosier, now much ruined, and thence eighteen coss to Broach, a woody and dangerous journey, in which are many peacocks. Within four coss of Broach is a great mine of agates. Broach is a fair castle, seated on a river twice as broad as the Thames, called the Nerbuddah, the mouth of which is twelve coss from thence. Here are made rich baffatas, much surpassing Holland cloth in fineness, which cost fifty rupees the book, each of fourteen English yards, not three quarters broad. Hence to Variaw, twenty coss, is a goodly country, fertile, and full of villages, abounding in wild date trees, which are usually plentiful by the sea-side in most places, from which they draw a liquor called Tarrie, Sure, or Toddic, as also from a wild cocoa-tree called Tarrie. Hence to Surat is three coss, being the close of the itinerary of Nicolas Ufflet.
The city of Agra has not been in repute above 50 years,[259] having only been a village till the reign of Akbar, who removed his residence to this place from Futtipoor, as already mentioned, for want of good water. It is now a large city, and populous beyond measure, so that it is very difficult to pass through the streets, which are mostly narrow and dirty, save only the great Bazar and a few others, which are large and handsome. The city is somewhat in the form of a crescent, on the convexity of a bend of the Jumna, being about five coss in length on the land side, and as much along the banks of the river, on which are many goodly houses of the nobles, overlooking the Jumna, which runs with a swift current from N.W. to S.E. to join the Ganges. On the banks of the river stands the castle, one of the fairest and most admirable buildings in all the East, some three or four miles in circuit, inclosed by a fine and strong wall of squared stones, around which is a fair ditch with draw-bridges. The walls are built with bulwarks or towers somewhat defensible, having a counterscarp without, some fifteen yards broad. Within are two other strong walls with gates.
[Footnote 259: This of course is to be understood as referring back from 1611, when Finch was there. We have here omitted a long uninteresting and confused account of many parts of India, which could only have swelled our pages, without conveying any useful information.--E.]
There are four gales to the castle. One to the north, leading to a rampart having many large cannon. Another westwards, leading to the Bazar, called the Cichery gate, within which is the judgment-seat of the casi, or chief judge in all matters of law; and beside this gate are two or three murderers, or very large pieces of brass cannon, one of which is fifteen feet long and three feet diameter in the bore. Over against the judgment-seat of the casi, is the Cichery, or court of rolls, where the grand vizier sits about three hours every morning, through whose hands pass all matters respecting rents, grants, lands, firmans, debts, &c. Beyond these two gates, you pass a third leading into a fair street, with houses and munition along both sides; and at the end of this street, being a quarter of a mile long, you come to the third gate, which leads to the king's durbar. This gate is always chained, all men alighting here except the king and his children. This gate is called Akbar drowage; close within which many hundred dancing girls and singers attend day and night, to be ever ready when the king or any of his women please to send for them, to sing and dance in the moholls, all of them having stipends from the king according to their respective unworthy worth.
The fourth gate is to the river, called the Dersane, leading to a fair court extending along the river, where the king looks out every morning at sun-rising, which he salutes, and then his nobles resort to their tessilam. Right under the place where he looks out, is a kind of scaffold on which the nobles stand, but the addees and others wait in the court below. Here likewise the king comes every day at noon to see the tamashan, or fighting with elephants, lions, and buffaloes, and killing of deer by leopards. This is the custom every day of the week except Sunday,[260] on which there is no fighting. Tuesdays are peculiarly the days of blood both for fighting beasts and killing men; as on that day the king sits in judgment, and sees it put in execution. Within the third gate, formerly mentioned, you enter a spacious court, with atescannas all arched round, like shops or open stalls, in which the king's captains, according to their several degrees keep their seventh day chockees.[261] A little farther on you enter through a rail into an inner court, into which none are admitted except the king's addees, and men of some quality, under pain of a hearty thwacking from the porter's cudgels, which they lay on load without respect of persons.
[Footnote 260: Probably Friday is here meant, being the Sabbath of the Mahometans.--E.]
[Footnote 261: Mr Finch perpetually forgets that his readers in England were not acquainted with the language of India, and leaves these eastern terms unexplained; in which he has been inconveniently copied by most subsequent travellers in the East. Chockees in the text, probably means turns of duty on guard.--E.]
Being entered, you approach the king's durbar, or royal seat, before which is a small court inclosed with rails, and covered over head with rich semianes, or awnings, to keep away the sun. Here aloft in a gallery sits the king in his chair of state, accompanied by his sons and chief vizier, who go up by a short ladder from the court, none other being allowed to go up unless called, except two punkaws to fan him, and right before him is a third punkaw on a scaffold, who makes havock of the poor flies with a horse's tail. On the wall behind the king, on his right hand, is a picture of our Saviour, and on his left, of the Virgin. On the farther side of the court of presence hang golden bells, by ringing which, if any one be oppressed, and is refused justice by the king's officers, he is called in and the matter discussed before the king. But let them be sure their cause is good, lest they be punished for presuming to trouble the king. The king comes to his durbar every day between three and four o'clock, when thousands resort to shew their duty, every one taking place according to his rank. He remains here till the evening, hearing various matters, receiving news or letters, which are read by his viziers, granting suits, and so forth: All which time the royal drum continually beats, and many instruments of music are sounded from a gallery on the opposite building. His elephants and horses in the mean time are led past, in brave order, doing their tessilam, or obeisance, and are examined by proper officers to see that they are properly cared for, and in a thriving condition.
Some add[262] that Agra has no walls, and is only surrounded by a dry ditch, beyond which are extensive suburbs, the city and suburbs being seven miles long and three broad. The houses of the nobility and merchants are built of brick and stone, with flat roofs, but those of the common people have only mud walls and thatched roofs, owing to which there are often terrible fires. The city has six gates. The river Jumna is broader than the Thames at London, and has many boats and barges, some of them of 100 tons burden; but these cannot return against the stream. From Agra to Lahore, a distance of 600 miles, the road is set on both sides with mulberry trees.
[Footnote 262: At this place, Purchas remarks, "that this addition is from a written book, entitled, A Discourse of Agra and the Four principal Ways to it. I know not by what author, unless it be Nicholas Ufflet."--Purch.]
The tomb of the late emperor Akbar is three coss from Agra, on the road to Lahore, in the middle of a large and beautiful garden, surrounded with brick walls, near two miles in circuit. It is to have four gates, only one of which is yet in hand, each of which, if answerable to their foundations, will be able to receive a great prince with a reasonable train. On the way-side is a spacious moholl, intended by the king for his father's women to remain and end their days, deploring for their deceased lord, each enjoying the lands they formerly held, the chief having the pay or rents of 5000 horse. In the centre of this garden is the tomb, a square of about three quarters of a mile in circuit. The first inclosure is a curious rail, to which you ascend by six steps into a small square garden, divided into quarters, having fine tanks; the whole garden being planted with a variety of sweet-smelling flowers and shrubs. Adjoining to this is the tomb, likewise square, all of hewn stone, with spacious galleries on each side, having a small beautiful turret at each corner, arched over head, and covered with fine marble. Between corner and corner are four other turrets at equal distances. Here, within a golden coffin, reposes the body of the late monarch, who sometimes thought the world too small for him. It is nothing near finished, after ten years labour, although there are continually employed on the mausoleum and other buildings, as the moholl and gates, more than 3000 men. The stone is brought from an excellent quarry near Futtipoor, formerly mentioned, and may be cut like timber by means of saws, so that planks for ceilings are made from it, almost of any size.
SECTION VII.
Voyage of Captain David Middleton, in 1607, to Bantam and the Moluccas.[263]
INTRODUCTION.
Captain David Middleton in the Consent, appears to have been intended to accompany the fleet under Captain Keeling. But, setting out on the 12th March, 1607, from Tilbury Hope, while Captain Keeling did not reach the Downs till the 1st April, Middleton either missed the other ships at the appointed rendezvous, or purposely went on alone. The latter is more probable, as Purchas observes that the Consent kept no concent with her consorts. By the title in Purchas, we learn that the Consent was a vessel of 115 tons burden. This short narrative appears to have been written by some person on board, but his name is not mentioned. It has evidently suffered the pruning knife of Purchas, as it commences abruptly at Saldanha bay, and breaks off in a similar manner at Bantam. Yet, in the present version, it has been a little farther curtailed, by omitting several uninteresting circumstances of weather and other log-book notices.--E.
[Footnote 263: Purch. Pilgr. I. 226. Astl. I. 332.]
We anchored in Saldanha roads on the 16th July, 1607, with all our men in good health; only that Peter Lambert fell from the top-mast head the day before, of which he died. The 21st, the captain and master went to Penguin island, three leagues from the road. This island does not exceed three miles long by two in breadth; yet, in my opinion, no island in the world is more frequented by seals and fowls than this, which abounds with penguins, wild-geese, ducks, pelicans, and various other fowls. You may drive 500 penguins together in a flock, and the seals are in thousands together on the shore. Having well refreshed our men, and bought some cattle, we weighed anchor about four in the morning of the 29th July, and came out of the roads with very little wind, all our men in perfect health, yet loth to depart without the company of our other two ships. But all our business being ended, and being quite uncertain as to their arrival,[264] we made no farther stay, and directed our course for the island of St Lawrence or Madagascar.
[Footnote 264: The other two ships under Keeling did not arrive at Saldanha bay till the 17th December, five months afterwards.--E.]
The 30th was calm all day, till three in the afternoon, when we had a fresh gale at S.W. with which we passed the Cape of Good Hope by ten at night. The 1st August we were off Cape Aguillas; and on the 27th we saw the island of Madagascar, some six leagues off. In the afternoon of the 30th we anchored in the bay of St Augustine, in six and a half fathoms on coarse gravel. In consequence of a great ledge of rocks off the mouth of the bay, we fell to room-wards, [leeward,] of the road, and had to get in upon a tack, having seven, six and a half, and five fathoms all the way, and on coming to anchor had the ledge and two islands to windward of us.
The 31st, our captain and Mr Davis went in the longboat to view the islands, and I myself as we went sounded close by the ledge, and had six fathoms. One of the islands is very small, as it were a mere bank of sand with nothing on it. The other is about a mile long, and half a mile broad, and has nothing upon it but some small store of wood. The 1st September, we weighed from our first anchorage, the ground being foul, so that our cable broke, and we lost an anchor in weighing, and came within two miles of the mouth of the river, where we anchored in five and a half fathoms fast ground, about three leagues from oar former anchorage. We got here plenty of sheep and beeves for little money, and having taken in wood and water, we weighed anchor on the 7th, taking to sea with us four goats, three sheep, and a heifer. We had an observation three miles from the island, before the bay of St Augustine, which we made to be in lat. 23° 48' S.[265]
[Footnote 265: The tropic of Capricorn runs through the bay of St Augustine, being 23° 30' S. rather nearer the south point of the bay; so that the latitude in the text must err at least 16' in excess.--E.]
The 12th November in the morning we saw an island, which we found to be Engano, or the Isle of Deceit, and came to its north side. This island is about five leagues in length, trending E. by S. and W. by N. the easter end is the highest, and the wester is full of trees. It is in lat. 5° 30' S. and the variation is 4° 13'. Having the wind at W.N.W. we steered away for the main of Sumatra E. by S. and E.S.E. with a pleasant gale but much rain, and next day had sight of Sumatra about four leagues from us. We anchored on the 14th in Bantam roads about four p.m. when we found all the merchants in good health, and all things in good order. Next day our captain went on shore to speak with Mr Towerson, respecting the business of the ship, and it was agreed to send ashore the lead and iron we brought with us. This being effected, and having fitted our ship in good order, and taken in our merchants and goods for the Moluccas, we took leave of the factory, and set sail for these islands on the 6th December.
"In the beginning of January, 1608, they arrived at the Moluccas. The rest of that month and the whole of February, was spent in compliments between them and the Spaniards and the Moluccan princes: the Spaniards not daring to allow them to trade without leave from their camp-master; and as he was embroiled with the Hollanders, he refused, unless they would aid him, or at least accompany their ships for shew of service against the Hollanders; which Captain Middleton refused, as contrary to his commission and instructions. In the mean time, they traded privately with the natives by night, and were jovial with the Spaniards by day, who both gave and received hearty welcome. In the beginning of March they had leave to trade, but this licence was revoked again in a few days, and they were commanded to be gone. Thus they spent their time till the 14th March, when they weighed anchor and set sail, having some little trade by the way. This part of the journal is long, and I have omitted it, as also in some other parts where I thought it might be tedious."[266]
[Footnote 266: This paragraph is by Purchas, by whom it is placed as here in the text.--E.]
The 23d March, we entered the Straits of Bangaya,[267] where the captain proposed to seek for water. While uncertain where to seek it, there came off a praw from the island, by which we learnt that good water might be had on the east shore, where we anchored in 60 fathoms in a most cruel current. Our long-boat was then sent for water, conducted by the Indian who came in the praw, from whom our people procured some fresh fish at a cheap rate in exchange for china dishes. In the morning of the 24th we went for another boat-load of water; and this morning by daybreak the natives came off to us in above 100 praws, carrying men, women, and children, and brought us great quantities of fish, both dried and fresh, which they sold very cheap. They brought us also hogs, both great and small, with plenty of poultry, which they sold very reasonably for coarse white cloth and china dishes; likewise plantains, cassathoe roots, and various kinds of fruit. The natives remained on board the whole day in such numbers, that we could sometimes hardly get from one part of the deck to another for them. In the afternoon the King of Bottone, or Booton, sent some plantains to our captain, and a kind of liquor for drinking called Irea-pote, in return for which the captain sent back a rich painted calico. About ten at night we weighed anchor, in doing which we broke the flukes of both our starboard anchors, for which reason we had to man our long-boat, and tow the ship all night against the current, which otherwise would have carried us farther to leewards than we could have made up again in three days, unless we had got a fresh gale of wind, so strong is the current at this place.
[Footnote 267: From circumstances in the sequel, these Straits of Bangaya appear to have been between the island of Booton, in about lat. 5° S. and long. 123° 20' E., and the south-east leg or peninsula of the island of Celebes.--E.]
The 19th April the King of Booton sent one of his brothers again on board,[268] to know if he might come to see the ship, of which he was very desirous, having often heard of Englishmen, but had never seen any; on which our captain sent him word that he should think himself much honoured by a visit. The king came immediately off in his caracol, rowed by at least an hundred oars or paddles, having in her besides about 400 armed men, and six pieces of brass cannon; being attended by five other caracols, which had at the least 1000 armed men in them. On coming up, our captain sent our surgeon, Francis Kelly, as an hostage for the king's safety; when he came on board, and was kindly welcomed by our captain, who invited him to partake of a banquet of sweetmeats, which he readily accepted. Captain Middleton then made enquiry as to what commodities the king had for sale in his dominions. He made answer, that they had pearls, tortoise-shell, and some cloth of their own manufacture, which we supposed might be of striped cotton. The king said farther, as we were unacquainted with the place, he would send a pilot to conduct us. Captain Middleton then requested to see some of the pearls; but he said he had not brought any with him, meaning only a jaunt of pleasure, but if we would come to Booton, which was only a day and night's sail from thence, we should see great store of pearls, and such other things as he had for sale. The captain and factor, considering that this was very little out of the way to Bantam, thought best to agree to this offer, and presented the king with a musket, a sword, and a pintado, thanking him for his kindness. The king replied, that he had not now any thing worth giving, but promised to repay these civilities before we left Booton, giving at the same time two pieces of their country cloth.
[Footnote 268: Something has probably been here omitted by Purchas, as we hear nothing of their transactions between the 24th March and 19th April.--E.]
About three p.m. the king took his leave, promising to send a pilot in all speed to carry us to the town of Booton, and by the time we weighed anchor the pilot came on board. At night the king sent one of his caracols to us, to see if we wanted any thing, and to accompany us to Booton; sending at the same time a goat to the captain. We stood for Booton with a small gale, which at night died away, so that we had to drop anchor in 22 fathoms, not willing to drift to leeward with the current; and next morning we again weighed and stood for Booton.
The 22d, about ten a.m. our purser came on board, having been sent on shore the night before, and brought with him some cocks and hens. He told us that the Indians had carried him to a king, who was glad to see him, having never before seen any Englishmen.[269] At his first coming to the king's house, he was carousing and drinking with his nobles, all round where he sat being hung with human heads, whom he had recently slain in war. After some little stay, the purser took his leave, and lay all night on board the caracol. This night we anchored in 20 fathoms, in a strait or passage not half a mile wide. The 23d, in the morning, we again weighed, and, having very little wind, our long-boat towed us through the straits, and as the tide was with us we went a-head a-main; so that by eleven o'clock a.m. we were in sight of the town of Booton, and came to anchor in 25 fathoms, about a mile and a half from the town, where we waited for the king to come on board, but he came not that night. We sent, however, our boat on shore, and bought fresh fish for our company.
[Footnote 269: There is some strange obscurity in the text about this new king, called in the margin by Purchas the king of Cobina.--E.]
The king came up under our stern about one p.m. of the 24th, having with him some forty caracols, and rowed round us very gallantly, hoisting his colours and pendants; after which they rowed back to the town, and our captain saluted them with a volley of small arms and all his great guns. He then caused man our long-boat, and went ashore to the town of Booton, accompanied by Mr Siddal and others. The king saluted our captain on landing, both with small arms and ordnance, saying that his heart was now contented, as he had seen the English nation, promising to shew our captain all the kindness in his power. The captain humbly thanked him, and took his leave for the present, coming again on board.
Next morning, the 25th April, we weighed anchor and stood farther into the road, anchoring again in 27 fathoms within half a mile of the shore. This morning there came on board a Javan nakhada, or ship-master, who had a junk in the roads laden with cloves, which he had brought from Amboina, with whom Mr Siddal our factor talked, as the Javan offered to sell all his cloves to our captain.
This day the king invited our captain to dine with him, begging him to excuse the homely fashion of their country. The meat was served up in great wooden chargers, closely covered up with cloths, and the king with our captain and Mr Siddal dined together, where we had great cheer, our drink being Irea-pote, which was sweet-tasted and very pleasant, the king being very merry. After dinner we had some talk about the cloves which we proposed to purchase; and the king promised to come next day on board himself or to send some of his attendants, to examine our cloth. The captain then gave the king great thanks for his kindness, and went on board.
The 26th, the king's uncle came off to see our ship, and was kindly entertained by the captain. The king's brother came afterwards on board, and remained to dinner with the captain, and after took leave. We expected the king, but he came not that day, sending his son and the pilot to view our cloth, which they liked very well. The king and his son came on board on the 27th, and dined with the captain, who gave them good cheer; and the king being very merry, wished to see some of our people dance, which several of them did before him, when he was much pleased both with our dancing and music. At night the king's uncle sent our captain four fat hogs.
The 28th, the king of another island near Booton came in his caracol, accompanied by his wife, to view our ship, but could not be prevailed on to come aboard. Our ship being now laden with cloves bought of the Javans, our captain bought some slaves from the king; and while we were very busy this night, one of them stole out from the cabin and leapt into the sea to swim ashore, so that we never heard of him more. Next morning the captain sent Augustine Spalding, our Jurabossa, to inform the king of the slave having made his escape, who presently gave him another.
May 3d, we proceeded for Bantam, saluting the town of Booton at our departure with three guns. The 3d, we had sight of the Straits of Celebes, for which we made all sail, but could not get into them that night. The 23d May, we anchored in the road of Bantam, where we did not find a single Christian ship, and only four junks from China, having taffaties, damasks, satins, and various other commodities. Having finished all our business here, the captain and merchants took leave on the 15th July, 1608, when we presently made sail from the road of Bantam, bound home for our native England.
Note.--At this place Purchas observes, "To avoid tiring the readers, the rest of this voyage homewards is omitted; instead of which we have set down a table of the journal of this ship from the Lizard to Bantam, as set forth by John Davis."--On this paragraph of Purchas, the editor of Astley's Collection remarks, I. 335. c. "But we meet with no such table in Purchas, neither is any reason assigned why it is omitted, so that many may believe these copies of Purchas imperfect. This Davis was probably the same who went with Sir Edward Michelburne, and who published some nautical directions, as already observed."
It is singular that the editor of Astley's Collection, with Purchas his Pilgrims before him, and perfectly aware of the Directions by John Davis "For ready sailing to the East Indies, digested into a plain Method, upon Experience of Five Voyages thither and Home again," should not have discovered or conjectured, that the promised table is actually published by Purchas in the first volume of his Pilgrims, p. 444--455.--E.
SECTION VIII.
Fourth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1608, by Captain Alexander Sharpey.[270]
INTRODUCTION.
The relation of this fourth voyage fitted out by the English East India Company, and of various circumstances arising out of it, as given by Purchas, consists of four different narratives, to which the editor of Astley's Collection adds a fifth, here adopted from him. The following are the remarks in Astley, respecting this voyage and its several narratives.
[Footnote 270: Purch. Pilgr. I. 228, Astley, I. 336.]
In this voyage there were employed two good ships; the Ascension admiral, commanded by Captain Alexander Sharpey, general of the adventure; and the Union vice-admiral, under the command of Captain Richard Rowles, lieutenant-general. As these vessels separated at the Cape of Good Hope, and the Ascension was cast away in the bay of Cambaya, they may be considered as separate voyages, of which we have distinct relations.
There are two accounts extant of the voyage of the Ascension; one written by Captain Robert Coverte, and the other by Thomas Jones. There was a third, written by Henry Moris at Bantam, from the mouth of William Nichols, one of the sailors belonging to the Ascension; but as the voyage part was the same in substance as that given by Jones, Purchas omitted that part, and only inserted the journey of Nichols by land from Surat to Masulipatam; which requires to be inserted, although his remarks on the road to Masulipatam, and his voyage from thence to Bantam, are comprised in very few words.
The relation of Captain Coverte is not inserted in the Pilgrims of Purchas, who omitted it, because, as he tells us, it was already in print. Its title runs thus: A true and almost incredible Report of an Englishman, that, being cast away in the good Ship called the Ascension, in Cambaya, the furthest Part of the East Indies, travelled by Land through many unknown Kingdoms and great Cities. With a particular Description of all these Kingdoms, Cities, and People. As also a Relation of their Commodities and Manner of Traffic, &c. With the Discovery of a great Empire, called the Great Mogul, a Prince not till now known to the English Nation. By Captain Coverte. London, printed by William Hall, for Thomas Archer and Richard Redmer, 1612.
The circumstance of this narrative having been before printed, is a very insufficient reason for its omission, since Purchas inserted many others which were before in print, and few tracts had a better title for insertion, than this of Coverte. De Bry, however, knew its value, and gave a translation of it with cuts, in his Ind. Orient. part xi. p. 11. but divided into chapters, the original being in one continued narrative. It is true that Purchas has given an extract from it in his Pilgrimage, book V. chap. vii. sect. 5. a work on general geography entirely different from his Pilgrims, or Collection of Voyages and Travels; but this is very imperfect, and only refers to his land journey.
This voyage of Coverte contains sixty-eight pages in quarto, black letter, besides the dedication and title, which occupy four pages more. It is dedicated to Robert Earl of Salisbury, Lord High Treasurer of England; but there is nothing in the dedication worth notice, except that he says, after the wreck of the Ascension, and getting on shore with seventy-four others, he was the only one among them who would venture upon so desperate an undertaking as to travel home by land. He likewise asserts that every thing he relates is true, protesting that he speaks of nothing but what he had seen and suffered.
In this place, we shall only abstract the author's voyage to Cambaya; and, instead of his journey home through India, Persia, and Turkey, [which will be inserted among the Travels,[271]] shall give the account of Jones of his own return from Cambaya by sea to England. This voyage lays claim to two discoveries, that of the Moguls country, as appears in the tide, though Captain Hawkins had got the start of him there; and the discovery of the Bed Sea by the Ascension, as mentioned in the title of the relation by Jones in Purchas.--Astley.
[Footnote 271: This promise is not however performed in Astley's Collection. In the Pilgrims, I. 235, Purchas has inserted the peregrination of Mr Joseph Salbank through India, Persia, part of Turkey, the Persian Gulf, and Arabia, in 1609, written to Sir Thomas Smith; and tells us in a sidenote, that Robert Coverte was his companion in the journey all the way through India and Persia, to Bagdat. We meant to have inserted these peregrinations as a substitute for those of Coverte, but found the names of places so inexplicably corrupted, as to render the whole entirely useless.--E.]
In Astley's Collection, copying from Purchas, a brief account of the same voyage is given, as written by Thomas Jones, who seems to have been carpenter or boatswain of the Ascension, and whose narrative differs in some particulars from that of Coverte, though they agree in general. Instead of augmenting our pages by the insertion of this additional narrative, we have only remarked in notes the material circumstances in which they differ. Neither can be supposed very accurate in dates, as both would probably lose their journals when shipwrecked near Surat.
We have likewise added, in supplement to the narrative of Coverte, such additional circumstances as are supplied by Jones, after the loss of the ship.--E.
SECTION 1. Relation of this Voyage, as written by Robert Coverte.[272]
We weighed anchor from Woolwich on the 14th of March, 1608, and came to the Downs over against Deal, three miles from Sandwich, where we remained till the 25th, when we sailed for Plymouth. Leaving that place with a fair gale on the 31st, we arrived at the Salvages, 500 leagues from thence, on the 10th of April, and came next morning in sight of the Grand Canary. Casting anchor there at midnight, we fired a gun for a boat to come off: But the Spaniards, fearing we were part of a squadron of twelve Hollanders, expected in these seas, instead of sending any one on board, sent into the country for a body of 150 horse and foot to defend the town; neither were their fears abated till two of our factors went ashore, and acquainted them that we were two English ships in want of some necessaries. Next morning we fired another gun, when the governor sent off a boat to know what we wanted. Having acquainted him, he made answer, that it was not in his power to relieve our wants, unless we came into the roads. Yet, having examined our factors upon oath, they had a warrant for a boat at their pleasure, to go between the shore and the ships with whatever was wanted. What we most wondered at, was the behaviour of two ships then in the roads, known by their colours to be English, the people of which had not the kindness to apprize us of the customs of the subtile currish Spaniards. It is the custom here, when any foreign ship comes into the roads, that no person of the same nation even, or any other, must go on board without leave from the governor and council.
[Footnote 272: Astley, I. 336.--In Astley's Collection, this person is named captain; but it does not appear wherefore he had this title.--E.]
During five days that we remained here, some of the Spaniards came on board every day, and eat and drank with us in an insatiable manner. The general also made a present to the governor of two cheeses, a gammon of bacon, and five or six barrels of pickled oysters, which he accepted very thankfully, and sent in return two or three goats and sheep, and plenty of onions. We there took in fresh water, Canary wine, marmalade of quinces at twelve-pence a pound, little barrels of suckets, or sweetmeats, at three shillings a barrel, oranges, lemons, pame citrons, and excellent white bread baked with aniseeds, called nuns-bread.
We set sail on the 18th April in the morning, with a fair wind, which fell calm in three hours, which obliged us to hover till the 21st, when a brisk gale sprung up, with which we reached Mayo, one of the Cape Verd islands, in the afternoon of the 27th, 300 leagues from the Canaries, where we came to anchor, determining to take in water at Bonavista; but finding the water not clear, and two or three miles inland, we took the less, but had other good commodities. At our arrival we were told by two negroes, that we might have as many goats as we pleased for nothing; and accordingly we got about 200 for both ships. They told us also, that there were only twelve men on the island, and that there was plenty of white salt growing out of the ground,[273] so that we might have loaded both ships. It was excellent white salt, as clear as any that I ever saw in England. Eight leagues from Mayo is the island of St Jago.
[Footnote 273: This must be understood as formed naturally by evaporation, owing to the heat of the sun, in some places where the sea-water stagnates after storms or high tide.--E.]
We left Mayo on the 4th May at six in the morning, and passed the equinoctial line at the same hour on the 20th.[274] The 14th July, we came to Saldanha bay, having all our men in health except two, who were a little touched, with the scurvy, but soon recovered on shore. That day we had sight of the Cape of Good Hope, 15 or 16 leagues from hence. We refreshed ourselves excellently at Saldanha bay, where we took in about 400 cattle, as oxen, steers, sheep, and lambs; with fowls, plenty of fish of various kinds, and fresh water. At Penguin island, five or six leagues from the land, there are abundance of the birds of that name, and infinite numbers of seals. With these latter animals we filled our boat twice, and made train-oil for our lamps. From this island we took off six fat sheep, left there by the Hollanders for a pinnace which we met 200 leagues from the Cape, and left six bullocks in their stead. On our first arrival at Saldanha bay, we set up our pinnace, which we launched on the 5th September, and in six or eight days after she was rigged and fit for sea.
[Footnote 274: Jones observes, that after passing the
line, they fell in with the trade-wind, which blows
continually between S.E. and S.E. by E. the farther one goes to
the southwards, finding it still more easterly, all the way
between the line and the tropic of Capricorn. This almost
intolerable obstacle to the outward-bound India voyage, was
afterwards found easy to be avoided, by keeping a course to the
westward, near the coast of Brazil.
Jones likewise mentions, that on the 11th June, when in lat.
26° S. they overtook a carak, called the Nave Palma, bound
for India; which was afterwards lost on the coast of Sofala,
within twelve leagues of Mozambique.--E.]
The natives of the country about Saldanha bay are a very beastly people, especially in their feeding; for I have seen them eat the guts and garbage, dung and all. They even eat the seals which we had cast into the river, after they had lain fourteen days, being then full of maggots, and stinking most intolerably. We saw here several signs of wild beasts, some so fierce, that when we found their dens, we durst neither enter nor come near them. The natives brought down to us ostrich eggs, some of the shells being empty, with a small hole at one end; also feathers of the same bird, and porcupine quills, which they bartered for our commodities, being especially desirous of iron, esteeming old pieces of that metal far beyond gold or silver.
Early on the 20th September,[275] we came out of the bay and set sail; and that night, being very dark and windy, we lost sight of the Union and our pinnace, called the Good Hope. The Union put out her ensign about five o'clock p.m. for what reason we never knew, and lay too all that night. We proceeded next day, and having various changes of wind, with frequent calms, we came on the 27th October to the latitude of 26° S. nearly in the parallel of St Lawrence. Continuing our course with similar weather, we descried two or three small islands on the 22d November in the morning, and that afternoon came to another off a very high land, called Comoro.[276] Sending our boat ashore on the 24th, the people met five or six of the natives, from whom they bought plantains. The 25th, by the aid of our boat towing the ship between two islands, as the wind would not serve, we came to anchor in the evening near the shore of Comoro, in between 17 and 20 fathoms water.
[Footnote 275: Jones says the 25th, and that the subsequent storm, on the 26th, in which they lost sight of the Union and the pinnace, was so violent as to split their fore-course.--E.]
[Footnote 276: According to Jones, they wished to have passed to the south of Madagascar, making what is now called the outer and usual passage, but could not, and were forced to take the channel of Mozambique.--E.]
The boat was sent ashore on the 26th with a present for the king, in charge of our factor, Mr Jordan, consisting of two knives, a sash or turban, a looking-glass and a comb, the whole about 15s. value. The king received these things very scornfully, and gave them to one of his attendants, hardly deigning them a look: Yet he told Mr Jordan, that if our general would come ashore, he might have any thing the country afforded, and he bowed to him very courteously on taking leave. It appears the king had examined the present afterwards, and been better pleased with it, for he sent off a bullock to our general in the afternoon, when the messenger seemed highly gratified by receiving two penny knives. Next day, the general went ashore with twelve attendants, carrying a small banquet as a present to the king, consisting of a box of marmalade, a barrel of suckets, and some wine. These were all tasted by the English in the king's presence, who touched nothing, but his nobles both eat and drank. The general had some discourse with the king, by means of an interpreter, concerning our wants; and understood that he had some dealings with the Portuguese, which language the king could speak a little. The king had determined on the 28th to have gone aboard the Ascension, but we were told by the interpreter, that his council and the common people would not allow him.
I went ashore on the 29th with the master, Mr Tindall and Mr Jordan, and all the trumpeters. We were kindly received at the water-side by the interpreter, who conducted us to the king, who was then near his residence, and bowed very courteously on our approach. His guard consisted of six or eight men, with sharp knives a foot long, and as broad as hatchets, who went next his person. Besides these, several persons went before and many behind, for his defence. The natives seem very civil, kind, and honest; for one of our sailors having left his sword, one of the natives found it and brought it to the king, who, perceiving that it belonged to one of the English, told him he should be assuredly put to death, if he had come by it otherwise than he declared. Next day, on going ashore, the interpreter returned the sword, and told us what the king had said on the occasion.
The natives likewise have much urbanity among themselves, as we observed them, in the mornings when they met, shaking hands and conversing, as if in friendly salutation. Their manners are very modest, and both men and women are straight, well-limbed, and comely. Their religion is Mahometism, and they go almost naked, having only turbans on their heads, and a piece of cloth round their middles. The women have a piece of cloth before, covering their breasts and reaching to the waist, with another piece from thence to a little below their knees, having a kind of apron of sedges hanging down from a girdle, very becomingly. They go all barefooted, except the king, who wears sandals. His dress was as follows: A white net cap on his head; a scarlet vest with sleeves, but open before; a piece of cloth round his middle; and another which hung from his shoulders to the ground.
When at the town, the natives brought us cocoa-nuts for sale, of various sizes, some as big as a man's head, each having within a quantity of liquor proportioned to its size, and as much kernel as would suffice for a man's dinner. They brought us also goats, hens, chickens, lemons, rice, milk, fish, and the like, which we bought very cheap for commodities; as two hens for a penny knife; lemons, cocoa-nuts, and oranges for nails, broken pikes, and pieces of old iron. Fresh water is scarce, being procured from holes made in the sands, which they lade out in cocoa-nut shells as fast as it springs, and so drink. They brought some of it to us, which we could not drink, it looked so thick and muddy.
We sailed from Comoro on the 29th November, and on the 10th December, at three a.m. we suddenly descried a low land, about a league a-head, having high trees growing close to the shore. We took this at first to be the island of Zanjibar, till one of the natives told us it was Pemba.[277] We immediately stood off till day-break, when we again made sail for the shore, along which we veered in search of a harbour or anchoring place, and sent Mr Elmore in the boat to look out for a convenient watering-place. On landing, some of the inhabitants demanded in Portuguese who we were; and being told we were English, they asked again what we had to do there, as the island belonged to the King of Portugal? Answer was made that we knew not this, and only wanted a supply of water. The ship came next day to anchor, near two or three broken islands, close by Pemba, in lat. 5° 20' S. The 12th, Mr Jordan went ashore, and conversed with some of the people in Portuguese, but they seemed not the same who had been seen before, as they said the king of the island was a Malabar. Mr Jordan told them, though the ship was English, that he was a Portuguese merchant, and the goods were belonging to Portugal. They then said he should have every thing he wanted, and sent a Moor to shew them the watering-place, which was a small hole at the bottom of a hill, more like a ditch than a well. Having filled their borachios, or goat-skins, they carried the Moor aboard, and going again next day for water, set him ashore. The report he made of his good usage, brought down another Moor who could speak a little Portuguese, and said he was one of the king's gentlemen.
[Footnote 277: Jones says they overshot Zanjibar by the fault of their master, so that all their misfortunes seem attributable to his ignorance.--E.]
This man went also on board and was well treated, and on landing next day, he promised to bring hens, cocoa-nuts, and oranges, which he did. I went this day on shore along with the master, Mr Revet, and some others, and dined on shore. When we had done dinner, there came two head men and a Moor slave to the watering-place, who asked if the chief men belonging to the ship were ashore, and where they were. Edward Churchman told them that the master and one of the merchants were ashore, and he would bring us to them if they pleased. At our meeting they saluted us after the Portuguese fashion, and told us that we were welcome, and that every thing in the island was at our command: But all these sugared words were only a cloak to their treacherous designs. We asked who the chief person among them was, and were told he was the king's brother; who immediately produced a plate of silver, on which were engraven the names of all the villages and houses in the island, telling us that he was governor of all these. On asking if there were any Portuguese on the island, they said no, for they were all banished, because they would have refreshments there by force, and endeavoured to make slaves of the people; wherefore they had made war upon them ever since their first appearance.
In the mean time our pinnace joined us, having been sent to another part of the island for cattle according to appointment, but the people had postponed supplying them, till they could find an opportunity of executing their intended treachery. The people of the pinnace told us, they had been informed that fifteen sail of Hollanders had lately taken Mozambique, and put all the Portuguese to the sword. At this news, which came from Zanjibar, the head Moors seemed overjoyed, being another subtle contrivance to lead us on to our ruin. On the approach of night, we entreated them to go on board with us, which they declined, but promised they would next day. Accordingly, he who called himself the king's brother came with two others on board, having Thomas Cave, Gabriel Brooke, and Lawrence Pigot, our surgeon, as their pledges. They were handsomely entertained, and next morning our general gave the chief two goats and a cartridge of gunpowder, with some trifles to the two others. Messrs Revet, Jordan, Glascock, and I, went ashore with them for the pledges, and on landing went unadvisedly along with them to some houses, where we found the pledges guarded by some fifty or sixty men, armed with bows and arrows, swords, bucklers, and darts; yet were they delivered to us. We then returned to the pinnace, accompanied by the king's brother, most of the Moors following us, and six or seven of them going up to the pinnace to examine it, after which they returned to the rest. We went all into the boat, and the king's brother readily came along with us, and was courteously entertained as usual. Towards night the master offered him a knife, which he scornfully refused, and immediately went ashore in an almadia.
The long-boat went ashore very early of the 14th for water, and when the casks were filled the ship was seen with her sails set down to dry; but the natives believing she was going away, the companion of the king's brother came and asked our boatswain if it were so. The boatswain, as well as he could by signs, made him understand that it was only to dry the sails. While thus talking, our pinnace was observed coming ashore well armed, on which the natives went away. Had not the pinnace made her appearance so very opportunely, I believe they intended at this time to have cut off our men, and seized the long-boat, for two or more of the rogues were seen lurking about the watering-place, as if waiting for the signal of attack. When our pinnace came on shore, and the men were standing near on the sands under arms, the master sent Nicholas White to the town, to tell the islanders that our merchants were landed, and as White was passing a house full of people, he observed six Portuguese in long branched or flowered damask gowns, lined with blue taffeta, under which they wore white calico breeches. Presently after, the attendant on the king's brother came and told Mr Revet that the native merchants were weary, and requested therefore that the English would come up to look at the cattle. Now White saw only one bullock and no more. Mr Revet desired to be excused, and pressed him to send down the bullock, saying, there were enough of goods in the boat to pay for it; with which answer he went away.
The king's brother was then on the sands, and gave orders to a negro to gather cocoa-nuts to send to our general, and desired Edward Churchman to go and fetch them, who went accordingly, but was never seen or heard of more.[278] Finding that the English refused to land, and stood on their guard, the word was given for assault, and a horn was sounded, upon which our men at the watering-place were immediately assaulted. John Harrington, the boat-swain's mate, was slain, and Robert Backer, Mr Ellanor's man, was sore wounded in eight or ten places, and had certainly been killed, but that a musket or two were fired from the boat, by which it would seem that some of them were hurt, as they retired crying out. Bucker, though weak and faint, made a shift to get to the boat, and two or three other men, who were at the watering-place, got safe into the boat.
[Footnote 278: Jones says he was informed afterwards by a Portuguese, that Churchman afterwards died at Mombaza. He tells us likewise, that the Portuguese of Mombaza intended to have manned a Dutch hulk which had wintered there, on purpose to take the Ascension; but learning her force they laid that design aside, and endeavoured to circumvent them by means of the natives of Pemba, who are very cowardly, and dare not venture on any enterprize, unless instigated by the Portuguese.--E.]
In the morning of the 26th, the boat and pinnace went ashore well armed to fetch in our davy, which is a piece of timber by which the anchor is hauled up; and a little beyond it, they found the body of Harrington stark naked, which they buried in an island near Pemba. The natives of this island seemed well disposed towards us; for, at our first coming, they made signs to us, as if warning us to take care of having our throats cut, which we then paid no attention to.[279]
[Footnote 279: This circumstance is not easily understood, unless by the natives are here meant negroes, as distinguished from the Moors, who endeavoured to murder the English, probably at the instigation of the Portuguese.--E.]
We set sail that same day from Pemba, being the 20th December, and by midnight our ship got aground on the shoals of Melinda, or Pemba, which we were not aware of, but got off again, by backing our sails, as the wind was very moderate. Next morning we pursued and took three small boats, called pangaias, which had their planks very slightly connected together, while another boat was endeavouring to come off from the land to give them notice to avoid us. In these boats there were above forty persons, six or eight of whom being comparatively pale and fair, much differing from the Moors, we thought to have been Portuguese; but being asked, they shewed their backs all over with written characters; and when we still insisted they were Portuguese, they said the Portuguese were not circumcised as they were.[280] As we could not be satisfied of their not being Portuguese, some of our mariners spoke to them about the murder of our men, which seemed to put them in fear, and they talked with each other in their own language, which made us suspect they were meditating some desperate attempt. For this reason, I remained watchful on the poop of our ship, looking carefully after our swords, which lay naked in the master's cabin, which they too seemed to have their eyes upon. They seemed likewise to notice the place where I and Mr Glascock had laid our swords, and anxiously waiting for the place being clear. They even beckoned several times for me to come down upon the spar-deck, which I refused, lest they might have taken that opportunity to seize our weapons, which would have enabled them to do much more mischief than they afterwards did.
[Footnote 280: These men were probably tawny Moors, or Arabs of pure descent; whereas many of the Mahometans along the eastern shore of Africa; and in its islands, are of mixed blood, partly negro,--E.]
Our master, Philip de Grove, came soon afterwards on the spar-deck, and asking for their pilot, took him down into his cabin to shew him his plat or chart, which he examined very attentively; but on leaving the others to go with the master, he spoke something to them in the Moors language which we did not understand, but which we afterwards supposed was warning them to be on their guard to assault us as soon as he gave the signal. It was reported that the pilot had a concealed knife, for which he was searched; but he very adroitly contrived to shift it, and therewith stabbed our master in the belly, and then cried out. This probably was the signal for the rest, for they immediately began the attack on our people on the spar-deck. The general, with Messrs Glascock and Tindal, and one or two more, happened to be there at the time, and had the good fortune to kill four or five of the white rogues, and made such havoc among the rest that at length they slew near forty of them, and brought the rest under subjection. A little before this, our master had proposed to the general to buy from them some garavances, or pease, the ordinary food of the country, if they had any for sale, and then to set them at liberty with their boats and goods. To this the general had agreed, and the master, as before mentioned, had called the Moorish pilot, to see if he had any skill in charts. But as they had treacherously attacked us, we certainly could do no otherwise now than slay them in our own defence. Five or six of them, however, leapt overboard, and recovered a pangaia by their astonishing swiftness in swimming, and escaped on shore, as they swam to windward faster than our pinnace could row.
In this skirmish only three of our men were hurt, namely, Mr Glascock, Mr Tindal, and our master.[281] The first had two wounds, one of which was very deep in the back. When they commenced the attack, Mr Tindal had no weapon in his hand, and one of them aimed to stab him in the breast; but as he turned suddenly round, he received the wound on his arm. They all recovered perfectly.
[Footnote 281: According to Jones, he personally slew the Moorish pilot in this affray. One of the persons wounded on this occasion was the chaplain, but his name is not mentioned. Great lamentation was made by the Moors on the coast of Africa for their loss in this affair, as Jones was told afterwards by the Portuguese, as some of them, probably those mentioned as white rogues by Coverte, were of the blood royal.--E.]
The 19th of January, 1609, we espied many islands, which the Portuguese call Almirante,[282] being nine in number, and all without inhabitants, as the Portuguese affirm. Next morning we sent our pinnace to one of them in search of fresh water, which could not be found, but our people saw many land tortoises, and brought six on board. We then went to another of these islands, where we came to anchor in twelve or thirteen fathoms in a tolerably good birth, and here we refreshed ourselves with water, cocoa-nuts, fish, palmitos, and turtle-doves,[283] which last were in great plenty. The 1st of February we set sail with a fair wind, and passed the line on the 19th, having previously on the 15th come within ken of the land on the coast of Melinda. We came to anchor next day on the coast of the continent, in 12 fathoms, about two leagues from shore, and sent our pinnace to seek refreshments; but they were unable to land, and the natives could not be induced to adventure within hearing, wherefore our ship departed in the afternoon. About this time, William Acton, one of the ship boys, confessed being guilty of a foul and detestable crime;[284] and being tried and found guilty by a jury, was condemned and executed on the morning of the 3rd March.
[Footnote 282: Called by Jones the Desolate Islands, because not inhabited.--E.]
[Footnote 283: Jones says these turtle-doves were so tame that one man might have taken twenty dozen in a day with his hands.--E.]
[Footnote 284: In the last paragraph but one of his
book, Mr Coverte explains the nature of this crime: "Philip de
Grove, our master, was a Fleming, and an arch villain, for this
boy confessed to myself that he was a detestable sodomite. Hence,
had not the mercy of God been great, it was a wonder our ship did
not sink in the ocean."--For any thing that appears, the boy was
put to death to save the master.--Astl. I. 342. c.
In Jones's Narrative no notice is taken of this crime and punishment.--E.]
The 21st betimes, we espied an island in lat. 12° 17' N. with four rocks or hills about three leagues from it. We had beaten up a whole day and night to get to this island; but finding it barren and unpeopled, we passed on, and got sight of three other islands that same day about sun-set, in lat. 12° 29' N. Two were about a league asunder, and we found the third to be Socotora, which is in lat. 12° 24' N. We arrived here the 29th March, and came to anchor next day in a fine bay. As the islanders lighted a fire on seeing us, we sent the skiff on shore, but the people fled in all haste, having possibly been injured by some who had passed that way. Finding no prospect of any relief here, our men returned on board, when we again made sail to find the chief harbour.
Standing out to sea next day, we met a ship from Guzerat, laden with cotton, calico, and pintados or chintz, and bound for Acheen.[285] As they told us it was a place of great trade, we went there along with her, but we found it quite otherwise, being merely a garrison town with many soldiers. There is a castle at the entrance cut out of the main land, and surrounded by the sea, having thirty-two pieces of ordnance, and there were fifty in the town. Arriving there the 10th April, the people of the Guzerat ship landed, and told the governor that an English ship had come to trade there. The governor sent his admiral to invite our general, who went very unadvisedly on shore, where he and his attendants were received with much courtesy, three or four horses waiting for his use, and was brought in great pomp to the governor. Finding our general but a simple man, the governor put him into a house with a chiaus, or keeper, and a strong guard of janissaries, and kept him and his attendants prisoners for six weeks, I being of the number. The governor then obliged him to send aboard for iron, tin, and cloth, to the value of 2500 dollars, pretending that he meant to purchase the goods; but when once on shore, he seized them under pretence of customs. Seeing he could get no more, he sent the general aboard on the 27th May, but detained two of our merchants as pledges for payment of 2000 dollars, which he said was for anchorage: but as we all declared against submitting to pay this arbitrary exaction, the governor sent our two merchants to the Pacha at Sanaa, about eight days journey up the country.
[Footnote 285: Jones says she belonged to Diu, but told the English she was from Surat, and gave them an account of the arrival of Captain Hawkins at that place.--E.]
The 28th of May, we were joined by our pinnace, the Good Hope, the master of which, John Luffkin, had been knocked in the head with a mallet by Thomas Clarke, with the consent of Francis Driver, master's mate,[286] together with Andrew Evans and Edward Hilles. Being asked the reason for this murder, they could only allege being refused some aqua vitae and rosa solis, which Luffkin wished to preserve for the crew in case of sickness. A jury was called on the 31st May, when the murderers were convicted; of whom Driver and Clarke were hanged in the pinnace. The other two met their deserts, for Hilles was eaten by canibals,[287] and Evans rotted where he lay.
[Footnote 286: Jones calls Clarke master's-mate, and Driver gunner.--E.]
[Footnote 287: Hilles was left at Madagascar, where perhaps he might be eaten.--Astl. 343. c.]
The 3d June, we departed from Aden and sailed into the Red Sea through the Straits of Mecca.[288] This strait is about a league in breadth, and three leagues in length, with an island in the middle, and 18 fathoms water close to the island. Within the straits there is a shoal some two leagues off shore, which it is necessary to keep clear from. From the straits it is about six leagues to Mokha, where is a good road and fair ground for vessels to ride in 14 fathoms. This port is never without shipping, being a place of great trade, and frequented by caravans from Sanaa, Mecca, Cairo, and Alexandria. There is good vent here for tin, iron, lead, cloth, sword-blades, and all kinds of English commodities. It has a great bazar, or market, every day in the week; and has plenty of apricots, quinces, dates, grapes, peaches, lemons, and plantains, which I much wondered at, as the inhabitants told me they had no rain for seven years before, and yet there was abundance of good corn to be had at 18d. a bushel. There is such abundance of cattle, sheep, and goats, that we got an ox for three dollars, and a goat for half a dollar. Of dolphins, mow-fish, basse, mullets, and other good fish, there was such plenty, that we could buy as much for 3d. as would suffice ten men for a meal. The town is under the government of the Turks, who punish the Arabians severely for any offence, having gallies for that purpose, otherwise they would be unable to keep them in awe and under subjection.
[Footnote 288: In the original it is Mockoo, and on
the margin Moha, but these are not the Straits of Mokha, but of
Mecca--Astl. I. 348 b.
The proper name of the entrance into the Red Sea is
Bab-al-Mondub, usually called Babelmandel, signifying the gates
of lamentation, owing to the dangers of the navigation outwards
to India.--E.]
We departed from Mokha on the 18th July, repassing the straits, where we lost two anchors. From thence we sailed to Socotora, and about the 5th August cast anchor opposite the town of Saiob, or Sawb, where the king resides. One of our merchants went ashore, desiring leave to purchase water, goats, and other provisions, which he refused, alleging that the women were much afraid of us; but if we would remove to another anchorage about five leagues off, we might have every thing his country afforded. We accordingly went there, where we bought water, goats, aloes, dragon's blood, &c. We set sail from Socotora on the 18th.[289] [August?], and on the 28th came to Moa,[290] where one of the natives told us we might have a pilot for 20 dollars to bring us to the road of Surat, but our wilful master refused, saying that he had no need of a pilot.
[Footnote 289: This date is inexplicable, but was probably the 18th of August; the month being omitted by the editor of Astley's Collection, in the hurry of abbreviation.--E.]
[Footnote 290: Jones says they fell in with the coast of Diu about eight leagues to the eastward of that place, and steering seven leagues more along the coast, came to anchor at a head-land, where they sent the skiff ashore, and bought sheep and other things, and were here offered a pilot to Surat for seven dollars. Fifteen leagues east from Diu would bring them to near Wagnagur, almost directly west from Surat river, on the opposite coast of the Gulf of Cambay. Moa was probably a village on the coast.--E.]
The 29th [August?] we proceeded, thinking to hit the channel for the bar of Surat, getting first from ten fathoms into seven, and afterwards into six and a half. We now tacked westwards, and deepened our water to fifteen fathoms; but the next tack brought us into five. When some of the company asked the master where he proposed going? he answered, the vessel must go over the height. The ship immediately struck, which I told him of. On hearing this he cried out, who dares to say the ship has struck and had scarcely spoken these words when she struck again with such violence that the rudder broke off and was lost.[291] We then came to anchor, and rode there for two days; after which our skiff was split in pieces, so that we now only had our long-boat to help us in our utmost need. But our people made a shift to get the pieces of the skiff into the ship, which our carpenter contrived to bind together with waldings, so that, in the extremity of our distress, she brought sixteen people on shore.
[Footnote 291: According to Jones they attempted the shoals of Surat river at the last quarter of the ebb; whereas if they had taken the first quarter of the flood tide, they would have had sufficient water to carry them clear over the shoals.--E.]
The 2d September, about six p.m. the ship again struck and began to founder, having presently two feet water in the well. We plied our pumps till eleven; but the water increased so fast that we could continue no longer on board, and took to our boats. About £10,000 in money lay between the main-mast and steerage, of which the general desired the people to take what they would; and I think they took among them about £3000; some having £50, some £40, and others more or less. We now quitted our ill-fated and ill-managed ship, without taking a morsel of meat or a single drop of drink along with us; putting off for the shore, which lay about twenty leagues to the eastward, between midnight and one in the morning. We sailed and rowed all night and next day till five or six in the evening, without any sustenance, when we reached a small island on the bar. But just then, a sudden squall of wind broke the middle thwart of our long-boat, in which were fifty-five persons. But we saved our mast, and when the gust ceased we got over the bar into the river of Gundewee.[292]
[Footnote 292: Gundavee, a small river, on which is a town of the same name, five leagues south from the river of Surat.--E.]
When the people of the country saw so many men in two boats, they beat their drums and ran to arms, taking us for Portuguese coming to plunder some of their towns. Observing their alarm, and having a native of Guzerat among us, we set him on shore to undeceive the inhabitants; and as soon as they knew who we were, they directed us to the city of Gundavee, of which a great man was governor, who seemed sorry for our misfortunes, and gave us a kind welcome; and here ended our unfortunate voyage.
SECTION2. Supplement to the foregoing Narrative, from the Account of the same unfortunate Voyage, by Thomas Jones.[293]
Thus was our tall ship lost, to the great detriment of the worshipful company, and the utter ruin of all us poor mariners, our voyage being altogether overthrown, with the loss of all the treasure and goods both of the merchants and all of us, who were now far from our native country. We took to our boats on the night of the 5th September, it being almost miraculous that in two so small boats so many men should be saved, being at the least eighteen leagues from the shore.[294] We remained at sea in our boats till about four p.m. of the 6th, when we discovered land, which we made towards by all the means in our power, endeavouring to get into the river of Surat. But Providence, which had already saved us from the shipwreck, would not now suffer us to fall into the hands of our enemies the Portuguese, who then lay off the bar of Surat with five frigates to take us and our boats, as they had intelligence of the intended coming of our ill-fated ship; for, contrary to our wish and intention, we fell in with the river of Gundavee, about five leagues to the southward of the bar of Surat, where we were kindly entertained by the governor of the town. We here learnt that our pinnace had come into the same river, and had been taken possession of by the Portugueze, but all her men got ashore, and were gone by land to Surat.
[Footnote 293: Purch. Pilgr. I.228. Astl. I.344. We have here given only so much of the narrative of Jones as supplies additional circumstances after the end of that by Coverte.--E.]
[Footnote 294: This surely is a gross error, as they could hardly exceed the distance of a league or two from shore, though the shore is said in the former narrative to have been twenty leagues from where the ship was lost.--E.]
The governor of this town of Gundavee is a Banian, and one of those people who observe the law of Pythagoras. They hold it a great sin to eat of any thing that hath life, but live on that which the earth naturally produces. They likewise hold the cow in great honour and reverence, and also observe the ancient custom of burning their dead. It has also been an ancient custom among them, for the women to burn themselves alive along with the bodies of their deceased husbands; but of late years they have learnt more wisdom, and do not use this custom so commonly; yet those women who do not, have their hair cut out, and are ever afterwards held as dishonoured, for refusing to accompany their husbands into the other world.
On the 7th of September, we left Gundavee to travel by land to Surat, which might be some thirty or forty miles distant, and we arrived there on the 9th, where we were met by William Finch, who kept the English factory at that place. Captain Hawkins had gone up to Agra, which is about thirty days journey up into the interior country from Surat, and at which place the King, or Emperor of the Moguls, resides. Our general, Captain Alexander Sharpey, remained at Surat with his company till the end of September, when he and the rest of our people went from Surat to Agra, intending to go by land through Persia in the way to England. But I, holding this to be no fit course for me, determined to try some other method of endeavouring to get home. While I was in much uncertainty how to proceed, it pleased God of his infinite goodness to send a father of the order of St Paul, who was a Portuguese, who came from Cambaya to Surat by land, and with whom I became acquainted. He offered, if I would commit myself to his guidance, to procure me a passage home, or at least to Portugal, and which promise he most faithfully performed.
In company with this father, myself and three more of our company left Surat on the 7th of October: these were Richard Mellis, who died afterwards in the carak during our voyage to Europe, John Elmor, who was master of the pinnace Good Hope, and one Robert Fox. We arrived at the strong town and fortress of Daman, where I again saw our pinnace, the Good Hope, which we built at Saldanha Bay, near the Cape of Bona Esperanza. From Daman we went to Chaul, and thence to Goa, where we arrived on the 18th November, 1609.
We embarked on the 9th January, 1610, in a carak called Our Lady of Pity, being admiral of a fleet of four sail bound for Lisbon, and immediately sailed. The 28th, we crossed the equinoctial line on the eastern coast of Africa.[295] The 21st March, we fell in with the land in lat. 33° 30' S. about five leagues east of Cape Aguillas, where we lay with contrary winds till the second of April, when we had a terrible storm at W.S.W. so that we were forced to bear up six hours before the sea,[296] and then it pleased God to send us fair weather. The 4th April, we again fell in with the land in lat. 34° 40' S. We continued driving about in sight of land with contrary winds, having twice sight of the Cape of Good Hope, yet could not possibly get beyond it, till the 19th April, when, by the blessing of God, we doubled the Cape to our no small comfort, being almost in despair, and feared we must have wintered at Mosambique, which is usual with the Portuguese. The 27th April, we crossed the tropic of Capricorn, and came to anchor at St Helena on the 9th May, in lat. 15° S. We remained here watering till the 15th, when we weighed anchor, and crossed the equator on the 2d June.
[Footnote 295: In Purchas it is called the coast of India, an obvious error.--E.]
[Footnote 296: The meaning of this is not clear. Perhaps they had to drive with the storm, being unable to ply to windward.--E.]
We crossed the tropic of Cancer on the 26th June, having the wind at N.E. which the Portuguese call the general wind. By the judgment of our pilot in the carak, we passed the Western Islands, or Azores, on the 16th July, being in latitude forty degrees and odd minutes, but we saw no land after leaving St Helena, till the 3d of August, when we got sight of the coast of Portugal not above two leagues from the rock of Lisbon, to our no small comfort, for which we gave thanks to God. We came that same day to anchor in the road of Caskalles [Cascais]; and the same day I got ashore in a boat, and so escaped from the hands of the Portuguese. I remained secretly in Lisbon till the 13th of that same month, when I embarked in a ship belonging to London, commanded by one Mr Steed, and bound for that place. We weighed anchor that day from the Bay of Wayers, where a boat full of Portuguese meant to have taken the ship and carried us all on shore, having intelligence of our intended departure; but by putting out to sea we escaped the danger, and, God be praised, arrived at our long-desired home on the 17th September, 1610, having been two years and six months absent from England.
SECTION3. Additional Supplement, from the Report of William Nichols.[297]
At Bramport, or Boorhanpoor, most of our company departed from the general, Captain Sharpey, who was unable to provide for them, except some who were sick and were obliged to remain. Some went to one place, and some to another, and some back again to Surat. I told my companions, being one of those who were willing to take the best course we could, that I would travel, God willing, to Masulipatam, where I had learnt at Surat that there was a factory of the Hollanders. Not being able to prevail on any Christian to accompany me, I made enquiry at Boorhanpoor if there were any persons going thence for Masulipatam, and found one, but it was such a company as few Englishmen would have ventured to travel with, as it contained three Jews; but necessity has no law. After agreeing to travel with them, I thought if I had any money, the dogs would cut my throat, wherefore I made away with all my money, and attired myself in a Turkish habit, and set off along with these dogs without a penny in my purse.
[Footnote 297: Purch. Pilgr. I. 232.--William Nichols, according to Purchas, was a mariner in the Ascension, who travelled by land from Boorhanpoor to Masulipatam. His account of the unfortunate voyage was written at Bantam, 12th September, 1612, by Henry Moris; but being the same in substance with those already given, Purchas has only retained the following brief narrative of the route of Nichols to Masulipatam and Bantam.--E.]
Travelling along with them for four months, I had nothing to eat but what the Jews gave me; and many times they refused to give me any food, so that I was reduced to the necessity of eating such food as they gave their camels, and was glad to get even that, for which I had often to make interest with the camel-keepers. In this miserable case I travelled with these dogs four months. Sometimes they would say to each other, "Come, let us cut the throat of this dog, and then open his belly, for he has certainly swallowed his gold." Two of them would have cut my throat, but the third was an honest dog, and would not consent.
So at length, with many a weary days journey, and many a hungry belly, after long and dangerous travel, we came safe to Masulipatam, where I immediately quitted these cruel dogs, and betook myself to the Dutch factory, where the chief used me very kindly, and gave me clothes and meat and drink for five months, before any shipping came there. At last there came to Masulipatam three ships belonging to the Hollanders, one called the Hay, and another the Sun; the third was a frigate which they had taken in the Straits of Malacca. The Sun and the frigate being bound for Bantam, I entreated the master of the Sun to allow me to work my passage to Bantam, when he told me very kindly, he would not only grant me a passage for my work, but would give me wages, for which I gave him my hearty thanks, and so went on board. We set sail not long after from Masulipatam, and arrived safe at Bantam on Thursday the 6th September, 1610, when I immediately went with a joyful heart to the English house.
In my travel overland with the three Jews, I passed through the following fair towns, of which only I remember the names, not being able to read or write. First, from Bramport [Boorhanpoor] we came to Jevaport, Huidare, and Goulcaude,[298] and so to Masulipatania.
[Footnote 298: These names are strangely corrupted, and the places on that route which most nearly resemble them are, Jalnapoor, Oudigur, or Oudgir, and Golconda, near Hydrabad.--E.]
SECTION IX.
Voyage of Captain Richard Rowles in the Union, the Consort of the. Ascension.[299]
INTRODUCTION.
"In Purchas this is entitled, 'The unhappy Voyage of the Vice-Admiral, the Union, outward bound, till she arrived at Priaman, reported by a Letter which Mr Samuel Bradshaw sent from Priaman, by Humphry Bidulph, the 11th March, 1610, written by the said Henry Moris at Bantam, September the 14th, 1610.' This account given by Moris, the same who wrote the brief account of the journey of Nichols, relating the voyage of the Union no farther than to Priaman, appears to have been only transcribed by him from the letter of Mr Bradshaw, one of the factors; yet in the preamble to the voyage, Moris says that he had the account from the report of others, without any mention of the letter from Bradshaw. What concerns the return of the Union from Priaman, and her being cast away on the coast of France, contained in the second subdivision of this section, is extracted from two letters, and a kind of postscript by Purchas, which follow this narrative by Moris."--Astley.
[Footnote 299: Purch. Pilgr. 1. 202 Astl. I. 348.]
SECTION 1. Of the Voyage of the Union, after her Separation from the Ascension, to Acheen and Priaman.
You have already had an account of the voyage of the two ships, the Ascension and Union, from England to the Cape of Good Hope, but of the proceedings of the Union after her separation you have not heard; therefore I have thought proper to make some relation thereof, as well as of the other, as I have heard from the report of other men, and thus it was:
The Union and Ascension were separated by a storm in doubling the Cape, during which storm the Union sprung her main-mast, and they were obliged to fish it in the midst of the storm, owing to which they lost company with the admiral; and as the storm continued, and they were hopeless of recovering the company either of the Ascension or pinnace by continuing off the Cape, they shaped their course for the Bay of St Augustine in Madagascar. Being arrived there, they went ashore, and remained twenty days, where they procured good refreshing, being always in hopes of the coming of the Ascension and pinnace, but were disappointed. Then making sail from thence, they directed their course for the island of Zanjibar, in hopes to meet the general there. On their arrival they went ashore, and were at first kindly received; but when they went ashore again, the natives lay in ambush, and sallied out upon them as soon as they landed, killed presently the purser and one mariner, and took one of the merchants prisoner; yet the rest had the good fortune to get off the boat and came on board. The names of those who were slain, were Richard Kenu, purser; I have forgotten the mariner's name, but the merchant, who was taken prisoner, was Richard Wickham.
The Union put now to sea about the month of February, 1609, having the wind at N.E. and north, which was directly contrary for their intended voyage to Socotora. After having been long at sea, and made little or nothing of their way, the men being very much troubled with the scurvy, the captain thought proper to bear up for the north part of the island of Madagascar, meaning to go into the Bay of Antongil; but they came upon the western side of the island, where they proposed to endeavour the recovery of their almost lost men, and to spend the adverse monsoon. On this side of the island, they came into an exceedingly extensive bay, which they afterwards understood was called by the natives, Canquomorra,[300] the country round being very fertile and beautiful. The first view of this place gave much pleasure to all their men, and they soon had conference with the natives, who at the first proffered great kindness, but afterwards treated them very ill.
[Footnote 300: In the margin Purchas gives Boamora as a synonimous name of this bay. Vohemaro, or Boamora, is a province or district at the northern end of Madagascar, in which there are several large bays, but none having any name resembling that in the text. The Bay of Vohemaro is on the east side of the island, in lat. 13° 30' S.--E.]
As all the merchants had been sundry times on shore visiting the king, who treated them kindly, and came aboard again as safe as if they had been in England, the captain, attended by Mr Richard Reve, chief merchant, Jeffrey Castel, and three others, adventured to go ashore to the king. Samuel Bradshaw had been often before employed about business with the king; but it pleased God at this time that the captain had other business for him, and so made him remain on board, which was a happy turn for him: For no sooner was the captain and his attendants on shore, than they were betrayed and made prisoners by the natives; but by the kind providence of the Almighty, the boats escaped, and came presently off to the ship, informing us of all that had happened.
No sooner was this doleful news communicated, than we saw such prodigious numbers of praws and large boats coming out of the river, as were quite wonderful. The master gave immediate orders to the gunner to get the ordnance in readiness, which was done with all speed. The vast fleet of the infidels came rowing up to our ship, as if they would have immediately boarded her; but by the diligence and skill of the gunner and his mates, sinking some half dozen of the boats, they were soon forced to retire like sheep chased by the wolf, faster than they had come on. But before our ordnance made such slaughter among them, they came up with so bold and determined a countenance, and were in such numbers, that we verily thought they would have carried us, for the fight continued at the least two hours, before the effect of our ordnance made them retire, and then he was the happiest fellow that could get fastest off, and we continued to send our shot after them as far as our guns could reach.
We remained after this in the bay for fourteen days, being in hopes of recovering our lost captain and men, in which time we lost seven more men by a sudden disease, which daunted us more than the malice of the infidels; those who died were among those who fought most lustily with the cannon against the savages, yet in two days were they all thrown overboard. These crosses coming upon us, and having no hopes to recover our captain and the others, we thought it folly to remain any longer at this place, and therefore we made haste away. Not being thoroughly supplied with water, we thought good to stop a little time at another place not far off; but before we could dispatch this business, the savages made another attempt with a great multitude of boats, some of them even large vessels, and so thick of men that it was wonderful; but they liked their former reception so ill, that they did not care for coming near a second time, and went all ashore, and placed themselves so as to have a view of the ship. Perceiving their intended purpose, and fearing some mischief in the night, we weighed, and stood in towards the shore where the savages sat, and gave them a whole broadside as a farewell, which fell thick among them, making visibly several lanes through the crowd, on which they all ran out of sight as fast as possible.
We then stood out to sea, leaving fourteen of our men behind us, seven treacherously taken prisoners by the savages, and seven that died of sickness. We then directed our course for Socotora; but by some negligence, by not luffing up in time, the wind took us short, so that we could not fetch that island, but fell over upon the coast of Arabia. This was about the 4th June, and as the winter monsoon was come, we durst not attempt going to Cambaya, neither could we find any place upon that coast to winter in. Wherefore, after being in sight of the coast four days, and several times in danger of getting on shore, we thought it improper to waste time any longer, and determined to consult how we might best promote the advantage of the voyage. The master therefore held a council of all the principal people in the ship, who were best conversant in these affairs, when it was unanimously concluded to go for Acheen, being in hopes to meet there with some of the Guzerat people, to whom we might dispose of our English commodities.
We accordingly directed our course towards Acheen, where we arrived on the 27th July. Within seven days we had admittance to the king, to whom a present was made, which it was necessary to make somewhat large, because the Hollanders endeavoured to cross our trade, aspiring to engross the whole trade of India, to the exclusion of all others. Wherefore, after Mr Bradshaw had waited upon the king, he began to trade with the Guzerat merchants who were at Acheen, bartering our English cloth and lead for black and white baftas, which are Guzerat cloths in much request in those parts. We then went to Priaman, where in a short space we had trade to our full content; and though fortune had hitherto crossed us during all the voyage, we had now a fair opportunity to turn our voyage to sufficient profit. We staid here till we had fully loaded our ship with pepper, which might indeed have been done much sooner, had there not been a mutiny among the people, as the sailors would only do as they themselves pleased. At length they were pacified with fair words, and the business of the ship completed.
Griffin Maurice, the master, died here, and Mr Bradshaw sent Humphry Bidulph to Bantam, with Silvester Smith to bear him company, to carry such remainder of the goods as they could not find a market for at Priaman and Tecu. Mr Bidulph sailed for Bantam in a Chinese hulk, and Mr Bradshaw set sail with the Union, fully laden with pepper, for England.
SECTION 2. Return of the Union from Priaman towards England.[301]
Respecting the disastrous return of the Union from Priaman, instead of a narrative, Purchas gives us only two letters, which relate the miserable condition in which she arrived on the coast of France, and a short supplementary account, probably written by Purchas himself, which here follow.
[Footnote 301: Purch. Pilg. I. 234. Astl. I. 349.]
Laus Deo,[302] in Morlaix, the 1st of March, 1611.
Brother Hide,
This day has come to hand a letter from Odwen,[303] [Audierne,] written by one Bagget, an Irishman, resident at that place, giving us most lamentable news of the ship Union of London, which is ashore upon the coast about two leagues from Audierne: which, when the men of that town perceived, they sent two boats to her, and found she was a ship from the East Indies, richly laden with pepper and other goods, having only four men in her alive, one of whom is an Indian, other three lying dead in the ship, whose bodies the four living men had not been able to throw overboard, through extreme feebleness; indeed they were hardly able to speak. The people in the two boats have brought the ship into the road of Audierne, and they of that town have unloaded most of her goods. The Irishman has directed his letter to some English merchants in this place, desiring them to repair thither with all expedition, to see the proper ordering of the ship and goods, as belonging to the East India Company.
[Footnote 302: This seems to have been the name of a ship, and Mr Bernard Cooper appears to have been an English merchant or ship-master, then on business with this vessel at Morlaix.--E.]
[Footnote 303: This certainly is Audierne, on the southern shore of the peninsula of Britanny, called Olde-yearne in the subsequent letter.--E.]
This letter is confirmed by another in French, written by the bailiff of Quimper to a person in this town, which I have seen. Wherefore we have thought it right to send three several copies of the Irishman's letter, by three different barks, that the merchants may be duly advertised, and may give orders to look after their ship and goods; for it is to be doubted that the rude people will endeavour to make a wreck of her. I think it therefore not amiss, that they send to the court of France, to procure the king's authority, as I fear there may be much trouble about the matter. In the mean time, I and George Robbins will ride down to see in what state all things are, and to do the best we can for the interest of the company, till they send some one with a procuration in good and ample form for conducting the business, as in their discretion may seem fitting. The ship is reported to be of three or four hundred tons, and has three decks; but I doubt we shall find her sadly rifled before we get there. The importunate writing, both of the Irishman and the bailiff of Quimper, has induced us to take this journey; which we do the rather in consideration of the company, presuming that they will consider our charges, as we have both solicited friends, and procured money in this place, that we may satisfy those who have exerted themselves in saving the ship and goods, if that should be necessary. Yet I would wish the company to send some person in all expedition by way of Rouen, with additional provision of money; as you know that this is no place of regular exchange, where money can be had at all times. I had rather have given fifty pounds than taken this journey at the present time, because I have much goods upon my hands, as I partly wrote you in my last. The name of the master of the Union is Edmund White, his mate's name is Thomas Duckmanton, and the other man is Thomas Smith, besides the Indian formerly mentioned. They are in a most piteous condition, and in great want of money, neither can they have any command of their goods. Therefore let the company send men of good experience to conduct this business, and do you lose no time in making this known to the company. Thus, being in haste to take horse, I commit you to the Lord's protection, resting your assured friend always to command,
BERNARD COUPER
To Mr Thomas Hide, Merchant in London.
Second Letter respecting the Union at Audierne.
The 8th day of February, I came over the Pole-head of Bourdeaux, and the 11th I lost my foremast, bolt-sprit, and rudder, and put into Audierne that night for repair. The 13th the Frenchman brought the ship Union of London upon the rocks. The 14th I went in my boat aboard the Union, by which time the Frenchmen had been four days in possession of her. I then brought on shore Samuel Smith, Thomas Duttonton, and Edmund White the master. The 15th I got William Bagget, my merchant, to write a letter to Morlaix; and the 18th the letter was sent off, when I paid two crowns for its carriage. The Indian died on the 20th, and I buried him. The 20th the master died, and I buried him also. The 22d Mr Roberts and Mr Couper came, and then went back to Morlaix on the 26th. Again the 4th of March, William Coarey, the host of Mr Couper and Mr Roberts.[304] The 5th, I and Mr Coarey went in my boat to the Union. At low water I went into her hold, and brought away a sample of the worst pepper. The 6th I left Audierne, and came to Morlaix on the 8th. The 17th Mr Hide came to Morlaix. The 21st I sailed from Morlaix, and got to the Isle of Wight on the 22d at night. The 24th I came to Southampton, and the 28th I arrived in London.
Your loving friend,
WILLIAM WOTTON.
[Footnote 304: This sentence is left unintelligible by Purchas; Coarey probably came at this time to Audierne. Roberts is probably the person named Robbins by Couper in the former letter.--E.]
After the spoil of the Bretons, they saved almost 200 tons of pepper, some benzoin, and some China silks, which had been purchased at Tecu in Sumatra. The Union, after her unfortunate voyage outward-bound, as already briefly related, loaded with pepper at Acheen, Priaman, Passeman, and Tecu, at which last place they bought some silk out of a Chinese junk. On their return voyage, they met Sir Henry Middleton, having then thirty-six men on board in reasonable good health, and they delivered some chests of silver to Sir Henry. They afterwards became very sickly, missed the island of St Helena, and most of their men died on this side of Cape Verd. Ten Englishmen and four Guzerats were taken out of them by a bark belonging to Bristol, and a Scot. The circumstances respecting their landing at Audierne, and other matters there, are before set down in the two preceding letters.
After the pepper and other goods were taken out of the ship, she was inspected by Mr Simonson, a skilful ship-wright, sent thither on purpose to save her if it could be done, but she was found utterly unserviceable. All the ordnance, anchors, and other furniture, were brought away, and the hull was abandoned. Of seventy-five men that went in her from England outward-bound, only nine got home alive. These were Thomas Duckmanton, the master's mate, Mr Bullock, the surgeon, Robert Wilson of Deptford, Jacob Peterson, and five other Englishmen, besides three or four Guzerats.[305]
[Footnote 305: All these must have been brought home in the Bristol vessel and the Scots ships, except Duckmanton, and perhaps Smith. But Purchas seems to have forgot that Mr Bradshaw and Humphry Bidulph were left alive in India.--E.]
SECTION X.
Fifth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1609, under the Command of Captain David Middleton[306]
INTRODUCTION.
This narrative is said by Purchas to have been extracted from a letter written by Captain David Middleton to the Company, and was probably abbreviated by Purchas, who certainly is not happy on such occasions. This commander is probably the same person who commanded the Consent in a former voyage; and is said by the editor of Astley's Collection, to have been brother to Sir Henry Middleton, who commanded in the sixth voyage. One ship only, the Expedition belonging to London, appears to have been employed in this fifth voyage.
[Footnote 306: Purch. Pilgr. I. 238. Astl. I. 851.]
SECTION 1. Occurrences at Bantam, Booton, and Banda.
We set sail from the Downs the 24th April, 1609, in the Expedition of London, and had sight of Fuerteventura and Lançerota the 19th May; and with the winds sometimes fair, sometimes foul, we arrived at Saldanha bay the 10th August. Making all haste to wood and water, we again sailed the 18th August, and arrived at Bantam on the 7th December, missing Captain Keeling very narrowly, who must have passed us in the night, or we must surely have seen him. I made all possible dispatch, both by day and night, to get the iron ashore, and would not even stop to set up our pinnace. I left Mr Hemsworth in the factory, and was under the necessity of giving a great many more gifts than would otherwise have been requisite, had the country been in the same state as formerly.[307] As Mr Hemsworth was a stranger, unacquainted with any one in the factory, I left Edward Neetles and three more of our people with him. Taking with me such commodities as I thought most vendible in the places to which I proposed going, I took leave of Mr Hemsworth on the 18th December, he being very unwilling to remain behind; but I recommended to him to be of good courage, as it was necessary I should take Mr Spalding with me, as he knew the language, and had no proper person to leave in charge of the factory except himself. I told him, if he were sent for by the governor of Bantam, he must tell him plainly that I had left express orders not to yield to his former unreasonable demands; but, in case of extremity, to let the governor take what he pleased, but on no account to deliver him any thing.
[Footnote 307: Purchas observes here in a side-note, that, by alterations in the state, the debts due to the English factory at Bantam had become almost desperate, and the governor would not allow them, as formerly, to imprison their debtors and distrain. He also exacted most unreasonable sums for rent of the factory; although the ground had been formerly given, and the houses had been built at the expence of the company.]
I set sail that evening, the 18th December, 1609, for the Moluccas, as I proposed, and with a favourable wind. The 27th of that month we passed the straits of Desolam,[308] after which we were becalmed for ten days, which was no small grief to me, in much heat under the line, being doubtful of the western monsoon failing me, which would have entirely disappointed my intended voyage to the Moluccas. The 8th January, 1610, we came before the town of Booton, and sent on shore to enquire the news. Finding very few people in the town, and the king being gone to the wars, I did not anchor, but went through the straits the same day. Next day we saw a great fleet of caracols, which we imagined to belong to the King of Booton, which it actually did. When we drew near, the king sent a small praw to enquire what we were. I sent him word who I was, and being becalmed and in want of water, I requested to know if there were any to be had near. So the people pointed out to me a place where I might have abundance of water, to which I went. The king and all his caracols came sailing after me, and cast anchor near our ship; after which the king sent a messenger on board to welcome me in his name, and desired me to send Mr Spalding to him along with the messenger, to let him know the news.
[Footnote 308: The passage between the Salayr islands and the south-western peninsula of Celebes, is probably here meant: Yet that passage is in lat. 6° S. while the text speaks of being under the line. No other supposition, however, can agree with the circumstance of falling in next day with the fleet of Booton.--E.]
The king likewise sent me word, that he wished I would remain all night at anchor, as he proposed coming next morning aboard to visit me and see the ship. As it remained calm, we continued at anchor, and next day on the king coming aboard, I made a banquet for him and his nobles, making the king a present worthy of his dignity and friendship. A gale of wind springing up, we prepared to make sail, on which the king wept, saying, I might think him a dissembler, as he had no goods for me; but that four months before his house was burnt down, in which he had provided for me somewhat of every thing, as nutmegs, cloves, and mace, with a large quantity of sanders wood, of which he had a whole housefull, as likewise a great warehouse full of his country cloth, which was very vendible in all the islands thereabout. All this great loss, he said, had not formerly grieved him so much as now, when I told him I had got the ship fitted out expressly to come and buy his commodities. He said farther, that he saw I had kept my promise; and swore by the head of Mahomet he would have so done likewise, had not God laid that scourge of fire upon him, by which several of his wives and other women were burnt. He was now, he said, engaged from home in war with all his forces, the event of which could not be foreseen, and could not therefore spare any of his people to make any provision for me; as, if we had not come, he had by this time been in the field against another king who was his enemy. He pointed out the town belonging to the king with whom he was at war, and requested me to fire against it as I went past: I answered that I was a stranger, and had no cause of quarrel with that king, and it would be improper for me to make myself enemies; but if the other king should come while I was there, and offer any injury to him or his subjects, I would do my best to send them away. The king was quite satisfied with this, and took his leave, and we presently made sail.
The 24th January we arrived at the island of Bangaia,[309] whence the king and most of the people were fled for fear of some enemy, though I could not learn the truth. There was a Hollander there, who told me that the king had fled for fear of the King of Macassar, who, he thought, wanted to force him to become a Mahometan, as he was an idolater. But I rather think they had fled for fear of the Hollanders, who intended to have built a fort here, but desisted on seeing that the people fled. This single Hollander bore such sway, that none of those who remained in the island dared to displease him. He had two houses full of the young women of the island for his own use, taking as many women as he pleased, and had many slaves, both men and women. He is a pleasant companion, and will dance and sing from morn to night, almost naked like the natives. He has won the hearts of the people, along with whom he will often drink for two whole days. He lives here alone, and will not submit to be commanded by any other Hollander. Being over against Amboyna, when the governor of that place wants to speak with him, he must send two of his merchants to remain as hostages till his return. He collects the duties for the King of Ternate in all the islands hereabout, serving himself in the first place, and sending to the king what he pleases to spare.
[Footnote 309: From the sequel, Bangaia seems to have been near Amboyna, on the south-west of Ceram.--E.]
We had here abundance of good refreshments for our people, who were now, thank God, in better state than when we left England, not having hitherto one sick man on board. I had my long-boat sheathed at this place, for fear of the worms destroying her bottom, as we now towed her always astern. We sailed from Bengaia on the 29th of January, and on getting out to sea, found the wind right in our teeth in the way we wanted to go; so that striving all we could to get to windward, we found the current set so strong against us along with the wind, carrying us directly south, so that we lost fifteen leagues in two days. I then found myself constrained to change my purposed voyage for the Moluccas, and bore up the helm for Banda, to which we could go with a flowing sheet.
SECTION 2. Occurrences at Banda; Contests with the Hollanders; Trade at Pulo-way, and many Perils.
We got sight of the islands of Banda on the 5th February, and made all sail to get near before night. When near, I sent my skiff to procure intelligence from some of the natives, who sent me word that the Hollanders would not allow any ship to come into the roads, but would take all our goods, if they were such as they needed, and pay for them at their own pleasure. They said, likewise, that when any junks happened to come there with vendible commodities, they were not permitted to have any intercourse with the people; but were brought to the back of the Dutch castle, within musket-shot of their cannon, no one being allowed to set foot on shore, under penalty of being shot. There were, as was said, fifteen great junks detained under the guns at this time. We had little hope, therefore, of making any profit of our voyage here, seeing that they dealt so with all that came into the roads, whence they banished Captain Keeling, not permitting him even to gather in his debts, for which they gave him bills receivable at Bantam, as I hope your worships have been informed by him at large. Yet for all this, I stood into the roads, displaying my flag and ensign, and having a pendant at each yard-arm, as gallantly as we could. While we were standing in, a pinnace of about thirty tons came to meet us, sent by the governor of the castle, as believing we had been one of their own ships; but immediately on hailing us stood back into the roads, so that we could have no speech of her.
As soon as I got athwart Lantor, I saluted the town with my guns, and came to anchor within shot of their ships; when presently a boat came aboard from the Dutch governor, desiring me to bring my ship into the roads, and to come ashore and shew my commission. My answer was, that I was only new come, and that I did not think it proper to shew my commission to their governor, or to make any person acquainted with the nature of my business. They then asked me whether my ship was a man of war or a merchant-man. To which I made answer, that I should pay for whatever I had. They then threatened me, on which I answered, "Here I am, and am resolved to abide at anchor. You may do as you please, and I hope I shall defend myself as I ought." The Dutch messengers then returned to the castle in a rage; and they were no sooner gone, than a great number of the inhabitants of Lantor and the neighbouring country came on board. From them I learnt the state of the country, which was now in friendship with the Dutch, or rather under subjection; and that they would willingly trade with me, if I could procure permission from the Hollanders. They told me at the same time, that the inhabitants of Pulo-way and Pulo-tronu were at war with the Dutch. Knowing well that it is good to fish in troubled waters, and discovering that a native of Pulo-way was among the people now in my ship, I took him aside and had some private conversation with him. Giving some money, I desired him to make known to the people of his island, that I would give them money or commodities for all their spice; and that, although the Hollanders and me were likely to be enemies, I would contrive to get their spice one way or other.
There came another boat from the Dutch vice-admiral, accompanied by the former boat from the castle, bringing a second message from the governor, expressly commanding me to come into the roads. Being our dinner time, I detained the messengers to dine with me, and then told them that I should ride where I was; for, as our nations were friends in Europe, it would look ill for us to be enemies among the heathens. They then told me roundly they would bring me away by force. To which I again made answer, that I should certainly ride where I was till I experienced the inconvenience of the place, for they told me it was foul ground, and then I should come to occupy the best ground in their roads; for neither of our princes gave any such authority to their subjects, but that those of the other may ride or go as they please. They then said the country was theirs. "So much the better then," said I; "for as our countries are in friendship, I may the more boldly ride where I am." Upon this they went away much displeased.
In the evening I proposed to have landed some ordnance on the side of a hill which commanded the place where I rode at anchor, that I might the better be able to defend myself if the Hollanders should molest me; but on sending out some of my people to examine the bottom round about the ship, it was found to be all foul with rocks, wherefore I gave up the project of landing cannon. Next morning I sent Mr Spalding, and some others of my principal people, in the skiff; with a letter for the governor, desiring them not to add a syllable to what I had written, and to bring me off an answer as soon as possible. In this letter, after offering to supply the governor with any thing he might want, and deprecating hostilities between the subjects of friendly powers, I offered to shew my commission on equal terms, if he would meet me on the water, each in a boat equally manned, or in any other equally secure manner. I then requested to be considered as an Indian for my money, and that I was willing to purchase spice from him. Finally, as he was at enmity with the inhabitants of Pulo-way and Pulo-tronu,[310] I desired to know if I might have the spice of these islands without his hindrance.
[Footnote 310: At this place in the original, this island is called Pulo-ron, which is probably the right name.--E.]
The governor would send me no answer in writing. My people learnt that the Dutch had here three large ships of 1000 tons each, and three pinnaces of 30 tons; and that they proposed to lay one of their large ships, the Great Sun, which was unserviceable, on board of my ship to set me on fire, having put thirty barrels of powder into her for that express purpose, and had sworn sundry persons to bring her against me, and make her fast with chains, all the boats belonging to the ships and the castle attending to bring them off when she should be set on fire. The Great Horn, likewise, was to be brought out against me, and anchored within musket-shot to batter us, and their frigates or pinnaces were to come round about us, to keep warm work on all sides. Seeing them busied in warping out the Sun, my folks came and told me what preparations were going on. I therefore thought it now expedient to go on shore to the governor, to see what he would say to myself, before we should try the fate of battle. So, taking my commission along with me, I went on shore at the castle, and was met at my landing by the governor, and all the principal men belonging to the castle and the ships. I was led through a guard of 300 musketeers, who gave me three vollies, besides which, seven pieces of cannon were fired to welcome me. After this I was conducted to the governor's chamber, where chairs were set for him and me, and forms for all the others.
After many compliments on both sides, I addressed the governor to the following effect: Understanding from my people whom I had sent ashore, that they considered me as a pirate, having no commission, I had come myself to satisfy them to the contrary, having brought my commission, to make manifest that I had a regular commission under the great seal of the king, my master. This I shewed to them, reading the first line, and then wrapped it up again. They then desired to see it all. On which I declared that this was more than I could answer for, and having already exhibited the great seal of England, and my name contained in the commission, they should see no more while I had life. We now motioned to return on board, but they requested me to stay yet awhile. So there passed words between us, some sweet and some sharp: But at length they became more mild, and called for a cup of wine; after which we all rose up and went to walk about the castle, the offices in which were very neat, and well furnished with arms and ammunition.
Taking a favourable opportunity, I resolved to try what money might do, which often makes wise men blind, that so I might procure my loading by means of large bribes. I offered to give a thousand pounds, so that I might be sure of my loading, and besides to give the chain I wore about my neck, to any one who could procure me this, and offered to give a higher price than they paid for the spice. Having set this matter afloat, and knowing that my ship rode in a dangerous place, I told the governor that, now he was satisfied I was not a man of war, I would bring my ship into their roads. He and his officers then said, that I should find them ready to shew me all the friendship in their power. Being now late, I took my leave to go on board, on which the governor caused all the ordnance of the castle to be fired off; and as I passed the ships, they and the pinnaces fired their guns till I got to my own ship.
Next day, the 8th February, I brought my ship into the road, coming to anchor between the Dutch ships and the castle; and saluted them with all my ordnance, which was returned by the castle, and all the ships and pinnaces. Immediately after coming to anchor, the governor and all the principal people belonging to the castle and the ships came aboard to visit me, and staid to dinner; but I could neither prevail by arguments or gifts to get leave to purchase a single pound of spice, the governor plainly telling me he durst not permit me under pain of losing his head. Seeing no good could be done by remaining, I determined to take in water and try my fortune elsewhere; but on sending ashore for water, they made my people be accompanied by a Dutch-man, lest we might have any conference with the natives. Having procured water, I sent Mr Spalding ashore to acquaint the governor that I was going away, for I thought it wrong for me to leave the ship. The governor marvelled much where I could go, as the wind was westerly, but Mr Spalding said he knew not.
While I was warping from the roads till I could get sea-room for setting sail, the governor sent three pinnaces to accompany me, and one came in a boat with a message, saying, that the governor commanded me not to go near any of these islands. To this I answered, that I was not under his command, and was bound for Pulo-way as quickly as I could, and he might send his ships, if he pleased, to drive me away if they could, for I would soon make his frigates[311] leave me. Observing the governor go on board one of the frigates, and that the Dutch ships were likewise preparing for sea, and bending their sails, I ordered my people to prepare for action. I called them together that I might know their minds, plainly telling them, if they would stand by me, that I meant to trade at these islands, let the Hollanders do what they would; and I promised them, if any were maimed, he should have a maintenance during his life, which, God willing, I should see performed; and farther, if they would fight manfully, that I would give freely among them every thing in the ship that was mine own. So, with one consent, they all agreed to try what strength the Hollanders might send against me. Seeing us making all things ready for action, the Dutch aboard the pinnaces seemed to think it might be little to their profit to guard us any longer, and therefore bore up for their harbour. While we were warping out, the Dutch governor, and lieutenant-governor of the castle, and their admiral, were twice on board the pinnaces, but what they did there I know not.
[Footnote 311: On former occasions we have conjectured that by frigates, in these older days, very small vessels were intended; and in the present passage frigates and pinnaces are distinctly used as synonimous terms.--E.]
It fell calm, what wind there was being westerly, and a great current set to the E.N.E. which drove us at a great rate. So I sent Mr Spalding in the boat, with my purser's-mate and five more, giving him money, and desired him to inform the people of Pulo-way, that we had parted in enmity from the Hollanders, and that if they would sell me their spice, I would give them money for it, and would have come myself, but wished first to get the ship to some place where she might ride in safety, and would then come to them, either in the ship or in a pinnace which I had aboard, ready to set up. While my boat was absent, two praws came from Lantor, to enquire wherefore I had gone away? I told them I was forced away by the current; but desired them to tell the people of Lantor, that I would give them money or goods for their spice, if they would sell to me in preference to the Hollanders, who came to reduce their country to slavery. One of them said he would go first to Pulo-way to see my people, and would then deliver my message to those of Lantor.
When Mr Spalding came ashore, the people of Pulo-way flocked about him, and made him welcome, but would fix no price with him till I should come, offering to deliver spice on account till my arrival. I desired Mr Spalding to hire me a pilot, if possible, to bring my ship near; so the people of the country hired two, to whom they gave twenty rials, saying that I must give as much. Mr Spalding sent them aboard, and desired me at the same time to send him more money and cloth, which I did that night. We now bore up the helm for Ceram, and came to a place called Gelagula, a reasonably good road, some thirty leagues from Banda. As soon as possible we took a house, and brought the materials of our pinnace ashore to set her up. Labouring hard to get her fitted, I called her the Hopewell. The 27th March, 1610, we had all things in readiness for going to Pulo-way, and arrived there the night of the 31st, but could lade no spice till I had made agreement with the natives, who asked many duties and great gifts. In fine, I agreed to pay the same as had been paid by Captain Keeling. The chiefs had what they looked for, as every one must have something, and unknown to the rest, so that one can never have done giving, as they never cease begging, and it was not convenient to deny them any reasonable request, especially as I was situated.
After we had agreed, the Hopewell was loaded with mace, or filled rather; for she was only nine tons burden, and could carry very little of that commodity. So, after sending away the Hopewell, I hired a large praw, which I proposed to build upon, which we loaded with nutmegs, and sent to the ship, where she was built higher, so as to be of 25 tons burden; but she made only one voyage, and then we heard no tidings of her in three months. The Hopewell making two voyages, and hearing no news of the praw, I verily thought she had sunk; for I came in company with her myself in the Hopewell, and had so great a storm that I gave her up as lost, having twelve of my stoutest men in her. It was no small grief to me to see the season thus wear away, and could not get my loading to the ship, neither durst I bring over my ship to Pulo-way, as there was no safe anchorage for her. I made enquiry for some other vessel, and heard of a junk belonging to Lantor, but she was old and lay near the Dutch ships; yet I went and bought her, and got such help as I could to trim her.
The want of my twelve men in the praw put me to much trouble, as they would have shortened our labour much: For most of our men were laid up with sore legs, and whenever any one was reasonable well, he had to go in the Hopewell, in the room of another poor lame fellow, some being three several times well and down again. I was thus driven to my wits end, not knowing which way to turn me, being every hour in danger that the Hollanders would come and take the island. By intelligence at sundry times, I learnt that they endeavoured by various contrivances to get me made away with, offering large bribes for rogues to kill me, by poison or otherwise; but, God be praised, I had some friends on the island, who gave me secret warnings, and put me on my guard against such men-slaves, who would do me some mischief, and came for the purpose.
I prevailed on the islanders to combine and fit out their caracols, to keep the Dutch pinnaces from coming to assail us, after which the pinnaces durst not stir; and the islanders often landed secretly on Nera, and cut off sundry of the Hollanders, so that they durst not stir from the castle, except in numerous parties, well armed. The islanders even built a fort on the side of a hill, whence they fired into the castle, and troubled the Hollanders much. By this we were secured against the Dutch pinnaces coming out, to attempt intercepting our intercourse with Pulo-way. I made nine voyages myself in our small pinnace, and could never spare above seven seamen to go in her, leaving five at Pulo-way, all the rest being sick or lame with sore legs. This was a most villainous country, every article of food being excessively dear, and only sometimes to be had, which troubled us exceedingly; and we were so continually vexed with violent rains, that we thought to have all perished. I was forced to fetch away the junk I bought at Lantor unfitted for sea, as the Dutch, on seeing men at work upon her, sent out one of their ships to batter her to pieces. So that night I got the help of two tonies to launch her, having to carry her a great way on rollers, which we did under night, and got her out of sight before day. We brought her to Pulo-way, where we had to buy sails and every thing else for her, she being only a bare hulk; so I set the native carpenters to work upon her, who did her little good, as it was afterwards found. I likewise sent orders by the Hopewell to the ship, to send some rigging, and that Mr Davis should come to carry her over.
On this occasion the Hopewell did not appear again for three weeks, so that we were doubtful of some mischance; and it might have been long before they at the ship could have hired any one to bring us word, as the Hollanders have often used them very ill for carrying provisions to the Bandanese. The weather being tolerably good, and having our skiff at Pulo-way, I resolved to go over to the ship in her myself; for I could not hire men to carry over the junk, if I would have loaded her with silver, and I had not a man with me sound enough to stand on his legs; so I hired three natives, and put to sea in the skiff. When out of sight of Pulo-way, it came on to blow a heavy storm, so that I had to scud before the wind and sea to save our lives; yet, thank God, we got sight of Ceram, and kept her right afore the sea, but clean from the place where our ship lay, and on nearing the shore the sea did break so aloft, that we had no hope of getting safe on shore. Night being at hand, we strove all we could to keep the sea till day; but as the storm increased, we had no remedy for our lives but attempting to get through the surf over a ledge of rocks. This we did, but durst not leave the boat, lest we had been dashed in pieces on the rocks. Next morning we got her on shore, being brim-full of water, and every thing we had washed out.
Immediately afterwards, the blacks came and told us we must go to sea again instantly, if we valued our lives, for we had landed in the country of the canibals, who, if they saw us, would come and eat us. They said, nothing could ransom us from them if once taken, and especially because we were Christians, they would roast us alive, in revenge for the wrongs the Portuguese had done them. Our blacks added, if we would not put immediately to sea, they would go and hide themselves, being sure the canibals would be at the water-side as soon as it was light. On hearing this, and seeing by the moonlight that the sea was more calm, the wind having dulled, we pushed off, and having the tide in our favour, we got quickly a-head, so that by day-light we were beyond the watches of the canibals; and keeping close to the shore, we espied the hull of a bark, on nearing which we knew it to be the Diligence.[312] Coming up to her, I found two Englishmen on board, who told me they had come there to anchor the same night we had the storm in the skiff, and anchoring at this place, their cable broke and she drove on shore, Mr Herniman having gone to the town to get people to assist in weighing her. The sandy beach was covered with people who came to pillage her, and I advised the two Englishmen to fire a shot now and then, which scared them from coming nearer. On coming to the town, Mr Herniman was gone by land to our ship. I offered money to the governor to help to save the bark, when he said he would raise the country in two or three days for that purpose; but I told him, if it came to blow she would be lost in an hour. One of the Pulo-way people being there, plainly told me that the governor only waited to have her bilged, that he might have the planks to build a praw for himself.
[Footnote 312: This afterwards appears to have been the praw, formerly mentioned, so named after being raised upon for carrying spice from Pulo-way to Ceram; but this circumstance is left here unexplained, possibly by the negligence of Purchas in abbreviating, by which he leaves matters often obscure, sometimes unintelligible.--E.]
Finding no help could be had except from the ship, which was twelve miles off by land, I hired guides to follow Mr Herniman, taking one of my own men to bear me company. Half-way we came to a large river, which it was necessary to swim across, and as my man could not swim, I sent him back with my clothes, except a scarlet mandilion,[313] which one of my guides engaged to carry over for me. He told me the river was full of alligators, and if I saw any I must fight with him, or he would kill me, and for that purpose my guide carried a knife in his mouth. Being very weary, as I had not slept for two nights, I took the water before the Indians, knowing they would be over before me. The river being very broad, and the stream swift, occasioned by late great rains, the Indians would have had me return when half way, to which I would not consent. While swimming, the Indian who carried my mandilion touched my side with a cane he carried in his hand; suspecting this had been an alligator, I immediately dived, when the current got such hold of me that I was carried out to sea, which threw me on the beach, and bruised me so on the back and shoulder that I could not get a-land, till the Indian came and gave me hold of one end of his cane, and pulled me out almost drowned, as every surf drove me against the beach and washed me out again. I praised God, and got on board, where my company was amazed to see me. So that night I sent all that were able to crawl to save the bark, which they did with much toil and small help of the natives; the country not permitting any one to assist in saving her,[314] expecting us to forsake her, that they might enjoy the spoil.
[Footnote 313: This word is explained by lexicographers as a loose garment, a sleeveless jacket, or a soldiers coat.--E.]
[Footnote 314: It will be seen in other voyages, that the Malays, who are widely diffused over the Indian archipelago, often live under a kind of aristocratical republican government; even where they are subjected to kings, partaking much of the feudal semblance. This observation seemed necessary as an attempt to explain the meaning in the text of the country not permitting, &c.--E.]
The Hopewell arrived next morning laden with spice, having been a-missing, as mentioned before. She had been driven thirty leagues to the east of Banda in a cruel storm, which gave them much ado to get again to windward. I returned to Pulo-way in the pinnace, which I again loaded without delay; and Mr Davis was taking in his loading in the junk, and making all the dispatch he could with his poor lame crew, the best part of my crew being long absent in the Diligence. We presently unladed her, and I that night set sail in her myself,[315] to see if I could come before Mr Davis came from thence, for I was told the junk was very leaky, and I wished to have her accompanied by the Hopewell, whatsoever might befall; as she had not a nail in her, but such as we had driven, and as we had none of ourselves, we caused the simple native smiths to make some iron pins, for they can make no nails,[316] and bestowed these in the most needful places. While striving in the Hopewell to reach Pulo-way, I was put past it in a mighty storm by the current; for the more the wind, the current is always the stronger: being put to leeward, and long before we could fetch the ship, and fain to take shelter on the Ceram shore, or else be blown away. After many trips, and still falling to leeward of the ship, I desired Mr Davis to look out for some harbour for our ship, to which we might come over direct from Pulo-way, without being obliged to ply to windward with our craft when deeply laden, which was effected.
[Footnote 315: This paragraph is utterly inexplicable, at least with any certainty, the abbreviation by Purchas having reduced it almost to absolute nonsense. Conjectural amendment being inadmissible, the subject is of so little moment as not to warrant any commentary.--E.]
[Footnote 316: Even to the present times, the boasted empire of China is unable to make a head to a nail. All their smiths can do for a substitute, is to bend the head of a small piece of iron like the letter z, which flattened, but not welded, serves as a substitute for the nail-head. Every chest of tea affords numerous examples of this clumsy qui pro quo.--E.]
In my long stay from Pulo-way and Banda on this occasion, the islanders had intelligence that our ship had weighed; and they were persuaded I had gone away for fear of the Hollanders. Upon this the islanders would not deal with my people whom I had left among them, neither even would they sell them provisions. They even began to rail at them and abuse them, saying that I had gone away with the ship, as the Hollanders did formerly, and would come back with a fleet, as they had done, and take their country from them. In this disposition of mind towards us, they had come to a determination to seize our house, and to send all our people prisoners to the top of a high rock, the consent only of the sabandar being a-wanting for taking possession of our goods, though some even began to take our goods forcibly. On the arrival of the sabandar, Mr Spalding waited upon him, and remonstrated upon the unjust conduct of the islanders in taking away our goods, craving his protection. The sabandar then said, that the islanders were resolved we should not do as the Hollanders had done, and were therefore resolved to make all the English prisoners; for the ship was gone, and our intentions seemed bad towards them. All that Mr Spalding could say, they would not be persuaded but that I was gone away in the ship, and that my people were left behind at Pulo-way for a sinister purpose.
Next day, the islanders met in council in their church, [mosque;] and while deliberating upon the seizure of our goods, and the imprisonment of Mr Spalding and our men, news were brought them that I was in sight in the Hopewell, on which they broke up their council. At my landing, Mr Spalding told me of the hard usage he had received, and the fear he was in. When I got to our house, the chief man of all the islands sat before the door, waiting my arrival, and told me plainly, if I had not then come myself, they would have taken our goods and made our people prisoners. I then explained to them the reason of removing the ship; adding, that it was no wonder the Hollanders had built a castle to defend themselves, when I received such hard and unjust usage from them, who was in friendship with them, had left my men among them with such commodities as the country required, had made the Hollanders my enemies because they were their enemies, and had done every thing in my power to serve them. They answered, that I must not blame them for being jealous of all Christians, as the Portuguese and Hollanders had done exactly like me for many years, but were now obviously determined to enslave their country.
Friendship and confidence being completely restored, I bought spice from them, and had soon enough to load my ship, which I dispatched in the Hopewell to where the Expedition now rode. Having still a considerable overplus of stock, I thought I could not do better service to your worships, than by laying out your money in farther purchases. I therefore loaded thirty tons more in a junk, and bought another junk of forty tons and spice to load her. But as she was not yet launched, I left Mr Spalding in charge of her loading, leaving Mr Chapman, a very honest and sufficient man, as master of this junk, with twelve persons to navigate her. I then took my leave of all the chiefs in a friendly manner, giving them various presents as farewell tokens, entreating them to give Mr Spalding such assistance as he might require, as after my departure he would have to rely on them.
Leaving Mr Chapman as master of the new junk, I was obliged to take charge of the Hopewell myself, and set sail the 7th September, 1610, from Pulo-way, having the junk Middleton in company, having remained longer in this country than any Englishman had done hitherto. I arrived at the ship on the 10th, which I now found was not fully laden, as seven tons of nutmegs that had come last from Pulo-way were spoiled and had to be thrown away. I laded her therefore from the Hopewell and the junk; and now turned off the Hopewell, which had done good service. She was only of half-inch plank, which we had never had leisure to sheath, and was so worm-eaten, that the pump had to be in constant use.
SECTION 3. Departure for Bantam, Escape from the Hollanders, and Voyage Home.
When the ship was fully laden, we set sail from Keeling bay for Bantam, having never a top-sail overhead, as the top-sails had been blown from the yards while Mr Davis was removing the ship from her original station to another bay, seven leagues more to the westward. As the junk went better than we, I wrote a letter by her to Bantam, desiring her crew to make all speed there, yet I hoped to overtake her when I could get up new top-sails, on which we were busy at work. Having completed our top-sails, I overtook the junk on the 16th September, when we found it could not now keep us company, unless we took in our top-sails. I directed them therefore to carry such sail in the junk as she was able to bear, and to follow me to Bantam, as my remaining with them could serve no good purpose, and I had much to do at Bantam to trim the ship for her voyage home. So we took leave of them and bore away for Bantam. I arrived there on the 9th October, where I found Mr Hensworth and Edward Neetles had both died shortly after my sailing for the spice islands; so that all the goods I had left were still there, not a yard of cloth being sold to the Chinese.
Having dispatched my affairs at Bantam, I appointed Richard Wooddies as chief of our factory, with whom I left directions for Mr Spalding, when God should send him to Bantam, to consider of a voyage to Succadania in Borneo for diamonds. I set sail on the 16th November, and having a good passage to Saldanha bay, I got there on the 21st January, 1611. I found that my brother Sir Henry Middleton had been there, arriving the 24th July, and departing the 10th August, 1610. I there found a copy of a letter my brother had sent home by a Hollander the day after he came to the road; which, if your worships have not received, you may see that they will detain all your worships letters. I took in water at Saldanha bay, and made all the dispatch I could for England.
Thus have I certified your worships of all matters in an ample manner, as seemed my duty. I have on board 100 tons, six cathayes, one quartern, and two pounds of nutmegs; and 622 suckets of mace, which are thirty-six tons, fifteen cathayes, one quartern, and twenty-one pounds. I left in the junk with Mr Herniman twenty-four tons, seven cathayes, two quarterns, eight pounds. All this cost me 25,071-1/4 rials; of which sum I have disbursed 500 rials of my own, for spice, which lies mostly on the orlop; and being in bond to your worships, it shall there remain till I know your worships pleasure whether I shall enjoy it.
SECTION XI
Sixth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1610, under the Command of Sir Henry Middleton.[317]
INTRODUCTION.
This is one of the most curious of all the early voyages of the English to India, particularly on account of the transactions of Sir Henry in the Red Sea. According to the title of the voyage in the Pilgrims, the narrative was written by Sir Henry himself, probably an abstract of his journal. It breaks off abruptly, and leaves the fate of the voyage entirely unexplained, which will be found in some measure supplied by the subsequent narrative of Downton.
[Footnote 317: Purch. Pilgr. I. 247. Astl. I. 360.]
From the title given by Purchas to the narrative, it appears that there were three ships employed in this voyage: The Trades-increase of 1000 tons, admiral, commanded by Sir Henry Middleton, general of the expedition; the Pepper-corn of 250 tons, vice-admiral, commanded by Captain Nicholas Downton; and the Darling of 90 tons. Besides these, the bark Samuel of 180 tons accompanied as a victualler to Cape Verd.--E.
SECTION 1. Incidents of the Voyage till the Arrival of the Squadron at Mokha.
We came to anchor in the roads of Cape Verd on the 1st May, 1610, under an island, where we found a Frenchman of Dieppe, who was setting up a pinnace. Next day, I set all the carpenters of the fleet to work on my mainmast; and having taken off the fishes, they found it so sore wrung about three feet above the upper-deck, that it was half through, so that it must have gone by the board if we had met with any foul weather. I sent one of my carpenters a-land on the main to search for trees, who returned that night, saying he had seen some that would answer. The third we began to unload the Samuel, and sent the carpenters on shore to cut down trees, having leave of the alcaide, who came on board to dine with me, and to whom I gave a piece of Rouen cloth which I bought of the Frenchman, and some other trifles. The fifteenth, the mast being repaired, and all our water-casks full, we stowed our boats at night, and prepared to be gone next morning. Cape Verd is the best place I know of for our outward-bound ships; not being out of the way, the road being good and fit for the dispatch of any kind of business, and fresh fish to be had in great plenty. In a council with Captain Downton and the masters, it was agreed that our best course to steer for the line from hence was S.S.W. for sixty leagues, then S.S.E. till near the line, and then easterly. We dismissed the Samuel to return home, and held on our way.
We came into Saldanha roads the 24th July, and saluted the Dutch admiral with five guns, which he returned. There were also two other Holland ships there, which came to make train-oil of seals,[318] and which had made 300 pipes. This day I went a-land, and found the names of Captain Keeling and others, homewards-bound in January, 1610; also my brother David's name, outward-bound, 9th August, 1609, and likewise a letter buried under ground, according to agreement between him and me in England, but it was so consumed with damp as to be altogether illegible. The 26th, we set up a tent for our sick men, and got them all ashore to air our ships. From this till we departed, nothing happened worth writing.
[Footnote 318: In a letter which I had from Mr Femell, written from Saldanha bay, he mentions two French ships in like employment, which he suspected lay in wait for distressed ships coming from India.--Purch.]
The 6th September, in lat. 23° 30' S. wind southerly, a pleasant gale. This day, after dinner, we saw land, and before night, came to anchor in the bay of St Augustine, where we found the Union distressed for want of provisions.[319] The 7th, I went ashore in my pinnace to endeavour to get fresh victuals for the people, but could not; we got however wood and water. The 10th, we steered along the coast with a fresh gale at S.E. reckoning to have made twenty-six leagues that day, but we only went twenty-two, owing to a current setting south. The 11th, we steered along the land, having still a great current against us. The 20th, at noon, our latitude was 11° 10', the variation being 12° 40' This afternoon we saw land, being the islands of Queriba,[320] which are dangerous low islands, environed with rocks and shoals.
[Footnote 319: See the narrative of her voyage in sect. ix. of this chapter.]
[Footnote 320: Querimba, an island and river of that name on the Cafre coast, in lat. 12° 30' S. There is an island called Oibo, a little way to the north, and another named Goat's island, a little-way south of Querimba; all three being probably the islands of Queriba in the text.--E.]
The 16th October, early in the morning, we saw the Duas Irmanas, or Two Sisters, bearing N. by W. the wind at S.W. and the 18th, we came to anchor in a sandy bay in the island of Socotora, in lat. 12° 25' N.[321] In the evening we caught many fish with the sein. The 21st, we endeavoured to get into the road of Tamarin, the chief town of the island, but from contrary winds were unable to get there till the 25th. The latitude of Tamarin is 12° 30' [13° 37'] S. This town stands at the foot of high rugged hills, and the road is all open between E. by N. and W.N.W. We anchored in ten fathoms on good ground. I sent Mr Femell ashore well accompanied, with a present to the king of a cloth vest, a piece of plate, and a sword-blade, when he promised all possible kindness. The 26th, I went ashore, accompanied by the chief merchants and a strong guard, and being conducted to the king's house, he entertained me courteously. I enquired of him concerning the trade of the Red Sea, which he highly commended, saying, the people of Aden and Mokha were good, and would be glad to trade with us. He said farther, that the Ascension had sold all her goods there at high prices, and came so light to Tamarin as to require much ballast. This news gave me good content. I asked leave to set up my pinnace on his island, but he would not allow it in this road, as if I staid long at Tamarin it might deter all others from coming there; but if I chose to return to the former port, I might set up the pinnace at that place. On enquiring for aloes, he said he had sent away all his aloes to his father, who resides at Kushem, near Cape Fartak, being king of that part of Arabia Felix. I asked leave to wood and water. He gave me free leave to take water, but said, if I would have any wood, I must pay very dear for it. He confirmed the loss of the Ascension and her pinnace, which was no small grief to me. He urged me much to go to the Red Sea, but advised me not to attempt trade at Fartak, as he thought his father would not allow me. I and all my people dined with the king, and then went aboard.
[Footnote 321: The latitude in the text is very erroneous; the most southerly part of Socotora being in 13° 6' N.]
The 7th November, while steering along the coast of Arabia, we saw a high land about ten o'clock, rising like Abba-del-curia, and capable of being seen a great way off, which we imagined to be the high land of Aden. In the evening, we came to anchor before the town in twenty fathoms on sandy ground. Aden stands in a vale at the foot of a mountain, and makes a fair appearance. It is surrounded by a stone wall, and has forts and bulwarks in many places; but how these are furnished I know not. The 8th, there came off a small boat in which were three Arabs, who said they were sent by the lieutenant of the town to enquire of what nation we were; sending us word we were welcome if English, and that Captain Sharpey had been there the year before, and had gone thence to Mokha, where he sold all his goods. I asked the name of the pacha, and whether he was a good man. They answered his name was Jaffer Pacha; that the former pacha was a very bad man, this rather better, but all the Turks were bad. Asking what sort of place Mokha was for trade, they told me there was one man in Mokha who would purchase all my goods. I sent John Williams ashore, one of my factors, who could speak Arabic, who was kindly entertained.
The morning of the 9th, I sent my pinnace ashore to procure a pilot for Mokha, and in the mean time weighed anchor and got under sail. The pinnace returned without a pilot, saying, they would not let us have any unless we left three of our chief merchants in pledge, and that they entreated me to leave one ship, and they would buy all her goods. Being desirous of trade, I agreed to leave the Pepper-corn, and did what we could to regain the road, but were carried to leeward by the current, so we came to anchor to the south of the town. I then sent Mr Fowler and John Williams ashore, to tell them I was to leave one ship with them to trade, and begged they would let me have a pilot They seemed glad that one of the ships was to remain, and promised me a pilot next day. Seeing no hope of a pilot on the 12th, and having dispatched our business with the Pepper-corn, I sailed about noon with the Trades-increase and Darling for Mokha.
The 14th, we saw the head-land going into the Red Sea, rising like an island, and about eleven, we were athwart the entrance, being only three miles broad.[322] On the north side is a rugged land like an island, and on the other side is a low flat island, called Babelmandd,[323] on the south side of which island there appeared to be a broad strait or entrance. After passing through the strait, we saw a village in a sandy bay on the north shore, to which place I sent my pinnace to get a pilot. It soon returned with two Arabs, who pretended to be very skilful. Our depth in the straits was from eight to eleven fathoms, and the distance from Aden to the straits is thirty leagues. About four o'clock p.m. we had sight of the town of Mokha; and about five, while luffing with a strong wind, we split our main-top-sail, and putting abroad our mizen, it split likewise. At this time our pilots got our ship aground on a sand bank, the wind blowing hard, and the sea somewhat high, so that we much feared her getting safe off again.
[Footnote 322: This must have been the N.E. passage, between the island of Prin and the promontory on the coast of Arabia. The other passage is much broader.--E.]
[Footnote 323: The name of the island is Prin, Bab-al-Mondub, signifying the gate of lamentation, is the Arabian name of the straits leading into the Red Sea.--E.]
SECTION 2. Transactions at Mokha, and Treachery of the Turks there, and at Aden.
That same night, a boat came off to us from the town, in which was a proper man of a Turk, sent by the governor to enquire who we were, and what was our business. I answered that we were English merchants, who came in search of trade. To this he replied, that we were heartily welcome, and should not fail in what we wanted; and that Alexander Sharpey had sold all his goods there, and we might do the like. He made light of the grounding of our ship, saying it was quite customary for the great ships of India to get there aground, and yet none of them ever suffered any harm by it. He then hastened on shore to acquaint the aga what we were, and promised to return in the morning with boats to lighten our ship. This man, as I afterwards understood, was what they call lord of the sea;[324] his office is to board all ships that come to Mokha, to see lighters sent to discharge the ships, and to take care that they do not defraud the customs; for all which he has certain fees, which constitute his salary.
[Footnote 324: In Arabic, Amir-al-Bahar.--Astl. I. 363. a.]
Early in the morning of the 14th, the lord of the sea returned with three or four other Turks in his company, two of whom spoke Italian. They brought me a small present from the aga, with hearty welcome to his port, saying, we should have as good and free trade as we had in Stamboul, [Constantinople,] Aleppo, or any other part of the Turkish dominions, with many other compliments, and offers of every thing that the country could afford. They brought three or four, lighters, into which we put any thing that first came to hand to lighten the ship. Mr Femell went ashore in one of these before I was aware, carrying with him every thing he had in the ship. We sent our money, elephants teeth, and all our shot, aboard the Darling; and in the evening carried out our anchors into deep water, trying to heave off our ship, but could not. The 15th we sent more goods ashore, and some on board the Darling, and about five p.m. on heaving the capstan, our ship went off the bank to all our comforts. I had this day a letter from Mr Femell, telling me he hod received kind entertainment from the aga, and had agreed to pay five per cent custom for all we should sell, and all that was not sold to be returned custom-free. Likewise the aga sent me a letter under his hand and seal, offering himself and every thing in his country at my disposal, with many other compliments.
The 19th two boats came off for iron to Mr Femell, which I caused to be sent; but wrote to him, not to send for any more goods till those he had already were sold. In answer, Mr Femell wrote, that I must come ashore according to the custom of the country, if I minded to have trade, otherwise they could not be persuaded but we were men of war. The aga likewise sent his interpreter to entreat me to come ashore, if I were a merchant and friend to the Great Turk, and hoped for trade; alledging, that Captain Sharpey, and all Indian captains, did so. The 20th, I went ashore, and was received at the water-side by several of the chief men, accompanied with music, and brought in great state to the aga's house, where all the chief men of the town were assembled. I was received with much kindness, was seated close to the aga, all the rest standing, and many compliments paid me. I delivered his majesty's letter for the pacha, and a present, which I requested might be sent up to the pacha with all speed. I likewise gave the aga a present, with which he seemed much pleased, assuring me I should have free trade, and if any of the townspeople offended me or my men, he would punish them severely. He then made me stand up, and one of his chief men put upon me a vest of crimson silk and silver, saying, this was the Grand Seignor's protection, and I need fear no ill. After some compliments, I took my leave, and was mounted on a gallant horse with rich furniture, a great man leading my horse, and was conducted in my new coat, accompanied by music, to the English factory, where I staid dinner. Meaning to go aboard in the evening, I was much entreated to remain, which I yielded to, being forced also for some days following by bad weather.
Every day I had some small present sent me by the aga, with compliments from him, enquiring if I were in want of any thing. On the 28th, he sent twice complimentary messages, desiring me to be merry, as when their fast was over, now almost expired, he would take me along with him to his gardens and other places of pleasure. This afternoon Mr Pemberton came ashore for cocoa-nuts, and wishing afterwards to return on board, the Turks would not allow him, saying it was too late, and he might go as early next morning as he pleased. I sent to entreat permission for him to go, but it was refused. All this time we suspected no harm, only thinking the officer was rather too strict in his conduct on this occasion, which we thought had been without orders, and of which I meant next day to complain to the aga. After sun-set, I ordered stools to be set for us at the door, where Mr Femell, Mr Pemberton, and I, sat to take the fresh air, having no suspicions that any evil was intended us. About eight o'clock, a janissary brought some message for me from the aga; and as we could not understand him, I sent my man to call one of my people who could speak Turkish. While this man was interpreting the aga's message, which was merely complimentary, my own man came to us in great consternation, saying we were betrayed, for the Turks and my people were by the ears at the back of the house.
The Turk who sat beside us rose up immediately, and desired my man to shew him where the quarrel was, several of my folks following to see what was the matter. I immediately ran after them, calling as loud as I was able for them to turn back and defend our house; but while speaking, I was struck on the head by one behind me with such violence, that I fell down and remained senseless till they had bound my hands behind me so tightly, that the pain restored my senses. As soon as they saw me move, they set me on my feet, and led me between two of them to the house of the aga, where I found several of my people in a similar situation with myself. On the way the soldiers pillaged me of all the money I had about me, and took from me three gold rings, one of which was my seal, another was set with seven diamonds, which were of considerable value, and the third was a gimmall ring. When all of us that escaped alive in this treacherous and bloody massacre were brought together, they began to put us in irons, I and seven more being chained together by the neck, others by their feet, and others again by the hands. This being done they all left us, except two soldiers appointed to keep guard over us. These soldiers had compassion upon us, and eased us of the bands which tied our hands behind; for most of us were so tightly bound that the blood was ready to start from our finger-ends.
After my hands were thus eased, being much distressed both for myself and the rest, and in great anxiety for the ships, which I believed the faithless Turks would leave no villainy unattempted to get possession of, we began to converse together as to what could be the reason of this infamous usage. I demanded if any of them could tell how the affray began, and if any of our people were slain. I was informed by those of our company who were in the fray, and had escaped, that Francis Slanny, John Lanslot, and six more were slain, and that fourteen of those now in custody along with me were sore wounded. They said that our house was surrounded by soldiers, who, when I was knocked down, attacked our company with merciless cruelty, against those who had no weapons to defend themselves.
Having thus succeeded in the first act of their treachery, they now aimed to gain possession of our ships and goods. For about ten o'clock that same night, they manned three large boats with about 150 armed men, in order to take the Darling, which rode somewhat nearer the shore than our large ship. The boats put off from the shore together, and that they might be mistaken for Christians, the Turks took off their turbans, and all boarded the Darling, most of them getting upon her deck. This attack was so sudden, that three men belonging to the Darling were slain before they could get down below: The rest took to their close quarters, and stood on their defence. At this time, the Emir al Bahar, who commanded on this enterprize, called to his soldiers to cut the tables in the house.[325] The soldiers misunderstanding him, many of them leapt into the boats and cut the boat ropes, so that they drifted away. By this time our men had got hold of their weapons and manned their close quarters, the Turks standing thick in the waste, hallooing and clanging their swords upon the deck. One of our company threw a large barrel of powder among them, and after it a fire-brand, which took instant effect, and scorched several of them. The rest retired to the quarter-deck and poop, as they thought for greater safety, where they were entertained with musket-shot and another train of powder, which put them in such fear that they leapt into the sea, many of them clinging to the ship's side and desiring quarter, which was not granted, as our men killed all they could find, and the rest were drowned. One man only was saved, who hid himself till the fury was over, when he yielded and was received to mercy. Thus God, of his goodness and mercy, delivered our ship and men out of the hands of our enemies, for which blessed be his holy name for ever more. Amen.
[Footnote 325: This seems unintelligible nonsense, from what follows, it would appear that the order was to cut the cables in the hose, that the ship might drift a-shore.--E.]
On the return of the boats to Mokha, they reported that the ship was taken, for which there were great rejoicings. The aga sent off the boats again, with orders to bring the ship close to the shore; but on getting out to where she rode, they found her under sail and standing off, on which they returned, and told the aga that the ship had escaped and was gone, and they now believed the Emir-al-bahar and his soldiers were taken prisoners, which was no pleasing news to him. Before day, he sent his interpreter to tell me that my small ship was taken, which I believed. At day-break, I was sent for to come before the aga, and went accordingly with my seven yoke-fellows, all fastened with me by the neck to the same chain. With a frowning countenance, he asked how I durst be so bold as to enter their port of Mokha, so near their holy city of Mecca? I answered, that he already knew the reason of my coming, and that I had not landed till earnestly entreated by him, with many promises of kind usage. He then said it was not lawful for any Christian to come so near their holy city, of which Mokha was as one of the gates, and that the pacha had express orders from the Great Turk to captivate all Christians who came into these seas, even if they had the imperial pass. I told him the fault was his own, for not having told me so at first, but deluding us with fair promises.
He now gave me a letter to read from Captain Downton, dated long before at Aden, saying, that two of his merchants and his purser had been detained on shore,[326] and that they could not get them released, without landing merchandize, and paying 1500 Venetian chequins for anchorage. After I had read the letter, the aga desired to know its purport, which I told him. He then informed me that the ship, since the writing of that letter, had been cast away on a rock, and all her goods and men lost. He then commanded me to write a letter to the people in my large ship to know how many Turks were detained in the small one. I said that was needless, as he had already sent me word the small ship was taken. To this he replied, that she was once taken, but the large ship had rescued her. He then ordered me to write a letter, commanding all the people of the large ship to come ashore, and to deliver the large ship and her goods into his hands, when he would give us the small ship to carry us home. I said it would be folly to write any such thing, as those who were aboard and at liberty would not be such fools as to forsake their ship and goods, and come ashore to be slaves, merely for my writing them. He said he was sure if I wrote such a letter, they durst not disobey me. When I told him plainly I would write no such letter, he urged me again, threatening to cut off my head if I refused. I bade him do so, in which he would give me pleasure, being weary of my life. He then asked what money we had in the ship, and what store of victuals and water? I said we had but little money, being only for purchasing victuals, not merchandize, and that we had enough of victuals and water for two years, which he would not believe.
[Footnote 326: Besides these, twenty more were treacherously betrayed at Aden, having leave given them to go onshore for business.--Purch.]
I was now taken out of my chain and collar, having a large pair of fetters put upon my legs, with manacles on my wrists; and being separated from the rest of my company, I was bestowed all that day in a dirty dog-kennel under a stair; but at night, at the entreaty of Shermall, consul of the Banians, I was taken to a better room, and allowed to have one of my men along with me who spoke Turkish; yet my bed was the hard ground, a stone my pillow, and my company to keep me awake were grief of heart and a multitude of rats. About midnight came the lieutenant of the aga with the trugman,[327] entreating me to write a letter on board to enquire how many Turks they had prisoners, and what were their names; but in no case to write any thing of the loss of our men, and the hard usage we had met with; but to say we were detained in the aga's house till orders came from the pacha, and that we wanted for nothing. This letter I wrote exactly as they wished; but commanded them to look well to their ships and boats, and by no means to let any of their men come ashore. Taking this letter with them, they examined two or three of my men apart as to its meaning.
[Footnote 327: Or interpreter, now commonly called dragoman, druggeman, or trucheman, all of which are corruptions from the Arabic tarijmán.--Astl. I. 366. a.]
They could not at first get any one who would venture on board, so that my first letter was not sent. But at length a person, who was born at Tunis, in Barbary, and spoke good Italian, undertook to carry a letter, providing I would write to use him well. I wrote again as they desired, which was taken on board and answered, saying, that all the Turks were slain or drowned, save one, named Russwan, a common soldier; in this answer they expressed their satisfaction to hear that I was alive; as Russwan told them he believed I and all the rest were slain. We continued in this misery till the 15th December, never hearing any thing from the ships nor they from us. The aga came several times to me, sometimes with threats and sometimes soothing, to have me write for all my people to come ashore and deliver up the ships; but I always answered him as before. He was in hopes our ships would be forced, for want of water and provisions, to surrender to him, knowing they could not have a wind to get out of the straits till May, and would by no means believe me that they were provided for two years.
In the mean time they in the ships were at their wits end, hearing nothing from us ashore, and not knowing well what to do. They rode very insecurely in an open anchorage, the wind blowing continually hard at S.S.E. inclosed all round with shoals, and their water beginning to fail, as we had started fifty tons in our large ship to lighten her when we got aground. While in this perplexity, an honest true-hearted sailor, named John Chambers, offered to go ashore and see what was become of us, putting his life and liberty at stake, rather than see the people so much at a loss. He effected this on the 15th December, being set ashore upon a small island with a flag of truce, a little to windward of the town, having one of our Indians along with him as an interpreter. On being carried before the aga, who asked him how he durst come on shore without leave, he said he came with a flag of truce, and was only a messenger, which was permitted among enemies. Being asked what message he had to deliver, he said a letter for his general, and likewise, if allowed, to see and enquire how we all did. He and the Indian were strictly examined as to the store of provisions and water on board, when both answered as I had done, that there was enough of both for two years.
Chambers was then brought to my dark cell, and could not for some time see me on coming out of the light. He delivered me the letter with watery eyes, on seeing me so fettered, both hands and feet being in irons. When he had told me how he came ashore, I told him I hardly thought they would let him off again; as, not many days before, a man who brought a letter for me from the Pepper-corn was detained a prisoner, being neither allowed to return nor to go aboard the ships in the roads. His answer was, that before leaving the ship he had made up his mind to submit to the same hard fate as I did, if they were so villainous as to detain him who was only a messenger. The 16th I wrote an answer, and delivered it to Chambers, and, contrary to my expectation, they let him and the Indian return, with leave to come again next day if they had occasion. Next day accordingly, Chambers returned alone, for the Indian was so terrified that he durst not venture again. My man sent me various things by Chambers, but the aga was my receiver, thinking them too good for me.
While daily expecting orders from the pacha to put us to death, or to make us perpetual prisoners or slaves, on the 20th December an aga came down from Zenan, who was captain, or chief of the chiauses, with orders to bring us all up there. Being desirous to see me and my company, three chairs were brought into my prison, on which Regib aga, Ismael aga, the messenger, and Jaffer aga, seated themselves. Regib aga began by asking, how I dared to come into that country so near their holy city, without a pass from the Turkish emperor? I answered, that the king my master was in peace and amity with the Grand Turk, and that by the treaty between them, trade was allowed to us in all his dominions, of which this being a part, we needed no pass. He then said, that this place being the door, as it were, of their holy city, was not lawful for any Christians to enter; and then asked me if I did not know the grand signior had a long sword? I answered, we were not taken by the sword, but by treachery; and if I and my people were aboard, I would not care for the length of his sword, nor for all their swords. He then said, this was proudly spoken; and, as formerly, desired I would write, commanding all my people to come ashore, and surrender themselves and ships to the pacha, to which I answered as formerly. Ismael aga now broke off this idle discourse, by telling me, he came from the pacha with express orders to conduct me and all my people to Zenan, and therefore advised me to send aboard for warm clothing, as we should find it very cold in the mountains. I requested him that my poor men might be sent aboard ship, and that only I and a few more should go up to Zenan. He said, it was not in his power to remedy this, as the pacha had ordered all to go; but Regib aga said I should have my wish, and that I and five more should go to Zenan, the rest remaining where they were till farther orders from the pacha. This same day, the 20th December, Captain Downton came in the Pepper-corn to Mokha roads from Aden; and learning this, I wrote him a letter, giving him my opinion of what was best for him to do, he being commander in my absence.
SECTION 3. Journey of Sir Henry Middleton to Zenan, in the Interior of Yemen, or Arabia Felix, with some Description of the Country, and Occurrences till his Return to Mokha.
The 22d December, our irons were all taken off our legs, except the carpenters and smiths, who were detained at Mokha to set up our pinnace, and some sick men who were unable to travel. I and thirty-four of my people were destined to go up to Zenan, the chief city of the kingdom,[328] where the pacha resided. About four p.m. of the 22d we left Mokha, myself and Mr Femell being on horseback, and all the rest of my people upon asses. About ten at night, when ten or twelve miles from Mokha, Mr Pemberton slipped away. We missed him immediately, but said not a word, aiding his escape with our prayers to God to speed him safe aboard. About one hour after midnight, we came to an inn or town, called Mowssie, when we were counted, but Pemberton was not missed. We remained here till four in the afternoon of the 23d, when, at our coming out to depart, we were again counted, and one was now found wanting. The aga asked me how many of us left Mokha, on which I answered, thirty-four, as I thought, but I was not certain. He insisted there certainly were thirty-five, and that one was now missing; on which I said that was more than I knew.
[Footnote 328: Zenan, or Sanaa, is a city in the interior of Yemen, or Yaman, in lat. 16° 45' N. and long. 46° E. from Greenwich; being about 250 miles N.N.E. from Mokha, and about 150 miles N.N.W. from the nearest coast of the Indian ocean, situated on one of the very few rivers that are to be found in Arabia.--E.]
I ought to have mentioned, that, while a prisoner at Mokha, I found much kindness from one Hamet aga, who sent me various presents, encouraging me to be of good comfort, as my cause was good. He sent a supply of bread for me and my people on the journey, and gave me letters for the kiahya of the pacha. The consul likewise of the Banians came every day to visit me, and never empty handed; and Tookehar was our great friend all the time we were prisoners, sending every day to each man, fifty-one in all, two cakes of white bread, and a quantity of dates or plantains. He went away from Mokha for Zenan two days before us, promising me to use his beat endeavours with the pacha for our good; and I believe he did what he said, for I was told by several persons at Zenan, that he laboured hard in our business, both with the pacha and the kiahya, which latter was a very discreet person, and governed the kingdom.
On Christmas day we arrived at the city of Tyes, four days journey from Mokha, where we were marshalled two and two together, as they do at Stambol[329] with captives taken in the wars, our aga riding in triumph, as a great conqueror. We were met a mile out of town by the chief men of the place on horseback, multitudes of people standing all the way gazing and wondering at us; and this was done at all the cities and towns through which we passed. A youth belonging to Mr Pemberton fell sick at this town, and had to be left in charge of the governor, being unable to travel.
[Footnote 329: Stambola, Stamboli, Stamboul, vulgar names in the east for Constantinople, is a correction and corruption of [Greek] which the Greeks used to say when going to Constantinople, i.e. to the city, by way of especial eminence above all other cities.--Purch.]
I kept no journal all the way from Tyes to Zenan; but this I well remember, that it was exceedingly cold all that part of the journey, our lodging being the cold ground, and every morning the ground was covered with hoar frost. I would not believe at Mokha when I was told how cold was the upper country, but experience taught me, when too late, to wish I had come better provided. I bought fur gowns for most of my men, who were slenderly clothed, otherwise I think they would have starved. Zenan is, as I judge, about 180 miles N.N.W. from Mokha.[330] It is in lat. 16° 15', as I observed by an instrument I made there. We were fifteen days between Mokha and Zenan. The 5th of January, 1611, two hours before day, we came within two miles of Zenan, where we had to sit on the bare ground till day-light, and were much pinched by the cold, and so benumbed that we could hardly stand. Every morning the ground was covered with hoar frost, and in Zenan we have had ice an inch thick in one night, which I could not have believed unless I had seen it.
[Footnote 330: See a former note, in which its geographical relation to Mokha is given on the authority of our latest and best maps.--E.]
About a mile from the town, we were met by the subasha, or sheriff, with at least 200 shot, accompanied by drums and trumpets. We were now drawn up in single file, or one behind the other, at some distance, to make the greater shew, our men having their gowns taken from them, and being forced to march on foot in their thin and ragged suits. The soldiers led the way, after whom went our men one by one, our trumpeters being next before me, and commanded by the aga to sound, but I forbade them. After our trumpeters, came Mr Femell and I on horseback; and lastly, came the aga riding in triumph, with a richly caparisoned spare horse led before him. In this order we were led through the heart of the city to the castle, all the way being so thronged with people that we could hardly get through them. At the first gate there was a good guard of armed soldiers; at the second were two great pieces of cannon on carriages. After passing this gate, we came into a spacious court yard, twice as long as the Exchange at London. The soldiers discharged their pieces at this gate, and placed themselves, among many others there before them, on the two sides, leaving a lane for us to walk through. Mr Femell and I alighted at this gate, and placed ourselves on one side along with our men, but he and I were soon ordered to attend upon the pacha, it being their divan day, or meeting of the council. At the upper end of the court-yard, we went up a stair of some twelve steps, at the top of which two great men came and held me by the wrists, which they griped very hard, and led me in this manner to the pacha, who was seated in a long spacious gallery, many great men standing on each side of him, and others stood on each side all along this gallery, making a good shew, the floor being all covered with Turkey carpets.
When I came within two yards of the pacha, we were commanded to stop. The pacha then, with a frowning and angry countenance, demanded of what country I was, and what brought me into these parts? I answered, that I was an Englishman and a merchant, a friend to the grand signior, and came to seek trade. He then said, it was not lawful for any Christian to come into that country, and he had already given warning to Captain Sharpey for no more of our nation to come hither. I told him Captain Sharpey was cast away on the coast of India, and did not get to England to tell us so; which, if we had known, we had never put ourselves to the trouble we were now in; that Regib aga had imposed upon us, saying, we were welcome into the country, and that we should have as free trade as in any part of Turkey, with many other fair promises; and, contrary to his word, had assaulted us with armed soldiers, had murdered several of my men, and made me and others prisoners. He said Regib aga was no more than his slave, and had no power to pass his word to me without his leave, and that what had befallen me and my people was by his orders to Regib aga; he having such orders from the grand signior so to chastise all Christians that dared to come into these parts. I told him we had already received great harm, and if it pleased him to let us return to our ships, what we had suffered would be a sufficient warning for our nation never to return again into his country. He answered, that he would not allow us to depart, but that I should write to the ambassador of our nation at Constantinople, and he would write to the grand signior, to know his pleasure as to what was to be done with us, or whether he chose to permit us to trade or no.
The pacha then dismissed me, desiring me to go to the lodging that was appointed for me, taking four or five of my people with me at my choice. These men and I were conveyed to the jailor's house, while all the rest were committed to the common prison, where they were all heavily ironed. At the time when I was taken before the pacha, one of our youths fainted, thinking I was led away to be beheaded, and that his turn would soon follow. He sickened immediately, and died shortly after. The 6th, I was sent for to breakfast with the kiabya, or lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and after breakfast, I gave him a particular account of the vile treachery that had been practised against me by Regib aga. He desired me to be of good cheer, not thinking of what was past, which could not be remedied, as he hoped all would go well in the end, for which his best endeavours to do me good should not be wanting. Shermall, the Banian at Mokha, had made this man my friend. The 7th, I was sent for again by the kiabya to his garden, where he feasted Mr Femell and me, telling me that I and my people should be soon set at liberty, and sent back to Mokha, where all my wrongs should be redressed, as he was resolved to stand my friend. This declaration was made before many of the principal persons, both Turks and Arabs, his only inducement being for God's sake, as he pretended, but I well knew it was in hopes of a reward. The letter of Hamet aga to this man did us much good.
At this time there came to Zenan a Moor of Cairo, who was an old acquaintance of the pacha, and had lent him large sums at his first coming from Constantinople very poor. This man was our next neighbour in Mokha at the time when we were betrayed, and had a ship in the road of Mokha, bound for India, which he feared our ships would have taken in revenge of our injuries, but as she was allowed peaceably to depart, he became our great friend. He wrote a letter in our behalf to the pacha, blaming him for using us so ill, and saying he would destroy the trade of the country by such conduct. On coming now to the pacha, he repeated what he had written and much more, urging him to return me all my goods, and to send me and my people away contented. His influence prevailed much; as when the pacha sent for us, it was his intention to have put me to death, and to make slaves of all the rest. Of all this I was informed by Shermall and Hamet Waddy, who were both present when the letter was read, and at the conference between the pacha and him. This Hamet Waddy is a very rich Arabian merchant, residing in Zenan, and is called the pacha's merchant: He was much our friend, in persuading the pacha to use us kindly and permit us to depart.
The 8th January, I represented to the pacha, that at my coming away, from Mokha, I had ordered the commanders of my ships to forbear hostilities for twenty-five days, and afterwards to use their discretion, unless they heard farther from me. And as the time was almost expired, I requested he would enable me to write them some encouraging news, to stay them from doing injury to Mokha. The 11th, I was sent for to the kiahya, who told me my business was ended satisfactorily, and that the only delay now was in waiting for the rest of my people coming from Aden, immediately after which we should be sent to Mokha. The 17th, Mr Fowler and eighteen more of the company of the Pepper-corn arrived at Zenan from Aden, and were carried before the pacha, who asked them the same question he had done me. Afterwards, Mr Fowler, John Williams, and Robert Mico were sent to keep me company, and all the rest to the common prison with my other men, where they were all put in irons. Their only allowance from the pacha was brown bread and water, and they had all died of hunger if I had not relieved them.
The 25th, I was sent for to the kiahya's garden, where we spent some hours in conference. He told me I was to accompany him to the pacha, and advised me to sooth him with fair words. The chief cause of this man being our friend was, that I had promised him 1500 sequins after we were delivered, which I had done through Shermall, the consul of the Banians, after a long negotiation. Mr Femell and I were brought to the pacha's garden, where we found him in a kiosk, or summer-house, sitting in a chair, the kiabya standing at his right hand, and five or six others behind him. The pacha asked me how I did, desiring me to be of good cheer, as I and my people should soon be sent to Mokha, where I and twenty-nine more were to remain till all the India ships were come in, and the winds settled westerly, and then I and all my company should be allowed to embark and proceed on our voyage to India. I requested that he would not detain so many of us; but he answered, "Thirty have I said, and thirty shall remain." I then asked if our goods should be returned. He answered no, for they were all put to the account of the grand signior. I asked if all my people should be allowed to depart at the time appointed. To which he answered, that not one should be detained, not even if I had a Turkish slave, and I might depend on his word.
Having given him thanks for his kindness, as counselled by the kiahya, he began to excuse himself; and to praise his own clemency, saying, it was happy for us we had fallen into his hands, as if it had been in the time of any of his predecessors, we had all suffered death for presuming to come so near their holy city. He said, what had been done was by order of the grand signior, proceeding upon the complaints of the pachas of Cairo and Swaken, and the sharif of Mecca, who represented that, when the Ascension and her pinnace were in the Red Sea, they had bought up all the choice goods of India, by which the Turkish customs were much diminished; and, if allowed to continue, it would ruin the trade of the Red Sea. Wherefore the grand signior had given orders, if any more Englishmen or other Christians came into these parts, to confiscate their ships and goods, and to kill or reduce to slavery all their men they could get hold of.
In the mean time many of our people fell sick, and became weak through grief, cold, bad air, bad diet, wretched lodging, and heavy irons. I never ceased urging the kiahya, till he procured their liberations from the loathsome prison; so that on the 11th February they were freed from their irons, and had a house in the town to live in, with liberty to walk about. Next day the kiahya sent me six bullocks for my men, so that in a few days, with wholesome food and exercise, they recovered their former health and strength. The kiahya informed me, that Regib aga had written to the pacha to send us all down to Aden, to be there taken on board his ships; by which means his town of Mokha, and the India ships in passing the bab[331] would be freed from the danger of suffering any harm from our ships. This advice had nearly prevailed with the pacha, but was counteracted for our good by the kiahya.
[Footnote 331: This is the gate or straits of Bab-al-Mondub, or Babel Mandel, as corruptly called by Europeans.--Astl I. 372. a,]
Early in the morning of the 17th February, I and Mr Femell and others were sent for by the kiahya, and told that we were all to depart next morning for Mokha. After breakfast, he took us to the pacha to take leave. After again extolling his clemency and magnifying the power of the grand signior, he strictly enjoined me to come no more into those seas; saying, that no Christian or Lutheran should be allowed to come thither, even if they had the grand signior's pass. I requested, if any of our nation came there before I could give advice to England, that they might be permitted to depart quietly, and not betrayed as I had been: but this he positively refused to comply with. I then entreated him to write to Regib aga, to execute all that the pacha had promised me; for, being my mortal enemy, he would otherwise wrong me and my people. He answered with great pride, "Is not my word sufficient to overturn a city? If Kegib wrong you, I will pull his skin over his ears, and give you his head. Is he not my slave?" I then asked him for an answer to his majesty's letter, but he would give me none. On my departure, I told the kiahya that I had no weapon, and therefore desired leave to buy a sword, that I might not ride down like a prisoner. He acquainted the pacha with my request, who sent me one of his cast swords. The kiahya also gave me this morning an hundred pieces of gold of forty maydens, having before given me fifty. The 18th, I paid all the dues of the prison, and went to breakfast with the kiahya, where I received my dispatch, and a letter for the governor of Aden, to deliver the boat belonging to the Pepper-corn, I requested also his letter to the governor of Tyes, to restore Mr Pemberton's boy who was left sick there, and who, I had been informed, was forced to turn Mahometan. He wrote a letter and sealed it, but I know not its purport. I now took leave of the kiahya, and departed for Mokha; I, Mr Femell, and Mr Fowler, being mounted on horses, and alt the rest on asses or camels. We had two chiautes to conduct us on the way, one a-horseback and the other a-foot.
The city of Zenan is somewhat larger than Bristol,[332] and is well built of stone and lime, having many churches or mosques. It is surrounded by a mud wall, with numerous battlements and towers. On the west side there is a great deal of spare ground enclosed within the walls, where the principal people have their gardens, orchards, and kiosks, or pleasure-houses. It stands in a barren stony valley, enclosed among high hills at no great distance, on one of which to the north, which overlooks the town, there is a small castle to keep off the mountaineers, who used from thence to offend the city. Its only water is from wells, which have to be dug to a great depth. Wood is very scarce and dear, being brought from a distance. The castle is at the east side of the city, and is enclosed with mudwalls, having many turrets, in which they place their watch every night, who keep such a continual hallooing to each other all night long, that one unaccustomed to the noise, can hardly sleep. The pacha and some other principal men dwell within the castle. The house of the keeper of the prison, in which I was confined, adjoins the wall, at the foot of which is a spacious yard, where a great number of people, mostly women and children, are kept as pledges, to prevent their husbands, parents, and relations from rebelling. The boys while young run about loose in the yard, but when they come to any size, they are put in irons, and confined in a strong tower. The women and children dwell in little huts in the yard built on purpose, the children going mostly naked, unless when the weather is very cold, and then they have sheep-skin coats.
[Footnote 332: This is a most improper mode of description, as it is now impossible to say what size Bristol was then.--E.]
The first night of our journey we arrived at Siam, a small town, with a cattle, on the side of a hill, sixteen miles from Zenan, the country about being very barren. The 19th we came to Surage, a small village eighteen miles from Siam, in a very barren country. The people are very poor, and go almost naked, except a cloth round their middles reaching to their knees. The 20th, Damare, or Dhamar, a town built of stone and lime, but in five separate parts, like so many distinct villages. It stands in a spacious plain or valley, abounding in water, and producing plenty of grain and other provisions. This town is twenty miles from Surage, and we remained here two days by order of Abdallah Chelabi, the Kiabys, who was governor of this province. The 22d we came to Ermin, a small village, about fifteen miles. The 23d, Nakhil Sammar, a common inn for travellers, called Sensors by the Turks. There are many of these sensors between Mokha and Zenan, being built at the cost of the grand signior for the relief of travellers. This sensor stands in the middle of a very steep hill, called Nakhil Sammar, on the top of which is a great castle, in which the governor of the province resides, who is an Arabian; these craggy mountainous countries being mostly governed by Arabians, as the inhabitants of the mountains cannot brook the proud and insolent government of the Turks. No Turk may pass this way, either to or from Zenan, without a passport from the governor of the province from which they come. This sensor is about fourteen miles from Ermin.
The 24th we came to Mohader, a small village at the foot of the great hill, thirteen miles from Nakhil Sammar. Our chiaus had a warrant from the pacha to take up asses for our men, and accordingly did so at this place over night; but next morning the Arabians lay in ambush in the way, and took back their asses, neither of our chiauses daring to give them one uncivil word. The 25th we came to Rabattamaine, a sensor, with a few small cottages and shops, on the side of a hill, sixteen miles. Here grow poppies, of which they make opium, but it is not good. The 26th we came to a coughe[333] house, called Merfadine, in the middle of a plain, sixteen miles. The 27th, Tayes, a city half as big as Zenan, surrounded by a mud wall. We staid here two days, in which time I did all I could to recover Mr Pemberton's boy, whom Hamet aga the governor had forced to become Mahometan, and would on no account part with him. Walter Talbot, who spoke the Turkish language, was allowed to converse with him in a chamber among other boys. He told Talbot that he was no Turk, but had been deluded by them, saying that I and all my people were put to death at Zenan, and that he must change his religion if he would save his life, but he refused: yet they carried him to a bagnio, where he was circumcised by force. Finding the aga would not deliver the boy, I gave him the kiahya's letter, desiring him to be given up if not turned; so he was refused. This city stands in a valley under very high hills, on the top of one of which is a fair strong castle. All kinds of provisions are here plentiful and cheap, and in the neighbourhood some indigo is made, but I could not learn what quantity or quality. This city is very populous, as indeed are all the cities and districts we passed through.
[Footnote 333: It should rather be Kahwah house, signifying a house where they sell coffee.--Astl. I. 373. c.]
The 1st March we came to Eufras, sixteen miles through a mountainous and stony country. This is a small town on the side of a hill, to which many people resort from afar about the 5th of January, where they do some foolish ceremonies at the grave of one of their saints who is buried here, after which they all go on pilgrimage to Mecca. The governor of this town, though a Turk, used me very civilly on my going up to Zenan; and, on the present occasion, sent a person six miles to meet us at a place where two roads meet, to bring us to this town, where he used us kindly. The 2d we lodged at a sensor called Assambine, eleven miles, where were only a few poor cottages. The 3d to another sensor called Accomoth, in a barren common, with a few cottages, thirteen miles. The 4th to Mousa,[334] seventeen miles, through a barren plain with few inhabitants. Mousa is a small unwalled town, but very populous, standing in a moderately fertile plain, in which some indigo is made. We departed from Mousa at midnight, and rested two or three hours at a church, or coughe house,[335] called Dabully, built by a Dabull merchant Our stop was to avoid coming to Mokha before day.[336]
[Footnote 334: Probably the same place called Mowssi on the journey inland.--E.]
[Footnote 335: It is not easy to reconcile this synonime of a coughe house or church, with the explanation formerly given, that coughe house means coffee-house; perhaps we ought to read in the text, a church or mosque, and a coughe or coffee-house.--E.]
[Footnote 336: The preceding journal gives fourteen stages, the estimated length of two of which are omitted. The amount of the twelve stages, of which the lengths are inserted, is 185 miles; and, adding thirty for the two others as the average, the whole estimated distance will be 215 miles. In these old times, the estimated or computed mile seems to have been about one and a half of our present statute mile, which would make the entire distance 322 statute miles; and allowing one quarter far deflexion and mountain road, reduces the inland distance of Zenau from Mokha to 242 miles, nearly the same already mentioned in a note, on the authority of our best modern maps.--E.]
We got there about eight in the morning, and were met a mile without the town by our carpenters and smiths, and some others who had remained at Mokha, all of whom had their irons taken off the day before, and were now at liberty to walk abroad. The first question I asked was, what was become of Mr Pemberton; when they told me, to my great satisfaction, that he contrived to get hold of a canoe, in which he got aboard. From the end of the town all the way to the aga's house, the people were very thick to see us pass, and welcomed us back to Mokha. On coming before the aga, I delivered the letters I brought from Zenan. He now received me in his original dissembled shew of kindness, bidding me welcome, and saying he was glad of my safe return, and sorry and ashamed for what was past, praying me to pardon him, as he had done nothing but as commanded by his master the pacha, and I might now assure myself of his friendship, and that all the commands of the pacha should be punctually obeyed. I soothed him with fair speech, but believed nothing of his promises. He called for breakfast, and made Mr Femell, Mr Fowler, and me sit down by him, desiring us to eat and be merry, for now we had eaten bread and salt with him, we need have no fear of harm.
After breakfast the aga appointed us a large fair house near the sea, in which we abode two days; but we were afterwards removed to a large strong house standing by itself in the court yard of a mosque in the middle of the town, where we were guarded by a captain and his company appointed for the charge. He watched himself all day, and at night our house was surrounded by his soldiers Mokha it a third part less than Tayes, situated close to the sea, in a salt barren sandy soil, and unwalled. The house of the governor is close to the sea, and beside it is a quay, or jetty; which advances a good way into the water, at which all boats from any ship are enjoined to land, lest they should defraud the customs. Close to the quay is a platform or battery, on which are about twelve brass cannon; and at the west end of the town is a fort with a similar number of ordnance. At our first coming, this fort was in ruins; but it had been since pulled down and new built. The Darling came into the roads this afternoon, and brought me news of the welfare of the rest, to my no small comfort after so many troubles.
The 6th March, Nakhada Malek Ambar, captain of a great ship of Dabul, came ashore, accompanied by a great number of merchants, all of them being carried round the town in a kind of triumph, and were afterwards feasted by the aga. I likewise was sent for to this feast, and entertained with much seeming love and friendship. In presence of the whole company, the aga sent for the Koran, which he kissed, and voluntarily swore and protested that he had no ill will to me, but wished me all good, and would do every thing in his power to do me pleasure, being much grieved for the past, and his heart entirely free of malice or hatred. I returned him thanks, seemingly much satisfied with his protestations, though I gave no credit to them, but was forced to endure what I could not remedy, till God should please to provide better.
The 7th, the aga made a great feast at his garden-house for the Dabul merchants, to which I and Mr Femell were invited. The 8th we were all sent for by the aga, when thirty were selected to remain along with me a-land, and the rest, to the number of thirty-six, were sent on board the Darling. The 9th I had escaped, if I had not been more careful for those who had then been left behind than for myself. This day the Darling departed to the other ships in an excellent road called Assab, on the coast of Habash or Abyssinia, which they had found out during my absence, where they, were safe in all winds that blow in these seas, and where they had plenty of wood and water merely for the trouble of fetching. The water was indeed a little brackish, but it satisfied them who had been long in want on that necessary. The people of this country are as black as the Guinea negroes; those on the sea-coast being Mahometans, but those of the inland country are Christians, and subjects to Prester John. They go almost naked, having only a cloth round their waists and down to their knees. At the first coming of our people they were much afraid; but after becoming acquainted, and a mutual peace being sworn between them, they supplied our ships with beeves, sheep, and goats, for money, at a reasonable rate; and, as they afterwards desired calico rather than money, I furnished them with it from Mokha, after which our ships got refreshments much cheaper in truck than formerly for money, dealing faithfully and kindly with our people, though the Turks sought to make them inimical by means of barks, which pass to and fro. The king of this country on the sea-coast, who resides at a town on the coast called Rahayta, about forty miles south from Assab, nearer the bab, sent some of his principal people with presents to the commanders of our ships, who returned the compliment by sending him some presents by messengers of their own. He entertained these messengers very courteously, promising every thing his country afforded. The vulgar speech of this people is quite different from Arabic, but the better sort speak and write Arabic, in which language their law of Mahomet is written.
SECTION 4. Sir Henry Middleton makes his Escape from the Turks, and forces them to make Satisfaction.
April 1st, 1611, the Darling departed from Mokha for Assab, having permission of the aga to come over every ten days to see how I did. This unlooked-for kindness gave no hopes of being able to work my freedom. Between and the fourth there came in two great ships of Dabul, which, with the one here before, belonged to the governor of Dabul, who is a Persian, and a great merchant, having many slaves. Of these, Malek Ambar is one, who is in high credit with him, and had the management of all the goods in the three ships. Ambar is a negro, born in Habash, and perhaps cost his master fifteen or twenty dollars; but now never goes out of doors without great troops of followers, like some great lord.[337]
[Footnote 337: We have here omitted the enumeration of many merchant ships that arrived from various places, and of a caravan of merchants from Damascus, Sues, and Mecca, to make purchases from these ships of India commodities.--E.]
The 11th, the aga and all the chief men of the town rode out at day-break to make merry at his garden-house, which gave me a fair opportunity of putting in practice what I had long projected, for Hamet aga and others had told me the pacha would not perform his promise unless for fear. I wrote, therefore, to Mr Pemberton, saying that I meant this day to make my escape on board, and that I would have myself conveyed to the boat in an empty cask; and desired, therefore, that he would send the boat in all speed manned with choice hands, and that he would send me some wine and spirits to make my keepers drunk, all which he punctually performed. Before I told Mr Femell of my intentions, I made him swear to be secret, and not to endeavour to persuade me from my intentions. I then gave him notice of what I meant to do, and that, if he and others would walk down to a certain place at the sea-side, I would not fail to take him and the rest in. I also told him that the carpenters were appointed to embark themselves at another place, where a boat lay on the beach, south from the town, with a mast and sail ready for the purpose, but were not to push off till they saw the Darling's boat away from the jetty.
All things fell out well for my purpose. The subasha, who was our guardian, and left in town only to look after me, fell to hard drinking at a rack house. The boat being come, and my keepers all drunk, the subasha came home to our house about noon. I then sent away the carpenters, two and two only together to avoid suspicion, as if to walk, with orders to shift for themselves in the appointed boat. Mr Femell, and those others I was to take in to leeward of the town, I ordered likewise to walk by twos at the shore, and to wait my coming for them. Having given all these directions, I was put into my cask and safely carried to the boat, on which I gave immediate orders to bear up to leewards, where I took in Mr Fowler and ten more of our people. Mr Femell and others, being too late of coming out of town, were taken before they could get to the boat. Having got safe on board the Darling, we espied the boat with the carpenters coming towards us, in which four escaped, but a fifth was too long of coming to the boat, and, attempting to swim on board, was drowned.
About two hours after coming on board, a letter from Mr Femell was brought me by two Arabs in a canoe, stating, that by the command of the aga, he and the others who remained ashore had been chained by the necks, and threatened with death; but had been released by the intercession of Nokhada Malek Ambar and Nokhada Mahomet of Cananore, and others, and permitted to remain in our former house, but under a strong guard. These Nokhadas, or ship captains, acted this friendly part not from love to us, but for fear of their ships in the roads, which were now at my disposal. I answered Mr Femell, and sent word to the aga, that if he did not send me all my people and every thing belonging to my ships, which he detained contrary to the orders of the pacha, that I would burn all the ships in the roads, and would batter the town about his ears. I like-wise sent word to the Nokhadas, not to send any boat on board their ships without first coming to acquaint me of their business, nor to carry any thing ashore from their ships without my leave.
After my escape there was no small bustle and disturbance in the town; the aga not knowing how to answer to the pacha; the subasha at his wits end; and the Emir-al-Bahr in little better case; all afraid of losing their heads. One of our porters, who had assisted in carrying me in the cask, took sanctuary in a mosque, and would not come out till assured of pardon. The Nokhadas and merchants, who before scorned to speak with any of us, being now afraid of losing their ships and goods, sent presents of victuals and refreshments to Mr Femell and the rest. At night I sent the boat well manned to carry news to Assab of my escape, with directions for our ships to come over with all speed; and I placed the Darling in such a situation as to command all the ships in the roads of Mokha.
The 12th, Mahomet, the Nokhada of Cananore, came off, saying that the aga was very sorry for my departure, which I knew to be true, as he was determined to have set me and all my people at liberty to my full content in a few days, which I believed to be false. As for the things belonging to our ships which were on shore, he would deliver them, but could not send off my people without farther orders from the pacha, for which he asked fifteen days respite, after which, if I had not my men, they desired no favour. I insisted to have my pinnace at the same time, of which he said he should inform the aga. I yielded to his request of a peace of fifteen days, on promise of having my men and pinnace within the time; but durst not demand restitution or satisfaction for my goods, till such time as I had all my men aboard. The Darling's cables, anchors, pitch, tar, and other things were sent off, and few days passed but I had some present or other of refreshments from the aga and the Dabul merchants and others, who would scarcely speak to me when I was ashore in trouble, but were now fain to flatter me. Early this morning, a boat from the shore went aboard the innermost ship, on which I made the gunner fire two shots at her, which caused them to come to me; and I threatened to hang them if they did so any more, so they never durst attempt the like again.
The 13th, the Increase and Pepper-corn came to anchor towards night in sight of the roads, the lee-tide being against them, and got into the roads next day, when I went on board the Increase, where I was received very joyfully by all my company. The 18th there came a ship of Diu into the roads, belonging to Shermall the sabander, laden with India goods, which I embargoed, both people and goods, causing her to come to anchor close beside my ship; but next day, at the request of Shermall, I allowed all the people to go ashore, except a few to look after the ship. The 26th, Mahomet came off, saying the aga refused to deliver up the pinnace and my men, unless I gave a writing under my hand, confirmed by four or five more of our chief officers, and sanctioned by our oaths, containing a perfect peace with the Turks and Indians, and not to meddle in this sea or elsewhere in revenge of any thing that had passed, nor to demand satisfaction or restitution for the goods taken from me. I told him I was astonished he should thus come daily with new demands, as he had this day promised to bring my men and pinnace, which I looked to have performed; and for better security, he and all with him should remain as hostages till I had them, and desired, therefore, that he would write to this effect to the aga. Mahomet said that he had acted quite voluntarily in all this business, and would be laughed at for his forwardness if he should write as I desired, and therefore, whatever might betide, he would on no account write to the aga, but promised, if I gave him such a writing as he proposed, he would bring off my people before night.
Finding him inflexible, I thought best to give him something that might carry the name of what he desired, so I caused draw up a writing in English, signed by myself and five more, containing nothing else than a brief narrative of the treacherous misusage we had from the Turks; and I sent advice to Mr Femell how he was to interpret it to them. When Mahomet desired me to swear, I positively refused, saying my word should be found truer than the oath of a Turk. Mahomet went now ashore with this writing, leaving some of the better sort of his company in pledge, whom he desired me to hang if he brought not off my people that night. In fact, he returned a little before night with Mr Femell and nine more; Mr Femell and other two having received vests of small value. Another rest was sent for me, which they said came from the pacha, and the Nokhada would have me put it on. I refused it, telling him I scorned to wear any thing that came from so unconscionable a dog, by whose order I had received so many injuries. He now departed, taking with him the Turk who was made prisoner in the attempt upon the Darling, who had remained till now in the Increase.
The 27th, according to promise, Mahomet brought off my pinnace, and asked me if all that was promised was not now performed. I told him no; for I had not yet all my company, as they still kept my boy at Tayes, whom they had forcibly circumcised, and that I was determined to have him before I would release the ships. The 1st June I wrote to the pacha in Italian, demanding restitution of my goods, and satisfaction for the damages I had received; and was answered, my letter was not understood for want of an interpreter. I therefore again embargoed the ship of Diu, declaring, that no more goods should be landed from her, till the pacha had satisfied me to the value of 70,000 dollars, which I had lost and was damnified by him. The 2d, came aboard my interpreter at Zenan, Ally Hoskins, with a message from the pacha, desiring me not to take any violent courses here, but to seek justice at Constantinople. He told me likewise he had brought with him the boy from Tayes. I answered, I would by no means release the ship till I had restitution of my goods, and satisfaction for my damages to the amount already specified.
The 3d, the aga requested peace for twelve days, till the pacha were informed of my demands. The 4th, Ally Hoskins, Tocorsi, a Banian, and others, came on board, and desired me to make out an account of the particulars of my losses, that it might be considered of ashore. I did so in writing; and sent word by them to the aga, that if he did not presently make me restitution and satisfaction, I would batter the town about his ears, would take all the goods from the Diu ship into my own, and burn all the ships; all which I could do without breach of covenant, as the time of the agreed truce was expired, and they had not performed their part of the agreement. The 8th, I sent Mr Pemberton to Assab to purchase fresh provisions, as we had many sick in our ships, and I was fearful of taking provisions at Mokha, being warned by my friends to beware of poison.
The 19th, Shermall, Ally Hoskins, Tocorsi, and many others came on board, bringing Mr Pemberton's boy. After compliments, Shermall began with a long preamble of love and favour, for which he hoped I would now requite him; for the pacha had enjoined him to give me satisfaction, or to have his throat cut and his goods seized, which he declared to be truth. After a long debate, it was concluded that all our lead and iron was to be restored, and I was to receive 18,000 dollars in full for satisfaction, to be paid in fifteen days. Whereupon a peace was concluded between us and them, from the port of Mokha to Cananore, conditioning that the pacha gave me a writing under his hand and seal, confirming this peace between his nation and ours for the time specified. The 2d July we received the last payment, the sabander Shermall coming himself. On this occasion I cleared all accounts with him, as well for money borrowed while I was prisoner as disbursed since. He then demanded the 1500 chequins I had promised the kiahya, but this I peremptorily refused to pay, as the kiahya had not performed his promise to me. The 3d, Tocorsi and Ally Hoskins came again and bought some vermilion, for which I gave them credit, on their promise to pay me at Assab in fifteen days, and also to bring me over some supply of grain, together with a writing from the pacha in confirmation of the peace agreed upon. In the afternoon we warped out of the road of Mokha, and set sail that night for Assab, but did not arrive there till the morning of the 5th.
The 6th I went ashore, and caused all the wells to be emptied and cleaned out, for fear of poison; having been often told at Mokha, that the Turks had practised with the people of Assab to poison the wells. The 13th, the king of this country hearing of my escape from Mokha, sent me a complimentary letter and a present. The 17th, a vessel came over from Mokha, in which was Tocorsi and another Banian, bringing with them the provisions I had desired them to buy for us, and the money they owed me; but as for the writing confirming the peace, they made excuse that the pacha was so much occupied in war that he could not get it attended to; which was a manifest warning that they would give no quarter to our nation. Wherefore, on the 24th, we sailed from Assab, plying to windward as far as Kamaran, to wait the arrival of a large ship, which comes yearly from Sues to Mokha richly laden, hoping by her means to be amply revenged for all the losses and disgraces I had incurred from the Turks; and I the more anxiously wished to meet with her, as I understood the two traitors, Jaffer pacha and Regib aga, had both great adventures in that ship. From the 24th therefore to 31st July we plyed to windward for this purpose, sailing by day and anchoring all night, in which period we narrowly escaped many dangers, being in want of a pilot, being many times in imminent danger of running aground, to the hazard and loss of all, had not God preserved us. But the ship of Sues escaped us in the night, as we found on our return towards the south.
SECTION 5. Voyage from the Red Sea to Surat, and Transactions there.
We set sail from the neighbourhood of Mokha in the morning of the 9th August, 1611, and in the evening cast anchor three leagues short of the straits of Bab-al-Mondub. The 10th, the Darling and Release[338] went out by the western passage, which they found to be three leagues over, from the main land of Habesh to the island Bab-Mandel, [Prin.] One third of the way over from the island they had no ground at forty fathoms, the channel being quite clear and free from danger, though the Turks and Indians reported it was full of rocks and shoals, and not navigable for ships. We in the Increase, accompanied by the Pepper-corn, went out by the eastern narrow channel at which we came in, which does not exceed a mile and half between the island and the Arabian shore, of which a considerable distance from the main is encumbered with shoals. We all met outside of the straits in the afternoon, in nineteen fathoms water, about four miles from the Arabian shore. From the 12th to the 27th, we were much pestered with contrary winds, calms, and a strong adverse current, setting to the S.W. at the rate of four miles an hour. The 27th, we had a favouring gale to carry us off, and by six p.m. had sight of Mount Felix, [Baba Feluk,] a head-land to the west of Cape Guardafui. The 30th, we came to anchor in the road of Delisha, on the northern coast of Socotora. We found there a great ship of Diu and two smaller, bound for the Red Sea, but taken short by the change of the monsoon. The captain of the great ship with several others came aboard me, and assured me our people at Surat were well, being in daily expectation of ships from India, and that Captain Hawkins was at the court of the Great Mogul, where he was made a great lord, and had a high allowance from the king. They said likewise, that the king had given Captain Sharpey money to build a ship, which was nearly ready for launching at Surat. This and many other things he told me seemed too good news to be true.
[Footnote 338: This must be the pinnace which was set up at Mokha, so named in memory of their release from that place.--E.]
As the monsoon was far spent, I requested the nokhada of Diu to aid me with his boats and people in procuring water and ballast, which he and the others willingly did, offering me all the water in their ship, and employing their people to bring me more from the shore, so anxious were they to get me away. It was long before I could bargain with the king for his aloes, but at last I got it, paying higher than Captain Keeling had done; for I think the Indians were in hand with him for it, which made him enhance the price. I left letters with the king, which he promised to deliver to the first English ship that came there. Having finished all my business, I had much ado to get a simple fellow from the ship of Diu to pilot me on the coast of India, who pretended to be a good coaster. We set sail from Delisha on the 3d September, with a favourable wind, which brought us by the 26th into the road of Surat, where we came to anchor in seven fathoms near three India ships. A mile from us rode at anchor seven sail of Portuguese frigates or men of war, there being thirteen more of them within the river of Surat.[339]
[Footnote 339: These twenty Portuguese frigates, as then called, were only barks, grabs, or praws of the country, armed with small guns.--E.]
Long before our arrival, the Portuguese had intelligence that we were in the Red Sea, and bound for Surat, so that these frigates were sent purposely to prevent us from trading at Surat, or any other place on that coast. Don Francisco de Soto-major was captain-major of this flotilla, being what is called captain-major of the north, and reaped great profit from granting cartasses, or passports, to all ships and barks trading on that coast, all being confiscated that presumed to navigate without his licence. I discharged my pilots that night, paying them well, and sent by them a letter to such Englishmen as might be in Surat, as I could not learn how many or who were there resident.
The 29th, came a small Portuguese frigate from the admiral of the armada, as they term it, in which was one Portuguese and his boy, bringing me a letter from the captain-major, in answer to one I wrote him the day before. He expressed his satisfaction to hear that I belonged to a king in friendship with his sovereign, and that he and his people would be ready to do me every service, provided I brought a letter or order from the King of Spain, or the Viceroy of India, allowing me to trade in these parts; if otherwise, he must guard the port committed to his charge, in which the king his master had a factory. I answered by word of mouth, by the Portuguese messenger, that I neither had letters from the King of Spain nor the viceroy, of which I had no need, being sent by the King of England, with letters and rich presents for the Great Mogul, and to establish the trade already begun in these parts. As for the Portuguese factory there, I meant not to harm it, as both it and our factory might continue to trade, and I saw no reason they had to oppose us, as the country was free for all nations, the Mogul and his subjects not being under vassalage to the Portuguese. I therefore desired him to tell his captain, that I expected he would, in a friendly manner, permit any English who were at Surat to come on board to confer with me, and hoped he would not reduce me to the necessity of using force, as I was resolved to have intercourse with them by one means or the other.
I went that day in the Darling to examine the bar, but seeing we could not possibly go over the bar without a pilot, I returned in the evening to the road. On going aboard the Increase, I found a letter from Surat, written by Nicholas Bangham, formerly a joiner in the Hector. He informed me that we had no factory in Surat, to which place he had been sent by Captain Hawkins to recover some debts owing there, and had likewise letters for me from Captain Hawkins, but durst not send them aboard for fear of the Portuguese. He said nothing as to what had become of our factory and goods; wherefore I wrote to him to send me Captain Hawkins' letters, and information of all other particulars of our affairs in that country.
The third October, Khojah Nassan, governor of Surat, and the governor's brother of Cambaya, sent me a Mogul messenger with a present of refreshments, offering to do me all the service in their power; saying, they wished to trade with us, but could see no way of doing so while the Portuguese armada rode there, and therefore advised me to go for Gogo,[340] a far better place, where our ships could ride nearer the shore, and where the Portuguese armada could not hinder our landing. That place likewise was nearer Cambay, where there were more merchants and greater store of merchandise for our purpose than at Surat. I told this messenger, that till I knew what was become of our countrymen and goods formerly left in the country, I could not determine how to proceed, and desired him therefore to be a means that some one of our people might come aboard to confer with me, and that I might have a pilot to conduct me to Gogo, and then I would quickly resolve them what I was to do. I dismissed this messenger and his interpreter with small presents. The 5th, the interpreter, who was a bramin, or priest of the Banians, came off with a letter from Bangham, and the letter from Captain Hawkins, dated from Agra in April last, giving an account of the fickleness of the Mogul, who had given a firman to the Portuguese, by which our trade, formerly granted, was disallowed.
[Footnote 340: Gogo is a sea-port of Guzerat, on the west coast of the Gulf of Cambay, in lat. 22° 43' N.]
There were likewise two letters of a later date from Thomas Fitch, at Lahore, giving the same account of the inconstancy of the Great Mogul, and advising me on no account to land any goods, or to hope for trade.
On reading these letters, I grew hopeless of any trade here, yet resolved to try all I possibly could before I would depart. I understood by Bangham's letter, that Captain Sharpey, John Jordayne, and others, were coming from Cambaya to Surat to go along with me: and although I could have no trade, I yet resolved to do all I could to get them on board. The Indian ships that rode beside me had given over their voyage southwards for this monsoon, and the bramin desired me to allow them to be carried into the river. This I would by no means grant; desiring him to tell the governor and owners, that their ships should be detained till I had all the English from Cambaya and Surat on board. If I had permitted them to be gone, I should have lost all means of sending to or hearing from our people ashore, as the Portuguese used their endeavours to intercept all letters and messengers.
The 22d, the Portuguese laid an ambush to intercept some of my men that were sent on shore, and, on seeing an advantage, broke out upon them in great numbers, confusedly running towards my men and boats. They discharged their shot at us, and we at them, both such of my men as were on shore, and those also in my frigate,[341] which rowed close to the land. All my men retired in safety to my boats and frigate, and the Portuguese retired, with some hurt, behind the sand hills, out of shot, and so, in worse case than they came, returned to their frigates. There were of them seven ensigns, and might be about three hundred men. At the time when these came upon us by land, five of their largest frigates, which rode a little way off to the northward, came up towards us, firing at us, but far out of shot. Returning with our boats and frigate to the ships, I consulted with Captain Downton and others what course to take, and it was thought best to bring the smaller ships out to where the Increase lay. The 8th November, Nicholas Bangham came from Surat with some refreshments, and news that Mocreb Khan was soon expected. This day the son of the Portuguese viceroy came into the river with 100 frigates, most of them being merchant grabs bound for Cambaya. At night, I caused our ships that rode in shore to come out and anchor beside me, lest the Portuguese might attempt any thing against them.
[Footnote 341: This frigate could only be the pinnace called the Release.--E.]
The 9th November, Khojah Nassan came to the shore, and I went to him with my frigate and boats to confer with him. He promised in two or three days at farthest to return, and bring goods with him for trade. I told him we had been here long, and could get no refreshment of victuals for our money, and desired therefore that he would give orders to the country people to bring me some, which he promised. The 18th, I had a letter from Bangham, saying, there were little or no hopes of any trade. All things considered I determined now to go away, and wrote therefore to Nicholas Bangham to come on board; but Khojah Nassan would not permit him, and he at length stole privately out of town, and got on board. Upon this, Khojah Nassan and Mocreb Khan sent me letters by Jaddaw, a broker, both promising speedily to visit me. Though I hardly believed them, yet I determined to spend a few days longer to see the event. At this time the Portuguese made another attempt to entrap our men on shore, for they did not dare to attack us at sea. They laid another ambush among the sand hills with a great number of men, not far from our landing-place, whence they attacked our people, but they all got safe into our boat. In the mean time, our people in the ships let fly at them, and they took to their heels to their lurking place behind the hills, leaving one of their men on the strand mortally wounded in the head, whom our people brought aboard.
The 24th, Jaddaw came again aboard, saying that Mocreb Khan was coming, and would be with me before night. After dinner I went close in shore with my frigate, where I found Khojah Nassan, who sent me word Mocreb Khan would be there presently; having provided a suitable present, I went ashore well accompanied, where I found Mocreb Khan and Khojah Nassan waiting for me with many attendants. We embraced at meeting, and our ships fired some cannon to salute Mocreb Khan, which he seemed to take in good part. Having delivered my present, we sat down on carpets spread on the ground, and had some conference. Being near sun-set, I invited Mocreb to go on board and stay all night, which he agreed to, taking with him his son, the son of Khojah Nassan, and several of his chief followers, but Khojah Nassan would not go. I gave him the best entertainment I could, setting before him such dainties as I could provide on a sudden, of which he and those with him eat heartily. I now conceived good hopes of trade, as all this country was under his command, as he promised every thing I asked, even to give us any place or harbour I pleased to name, and leave to fortify ourselves there. It growing late, I left him to his rest.
Next morning, the 25th, Mocreb Khan busied himself in buying knives, glasses, and any toys he could find among the people. I shewed him the whole ship aloft and below; and any thing that pleased him he got away for nothing; besides many toys that struck his fancy belonging to the company, which I bought and gave him. On returning to my cabin, he would see all my trunks, chests, and lockers opened, and whatever was in them that took his liking, I gave him for nothing. Dinner being ready, he dined with me, and went afterwards on board the other ships, where he behaved as in mine.
The 30th and 31st, I sent Mr Fowler, Mr Jordayne, and other merchants to look at the goods, after which they returned with Mustrels, or invoices and prices, on which we set down what we would give for each, desiring them to do the like with ours. But they put me off from day to day, concluding nothing, and would neither abate in their prices, nor make any offer for our goods. Having sold all our sword-blades to Mocreb Khan at a moderate rate, as taking all one with another, he returned all the worst, above half of them, and no word when the others were to be paid. They then removed all their goods to Surat, and made a proclamation under great penalties, that no victuals or other thing should be brought to us. The 8th December, Mocreb Khan and his crew came to the strand with about forty packs of their goods, partly his and Khojah Nassan's, and partly belonging to the sabander and other merchants. I went immediately ashore with a good guard of shot and halberts, and fell to business, and we soon agreed for all our lead, quicksilver, and vermilion, and for their goods in return. The business was mostly conducted by Khojah Nassan, no one daring to buy and sell with us without his leave.
The 9th, in the morning, we began to land our lead, and to receive some of their goods in return, and were in good forwardness to make prices for the rest, when a letter came to Mocreb Khan from his king, which dashed all his mirth and stopt our proceedings for the present. He seemed quite cheerful and pleasant before receiving this letter; but immediately on perusing it he became very sad. After sitting a good while musing, he suddenly rose and went away, neither looking at nor speaking to me, though I sat close beside him. But before he took horse he sent for me, praying me to excuse his sudden departure, having earnest business; but that he should leave Khojah Nassan to receive and deliver the goods bargained for, and to agree for more. We heard shortly after, that he was deposed from the government of Cambay, and Khojah Nassan from that of Surat, others being appointed in their places. Mocreb Khan was now nothing more than customer of Surat.
The 10th December, the new governor of Surat and Hassan Ally came aboard the Pepper-corn to see the ships; and I afterwards took them aboard the Trades-increase. At this time our factors were ashore to see the lead weighed, which was now nearly all ready to be sent on shore. They entreated Khojah Nassan to go hand in hand with them in this affair, as it would take a long while in doing. The factors wanted to weigh with our English weights, which he would by no means agree to, the weigher of Surat being there with the weights of the town, which he insisted should be used. Seeing no other remedy they gave way, and began to use the country beam; but after some few draughts, they desired to understand the beam before they proceeded; and on trial found a vast difference between their beam and ours, no less than ten or eleven maunds on five pigs of lead, every maund being thirty-three pounds English. Seeing he could not have the lead at any weight he pleased, Khojah Nassan began to cavil, saying he would have half money and half goods for his commodities, railing and storming like a madman, calling for the carmen to drive away his goods, and that he would not have any of our lead or other goods.
While I was in the Trades-increase with the governor and sabander, one of the factors came off and told me how Khojah Nassan was going on. I advised with such of my officers as were then about me what was best to be done, and we concluded to keep these men who were aboard as pledges, and if we could get hold of Khojah Nassan to keep him and set these men free. Wherefore, I detained the governor and sabander, telling them how Khojah Nassan had dealt with me, going about to delude me as formerly, and therefore I had no other remedy but to keep them as pledges for the performance of the bargain. The governor advised me to go ashore and fetch the man, which I did; and giving the governor a good present, I let him depart.
The 19th, Hassan Ally the sabander came on board, shewing me two letters from the viceroy at Goa, one to himself and the other to the captain-major of the Portuguese armada. I opened and perused them both. That to the captain-major thanked him for his special good service against the English, in making their captain and his people to swim to the boats for their safety, in which he had done the part of a valiant captain and faithful soldier, which would redound to his great honour, and, to gratify him for his service on this occasion, he bestowed upon him certain frigates lately taken from the Malabars. The viceroy added, that he had sent his son in the command of the northern fleet, who, being young, he prayed the captain-major to aid him with his counsel. Thus were the viceroy and I abused by the false reports of a lying braggart. The letter to the sabander thanked him for refusing to allow the English to trade at Surat, willing him to continue the same conduct, which would do great service to the King of Portugal, and for which he should be rewarded. This day came sundry carts laden with provisions from Surat, bought there for us by Nicholas Bangham.
The 24th, accounts on both sides being cleared, and business finished, the pledges on either side were released. They now promised to deal with us for the rest of our commodities, but after waiting till the 26th, they did nothing worth notice. The 27th a Jew came on board, bringing me a letter from Masulipatam, dated 8th September, from Peter Floris, a Dantzicker, employed by the company, shewing his setting out in February, his speedy and safe passage, and his arrival at Masulipatam in the beginning of September.
The 2d January, 1612, I wrote to Captain Hawkins, and sent to him Captain Sharpey, Hugh Fraine, and Hugh Gred, to set his mind on some better course than he seemed to be in when he wrote me on the 28th December; also desiring them to buy some indigo and other commodities, if they could be had at reasonable rates.
The 26th, Captain Hawkins and Captain Sharpey with the rest, came towards where we lay, leaving their carriages five miles from the water-side. I landed with 200 armed men and went to meet them, about three miles off, to guard them and their goods from the Portuguese, who I doubted might attempt to intercept them, and brought them all in safety aboard without seeing any thing of the Portuguese. The 27th I sent John Williams, one of our factors, to Surat on business. Some days before, Mocreb Khan sent for Mr Jourdayne, desiring his compliments to me, and that he was now going out of town for two or three days, to meet a great commander who was coming from the Deccan wars; but that on his return he would be as good as his word, in regard to the establishment of our factory. He came back on the 27th, when he again sent for Mr Jourdayne, whom he asked with an angry countenance what he did in Surat, and wherefore the English were not all gone? His answer was, that he staid on his word and promise to have a factory allowed us. He angrily answered, we should have no factory there, and that the long stay of the English ships had hindered him in his customs to the tune of a million of Manuveys,[342] and commanded him therefore, in the king's name, to be gone with all speed, as there were neither factory nor trade to be had there by us. John Williams returned this morning, and two carts came from Surat with provisions. The 29th I sent for the factors to hasten away from Surat, as I meant to set sail.
[Footnote 342: This seems an error for mamudies, the Surat currency in the former narratives of Hawkins and others.--E.]
SECTION 6. Voyage from Surat to Dabul, and thence to the Red Sea, and Proceedings there.
The morning of the 9th February, 1612, we warped the Trades-increase over the sands from the road of Swally, which, if we had not done this tide, we had lost the whole spring. This road is in the latitude of 20° 57', and the variation is 16° 30'.[343] The morning of the 11th we sailed for Surat road, and anchored there in the afternoon beside a new ship belonging to Surat, just launched and come out of the river, and bound for the Red Sea. Surat road is in lat. 20° 40'.[344] We weighed anchor on the 12th, and anchored two leagues south from the road beside a ship of Calicut bound for Surat, out of which I took a pilot for Dabul. We sailed again on the 13th, and at six in the evening of the 16th we arrived in the road of Dabul, in lat. 17° 42', [17° 45'] N.
[Footnote 343: Swally road, a little way north from the mouth of the Taptee, or Surat river, is in lat. 21° 7' N. long. 72° 49' E. We have no account in the original of having removed there, but that probably is owing to the negligence of Purchas in abbreviating.--E.]
[Footnote 344: The parallel of 21° N. runs through Surat roads, while the latitude in the text falls far to the south of Surat river. The difference of latitude assigned by Sir Henry between Swally roads and Surat roads, supposing that of the preceding note for Swally accurate, which we believe is the case, as taken upon the authority of the latest and best map of India, Arrowsmith's, would place the best anchoring ground of Surat roads in 20° 50', which likewise is much too far south.--E.]
The 17th I sent ashore the Malabar pilot, with a letter I had got when at Mokha from Malek Ambar to the governor, desiring him to use me well, and to trade with me if I came to that place. In the afternoon, both the governor and Malek Ambar sent me a small present of refreshments, with many compliments, offering me every thing the country afforded, and to deal with me for my commodities if I chose to send on shore for that purpose. I accordingly sent two of my merchants with a good present, who were kindly welcomed and well entertained while there. The 18th, 19th, and 20th, were spent in the sale of goods, boats going every day between the ship and the shore, the particulars of which I refer to the merchants accounts, as not fit to be here expressed. By the 23d we had delivered all the goods bargained for, and had no farther hope of sales at this place.
The 24th I called a council of my principal officers and merchants, to consider what was best for us to do; whether to proceed for Priaman, Bantam, and the Spice islands, or to return to the Red Sea to meet the ships of India, and, as they would not deal with us at their own doors, after we had come so far with commodities only vendible there, I thought we should do ourselves some right, and them no wrong, to cause them to barter with us, we taking their indigos and other goods at what they were worth, and giving ours in return. All were of this opinion for the following reasons: 1st, The putting off our English goods, and getting others in their place fit for our country; 2d, to take some revenge of the great wrongs suffered from the Turks; 3d, to save a ship, with her goods and men, which we heard were bound there, by letters received from Masulipatam, and which we thought could not possibly escape being betrayed as we had been.
Having concluded to return to the Red Sea, we were employed till the 27th in getting fresh water aboard, and taking back our red-lead, which we had sold and delivered at Dabul, but they disliked. In the evening we saw a sail in the offing, which some Malabar vessels beside us said was a Portuguese ship of Cochin bound for Chaul; on which I sent the Pepper-corn, Darling, and Release, to bring her in, which they did on the 28th. Finding my people in the Release had pillaged the Portuguese vessel, I took every thing away from them, and gave them back to the owners. Her lading was mostly cocoa-nuts, and I took some small matter out of her.
Continuing our voyage for the Red Sea, we got sight of the island of Socotora on the 24th of March, and at four p.m. the point of Delisha bore S.S.W. six leagues distant. From noon of the 24th till noon of the 25th, we steered N.W. by W. and W.N.W. and W. all night, thinking by day-light to have been near the westermost part of the island; but we found we had gone little a-head, although we had a fair wind, owing to a strong current against us. The 27th, in the morning, we had sight of Abdal Curia, and before night espied Guar-da-fui.
The 2d April, Mr Pemberton came aboard me, telling me he had been at Socotora, where the king shewed him a writing left there by Captain John Saris, who was general of three ships from India, stating the time he left England, his places of refreshment, the time of his arrival at Socotora, and his having proceeded for the Red Sea in quest of trade; mentioning likewise his having perused the writing left by me, containing many reasons for not going there; but, having the pass of the Grand Signior, he hoped to meet better entertainment than I had. On this unexpected news, I called a council to deliberate on what we had best do; when we quickly resolved to proceed as we had formerly determined, having now no other way left, as we could not return again till the next westerly monsoon, which would not be till the middle of May. I therefore left Captain Downton in the Pepper-corn to remain till the 5th off the mouth, keeping the port of Aden shut up; while I went with the Trades-increase and Darling to keep the two passages of the straits of Bab-al-Mondub.
The 4th, about ten a.m. we anchored within the island in eight fathoms. Presently after there came a boat from shore with a Turk and three or four Arabian soldiers, the Turk being chief of the place under the aga of Mokha. He offered, if I had any letter to send, he would dispatch it by a foot-post, who would bring back an answer in three days. I wrote, therefore, to Captain Saris, giving him an account of the cause of my coming, and what I proposed to do.
The 6th came a Jalba belonging to Zeyla, a place without the Bab, on the African coast, bound for Mokha, laden with mats. I bought from her twelve sheep, and permitted her to depart. The 7th, before day, came in a ship of Basanor, which I obliged to anchor beside me. Richard Wickam, one of Captain Saris's merchants, came this morning with letters to me from Captain Saris, the contents of which I omit to write. I sent back an answer by a Turk that came in his company, but detained Wickam, lest they might have made him prisoner at Mokha, as I had embargoed the India ships. The 8th came in a ship of Diu, bound for Mokha, which I stopped and brought to anchor beside me, being the same I detained last year in Mokha roads. This day we rummaged these two ships, taking out of them such goods as suited our purpose, which were brought on board my ship. The 9th came in a small bark of Shahr,[345] laden with coarse olibanum, some of which we bought and paid for in ryals to their contentment.
[Footnote 345: Called Shaher in Purchas, and by others Xaer and Xael after the Portuguese orthography. It is dependent upon Kushen or Kasbin.--Astl. I. 388. d.]
The 14th we were joined by Captain Saris with his three ships. After mutual salutes, Captain Saris, Captain Towerson, and Mr Cox, their chief merchant, came aboard of me, and we spent all that day in friendly communication; and acquainting Captain Saris that I was much in want of cables, he engaged to supply me. The 15th I went aboard the Clove, where I and those that came with me were kindly entertained. Captain Saris shewed me the pass from the Grand Signior, and we had a long conversation, he believing that he would have had much good trade at Mokha if I had not come, which my experience found otherwise. At last we agreed, and set it down in writing interchangeably, that he was to have a third part of all that was taken, paying for the same as I did, leaving the subsequent disposal of the ships to me, who had sustained the injury. From this to the 23d, many ships came in at the bab from different ports of India, as Surat, Diu, Calicut, Cannanor, Acheen, and other ports; and this last day came in the Rhemy of Surat, belonging to the queen mother of the Great Mogul, laden with India commodities, and bound for Jiddah, the port of Mecca.[346] In this ship were 1500 persons, mostly pilgrims, going to Mecca. The 24th I weighed anchor from the bab, together with all the ships I had detained, and went for the road of Assab. About five p.m. we came to anchor with all the fleet off Crab island in twelve fathoms; and next morning stood in for the bay of Assab, where at one p.m. we anchored in seven and a half fathoms. The 27th we brought good store of indigo out of the ships of Surat and Diu. The Clove being in sight, plying off and on and not seeing us, I caused a shot to be fired, which they hearing, answered with another, and presently bore up for the road.....
[Footnote 346: It has been thought quite needless to enumerate the different ships mentioned in Purchas, amounting in all to sixteen sail of various sorts and sizes.--E.]
Note. The narrative of Sir Henry Middleton breaks off here abruptly, for which no reason is assigned by Purchas. The omission will, however, be found supplied in the subsequent report of the same voyage by Captain Downton, and in the Journal of the Eighth Voyage of the India Company commanded by Captain John Saris.--Ed.
SECTION XII.
Journal of the preceding Voyage by Nicholas Downton, Captain of the Pepper-corn.[347]
INTRODUCTION.
Captain Nicholas Downton was what was then called lieutenant-general under Sir Henry Middleton, in the sixth voyage set forth by the English East India Company. We once meant only to have given an extract from this journal, to supply the deficiency in the latter part of the former narrative by Sir Henry Middleton; but on a careful examination, we have found its information so superior to most of the early relations of voyages, that we even regret it had been before garbled or abbreviated by Purchas, who tells us, that this article consists only of certain extracts from the journal of Captain Downton. Some uninteresting details have however been omitted.--E.
[Footnote 347: Purch. Pilg. I. 274. Astl. I. 390.]
SECTION 1. Notices of the Voyage between Saldanha Bay and Socotora, both inclusive.
The 22d July, 1611, we got sight of the Table and point of Saldanha, bearing east, twelve leagues distant; but owing to calms and contrary winds, it was the 24th before we got moored in the road. We there found three ships belonging to Holland; one of which, bound for Bantam, was commanded by Peter Bat, general of thirteen sail outward-bound, but having spent his main-mast and lost company of his fleet, put in here to refresh his sick men. The other two were homeward-bound, having made train-oil of seals at Penguin island.
Saldanha bay is some fourteen leagues N.N.E. from the Cape of Good Hope,[348] and ten leagues N. by W. from Cape Falso, which is eastward of the former; and both of which capes may be seen from the said bay. These two capes are divided by another great bay, False bay, the distance between the two bays being about three leagues of low marshy land, extending north and south, and on either side environed by mountains.
[Footnote 348: Although these hydrographical notices of the environs of Saldanha bay and the Cape of Good Hope are by no means perfectly accurate, probably vitiated in the abbreviation of Purchas, they distinctly shew, that the bay named Saldanha by our early voyagers, was that now called Table bay: This latter is twelve or thirteen leagues from the Cape, nearly as in the text, while that now called Saldanha bay is twenty-seven leagues distant. The near neighbourhood of False bay is incontestible evidence of the fact, being only three leagues distant; while our modern Saldanha bay is more than twenty leagues from False bay as the crow flies.--E.]
In former time, Saldanha bay was very comfortable to our navigators, both outward and homeward-bound, yielding them abundance of cattle and sheep, by which their weak and sick men in former voyages were easily recovered and made strong. These used to be brought down by the savage inhabitants, and sold for mere trifles, as an ox for a piece of hoop-iron fourteen inches long, and a sheep for a much shorter piece. It is now quite otherwise; but, from my ignorance of the language of the natives, I have not been able to ascertain the cause. Whether it may have proceeded from the too great liberality of the Dutch, spoiling the trade, which indeed they are apt to do in all places where they come, as they only consider their present occasions; or whether it may have been that the cattle formerly brought down in such abundance were plunder taken from each other in wars then raging, which made them greedy of iron to make heads for their lances and darts, which now by peace or reconciliation they have little need of. However this may have been, all our bribes or contrivances should only procure at this time four old lean cows, for which they would not take iron in payment, but thin pieces of copper six inches square. We got likewise six or seven sheep, for pieces of copper three inches square, cut out of a kettle. Of this copper they made rings, six or eight of which made very bright they wear on their arms.
These people are the filthiest I have ever seen or heard of; for, besides other uncleanness, which most people clear off by washing, this people, on the contrary, augment their natural filth, anointing their bodies with a nasty substance, which I suppose to be the juice of herbs, but seems on their bodies like cow-dung; and with which the wool of their heads is so baked, as to seem a scurf of green herbs. For apparel, they wear the tail of a cat, or some other small beast, hanging before them, and a cloak of sheep-skin, which hangs down to the middle of their thighs, turning it according to the weather, sometimes the drest side, and sometimes the hair next the body; for their sheep have hair instead of wool, and are party coloured like calves. Their principal people wear about the bend of their arms a thin flat ring of ivory, and on their wrists six, eight, ten, or twelve rings of copper, kept bright and smooth. They are decorated also with other toys, as bracelets of blue glass, beads, or shells, given them for ostrich egg-shells or porcupine quills by the Dutchmen. They wear also a most filthy and abominable thing about their necks, being the nasty guts of their slaughtered cattle, making them smell more offensively than a butcher's shambles. They carry in their hands a small dart or javelin, with a small iron head, and a few ostrich feathers to drive away flies. They have also bows and arrows, but generally when they come down to us, they leave them in some hole or bush by the way. They are a well-made people, and very swift of foot, and their habitations seem to be moveable, so as to shift about to the best pastures for their cattle in the valleys among the mountains, which far up in the country were at this time covered with snow, but those near the sea, though very lofty, were quite clear.
We saw various animals, as fallow-deer, antilopes, porcupines, baboons, land-tortoises, snakes, and adders. The Dutchmen told us also of lions, but we saw none. There are fowls also in abundance, as wild geese, ducks, pelicans, passea, flamingos, crows having a white band on their necks, small green birds, and various others unknown to us. Also penguins, gulls, pintados spotted with black and white, alcatrasses, which are grey with black pinions, shags or cormorants at the island in great abundance, and another like a moor-hen. Fishes likewise of various kinds, as great numbers of small whales, great abundance of seals at the island, and with the sein we took many fishes like mullets as large as trouts, smelts, thorn-backs, and dogs; and plenty of limpets and muscles on the rocks. This place has a most wholesome air, and has plenty of water both to serve navigators, and for travellers in the country, as numerous small streams descend every where from the mountains.
This being the spring season at this place, it repented me that I had not brought out many kinds of garden seeds, which might have been useful afterwards for the relief of many Christians coming here for refreshments. Also planting acorns might in time be useful, as trees grow here more quickly than in our cold country.
Having finished our business of laying in a stock of water, and somewhat relieved those of our men who were sick and weak, with what fresh provisions we could procure, which indeed consisted principally of muscles, we prepared to set sail, which we did at four in the morning of the 13th of August. We descried the island of Madagascar on the 6th September, in lat. 23° 38' S. and anchored that evening in the bay of St Augustine in twelve fathoms. We here found the Union of London, vice-admiral of the fourth voyage, her people being much distressed for provisions to carry them home. They related to our general their having unfortunately lost company of their admiral and pinnace, between Saldanha and the Cape of Good Hope, of which they had never heard since, and various other unfortunate circumstances of their outward-bound voyage.[349] Our general supplied them plentifully with provisions, and also restored union among the ship's company, Mr Samuel Bradshaw being much disliked by the factious master and his adherents, for his sober, discreet, and provident management of the company's business.
[Footnote 349: It is unnecessary to repeat these circumstances, having been already related; and need only be mentioned, that the bay in Madagascar, where the captain and others were betrayed, is here called Jungomar, or Vinganora, and is said to have been at the north-west corner of Madagascar. In modern maps, the bay of Vingora is placed on the west side of Madagascar, its mouth being in lat. 13° 41' S. and E. long. 49° 28'.--E.]
At this place I particularly remarked two singular kinds of trees. One of these yields from its leaves and boughs a yellow sap of so fat a nature, that when fire is put to it standing quite green, the fire blazes up immediately over all the leaves and branches. Its wood is white and soft. The other kind has white wood with a small brown heart, but nearly as hard as lignum vitae. The trees which we of the Pepper-corn cut for fire-wood, hung all full of green fruit called Tamerim, [tamarinds,] as large as an English bean-cod, having a very sour taste, and reckoned good against the scurvy. The men of our admiral, having more leisure than ours, gathered some of this fruit for their own use. We saw likewise here abundance of a plant, hardly to be distinguished from the sempervivum of Socotora, whence the Socotrine aloes is made; but I know not if the savage natives of this island have any knowledge of its use. The natives, for what reason I know not, came not near us, so that we got not here any beef or mutton, though oxen used to be had here for a dollar a-piece. But we were told the disorderly fellows of the Union had improvidently given whatever the savages asked, so that scarcely any are now to be had even for ten shillings each. Though savage, the people of this island are not ignorant in ordering their men in battle array, as was experienced by the Union at Jungomar: But in all parts of the island, it is necessary for the Christians to be very much on their guard, for the natives are very treacherous.
We left St Augustine bay on the 9th September, leaving the Union still there. The 29th, the wind being E.S.E. and the current, as I judged, setting S.W. we were entangled with a lee-shore, which we called the Carribas,[350] being several small islands with sundry ledges of rocks among them, only to be discovered by the breaking of the waves upon them. These are between 10° and 11° S. lat. and we spent six days before we could get disengaged from among them, the wind all that time being E.N.E. or E.S.E. still forcing us to leewards, though using every effort by towing and otherwise to get off. The great danger arose from the strength of the current, and the want of any place where we could anchor; as, although we had ground near the rocks, it was very deep and foul. There are several of these islands, mostly full of trees. Every night after dark, we could see fires on shore made by the natives, but we had no inclination to go ashore to speak with them. When it pleased God that we got clear of this danger, we found the current to our amazement carry us to the northwards, as much more in our estimation as we made our ship's way; so that when we judged by the log we had gone fifteen leagues, we had actually made thirty leagues.
[Footnote 350: The Karribas islands on the coast of Zanjibar, between Cape Del Gada and Quiloa bay.--E.]
The 9th October we lost the current, except it might then set to the eastwards, but which we could not ascertain. The 10th, 11th, and 12th, we lost ground daily, caused by the current. The 17th at sunrise, we descried two islands, which we judged to be the Duas Hermanas, or Two Sisters, bearing from each other W. by S. and E. by N. about seven and a half leagues from the west point of Socotora. Having the west point of that island from us N.N.E. three and a half leagues distant, we had twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-six fathoms. After getting to anchor near a town called Gallanza, the general informed me that the people of the island had confirmed what he already much feared, that the easterly monsoon was already come, and all our hopes of getting to Cambaya were frustrated for nine months; but of this we expected to be better informed by the king of the island at Tamarin, where he resides. The 20th, we got to anchor at a point six leagues short of Tamarin, and five leagues from the point of Gallanzoe; but weighing next day with a small promising breeze, we were forced back by the current again athwart the town of Gallanza, and had to cast anchor far out in a great depth. The 22d being full moon, it was high water about nine p.m. and I judged that it flowed between ten and eleven feet, the flood-tide setting to the northward, close by the shore.
The 25th, about 11 a.m. we anchored in eight fathoms, a mile from shore, right over against the town of Tamarin, where the king's house is north from the castle, on the top of the hill above the town. At anchoring, we saluted the king with nine guns, and the general sent Mr Femell ashore handsomely attended in the pinnace, with a fine crimson awning, to present the king a fair gilt cup of ten ounces weight, a sword-blade, and three yards of stammel [red] broad-cloth. The king was ready at the shore to receive him, in an orange-tawny tent, attended by the principal of his people, being Arabs, and a guard of small shot. He thankfully received the present, promised water free, and any thing else the island afforded at reasonable price; but they had suffered a two years drought, and consequently had little to spare. He had no aloes for sale, having sent the whole produce to the Red Sea. He informed Mr Femell, that the Ascension and her pinnace came there in February, and went in company with a Guzerat ship to the Red Sea, whence both returned to Socotora and took in water, departing for Cambaya. That his own frigate being afterwards at Basseen, near Damaun, in India, was informed by the Portuguese, that the Ascension and pinnace were both lost, but the men saved, having come too soon upon the coast, before the bad weather of winter was over. After a conference of more than an hour, the king sent the general a present of twelve goats.
This king of Socotora was named Muley Amor ebn Sayd, being only viceroy under his father, who is King of Fartak, in Arabia, not far from Aden, and comes into the sea at Camricam..[351] He said his father was at war with the Turks of Aden in his own defence, for which reason he refused to give us a letter for the governor of Aden, as it would do us harm. The people in Socotora on which the king depends are Arabs, the original natives of the island being kept under a most servile slavery. The merchandise of this island consists of Aloes Socotarina, of which they do not make above a ton yearly; a small quantity of Sanguis draconis, some of which our factors bought at twelve-pence a pound; dates, which serve them instead of bread, and which the king sells at five dollars the hundred [weight?] Bulls and cows we bought at twelve dollars a-piece; goats for a dollar; sheep half a dollar; hens half a dollar; all exceedingly small conformable with the dry rocky barrenness of the island; wood cost twelve-pence for a man's burden; every thing in short was very dear. I know of nothing else the island produces, except rocks and stones, the whole country being very dry and bare.
[Footnote 351: We cannot tell what to make of this remark in the text. Purchas, who has probably omitted something in the text, puts in the margin, King of Fartak, or Canacaym; which does not in the least elucidate the obscurity, unless we suppose Canacaym an error for Carasem, the same with Kassin, or rather Kushem, to which Fartak now belongs.--Astl. I. 395. b.]
SECTION 2. Of Abdal Kuria, Arabia Felix, Aden, and Mokha, and the treacherous Proceedings of both Places.
After saluting the king, we took our departure from Socotora for Aden, taking our course along the north side of Abdal Kuria[352] for Cape Guar-da-fui, which is the eastermost point of Abax [Habesh, or Abyssinia], and is about thirty-four leagues west from the western point of Socotora; from which the eastern point of Abdal Kuria is fourteen leagues off. Abdal Kuria is a long narrow rugged island, about five leagues in extent from east to west, on which the King of Socotora keeps a few people to tend a flock of goats. About three leagues north from the middle of Abdal Kuria, are two great rocks near each other, and some half a mile long, which are rendered entirely white by the dung of birds. From the west of Abdal Kuria to Cape Guar-da-fui, the distance is fifteen leagues. The 31st October, being athwart the west end of Socotora, we left, to the north, a white rock called Saboyna, four leagues N.W. by W. from the point of Socotora. The first November, at sunrise, we were abreast the middle of Abdal Kuria, leaving it two and a half leagues to larboard, and the two white rocks half a league to starboard. At one p.m. we descried Cape Guar-da-fui, but it was night before we came near and passed it, so that we could not fix its true position. On the morning of the second we were abreast a high mountain, nine leagues west from Cape Guar-da-fui, between which point and another high point five leagues W. by S. by the compass, there is a low sandy point stretching one league and a quarter to sea; and about three leagues more westerly, we anchored and went ashore with all our boats to cut wood, of which we were in great want. From some of the inhabitants we learnt that the last mount, or high point, which we passed was called Feluk, or Foelix, by the Portuguese; but as soon as these people knew us to be Christians, they fled from us.
[Footnote 352: In Purchas named Abba del Curia, by some called Abdel Curia: Perhaps its name ought to be Abdal Kuria, or Adal Kuri, as written by Captain Hamilton.--Astl. I. 395. c.]
The third, in the afternoon, having laid in a stock of wood, we set sail, standing west towards the Red Sea. At ten a.m. on the 5th, we descried the coast of Arabia Felix, bearing from us N.N.W. and N. by E. the nearest land about twelve leagues distant. At noon I found the lat. 13° 28' N. At sun-set we were still about twelve leagues from land, which seemed mountainous in the interior, all very high, without any appearance of trees or grass, or any other fruitfulness. We now directed our course W. by S. as the coast lay, expecting soon to see Aden, as on falling in with the land I reckoned we were not more than twenty-four leagues eastward of that place; but, while I reckoned the course of the ships across the gulf, N.W. by N. we found that we had made little more than bare north, owing to the current, so that on falling in with the land we were little less than sixty leagues short of Aden. We continued our course with a good breeze all day, but shortened sail during the night, not to overshoot Aden, having for the most part twenty-five, twenty, fifteen, twelve, ten, and eight fathoms water. At sun-set on the 7th, we suddenly got sight of Aden, which stands at the foot of a barren mountain, where one could scarcely have expected to find a town; but it has been placed here for strength, being very defensible, and not to be easily won, if the defendants are men of resolution, and are provided with victuals and ammunition. To seaward, though in a manner dry at low water, there stands a high rock, rather larger than the Tower of London, which is very steep, and not easily ascended by an enemy, having but one narrow passage to go up by means of steps, where four resolute men may withstand a multitude. This rock is walled, flanked, and furnished with cannon, and seems to me capable of commanding both the town and road; yet any ship may anchor in nine fathoms beyond reach of its guns. The anchorage under its command is in nine fathoms downwards. At a little distance, northwards of the former rock, is another of small compass, quite low, and almost even with the water, on which likewise there is a fort well furnished with ordnance. I could not learn what garrison is usually kept at Aden, but as occasion requires it has reinforcements from other towns in the interior. It is supplied with provisions partly from the low adjoining country, and partly by means of barks from Barbara, on the opposite coast of Abexin,[353] whence they bring cattle, grain, and other provisions, with myrrh and frankincence. Aden is in lat. 12° 35' N. the variation being 12° 40'.[354] The tide, by estimation, flows between six and seven feet at the change of the moon. The mountain, at the foot of which this city is built, is a peninsula jutting out to seaward, joined to the main by a narrow neck of sandy ground, beyond which a large extent of marsh-like ground stretches towards the interior mountains, which may be some sixteen or twenty miles from the town.
[Footnote 353: Abyssinia, as Downton always names this north-east coast of Africa, but which ought rather to be called the coast of Adel or Zeyla, Abyssinia being, properly speaking, confined to the interior mountainous country at the head of the Nile. The south-west coast of the Red Sea indeed, from Swaken south-east to the Straits of Bab-al-Mondub, is generally called the coast of Habash, or Abyssinia, although its ports are all occupied by Turks or Arabs.--E.]
[Footnote 354: The latitude of Aden is in 12° 45' N. and its longitude nearly 45° E. from Greenwich.--E.]
At our first anchoring, the governor sent an Arab in a canoe to view our ships, but though called to, he refused to come aboard. Next morning the same Arab came aboard our admiral from the Mir,[355] or governor, to know what we were, and to say that we were welcome to land, if friends. Our general sent ashore a present for the governor, being an engraved musket made in the Turkish fashion, and a choice sword-blade, under the charge of John Williams and Mr Walter, our linguists, accompanied by other factors. They were not admitted into the town, but were entertained without the gates near the shore, seemingly with much kindness, pretending great respect for our nation, yet they spoke not a word about trading with us, but said they every day expected the arrival of 30,000 soldiers, which to us seemed strange that so barren a country could find provisions for so great a multitude. Being told that our general only wished a pilot to carry his ships to Mokha, the chief said he was only deputy to the governor, who was out of town, but would return next day, when an answer should be given. In the mean time the chief sent to our general two Barbara sheep, having broad rumps and small tails, with some plantains and other fruits. The 9th our general sent again ashore for a pilot, but got only fair words, as the mir or governor was not yet returned. Without sending any pilot, the chief requested our general would not remain for trade at that place with all his ships, but that one only might be left there for their supply. He desired likewise to know the price of several of our commodities, with pretensions that they could supply indigo, olibanum, myrrh, and various other things. Before this answer came back, our ships had been driven by the current so far beyond the point to the west of Aden, that we could not get again eastwards in sight of the town, and had to anchor abreast of a bay to the south-west.
[Footnote 355: Mir is a contraction of Amir or Emir,
much used by the Persians. From Amir comes our Admiral, first
used by the Europeans during the crusades.--Astl. I. 396. c.
The origin of Admiral is probably from Amir-al-bahr, lord
of the sea, or sea-commander; corrupted in Spanish into
Almirante, and changed in French and English into
Admiral.--E.]
We saw several people fishing in the bay, and many people of fashion[356] on the hill. On this the general went ashore to enquire when the current would change, so that we might get back. The deputy-governor seemed very angry, pretending that our coming was not with any good intent, but merely to discover their strength, insomuch that John Williams was in doubt they would have detained him: but the governor, who was now present, seemed not so rigorous, dissembling with fair words, and promised to give a pilot for Mokha, yet desired that one of our ships might stay for their supply; saying, that by the misconduct of former governors, the town had lost its trade, which he now wished to restore, and hoped we would make a beginning. He added, that if our ships all departed without trade, he would be blamed by the pacha, his superior officer, who would impute our departure to his ill usage. The 12th the general sent John Williams again ashore for the promised pilot; when the governor said the pilot's wife would not allow him to go, unless we left four of our principal persons behind as pledges for his safe return, which bred in us a general suspicion of their evil intentions: yet the general, in performance of his promise, determined to leave me behind in the Pepper-corn, but directed me not to carry any goods on shore, as they would not trust us with one of their rascal people except on such disgraceful terms, he thought fit not to trust them with any of our goods. Wherefore, if they wanted any, as they pretended, they were to purchase and pay for them on board; and in case of suspecting any unfair dealings, we were to exchange pledges. If they refused to deal on these principles, I was to follow the general to Mokha. That same afternoon, the general departed with his own ship and the Darling towards Mokha.
[Footnote 356: Probably Turks, distinguished from the half-naked Arabs by their dress.--E.]
We laboured hard on the 13th November, by means of long warps, to get up to Aden against wind and current, and actually got abreast the fishing-cove. This day the mir or governor of Aden sent a message on board, desiring to speak with our merchants, to know if we meant to trade. Accordingly Mr Fowler and John Williams, together with the purser, who had other business, went ashore; and having informed the mir in what manner they were directed to trade, he detained all three, pretending he did so that he might procure payment for anchorage and other duties, for which he demanded 1500 gold Venetianoes, each worth a dollar and half, or 6s. 9d. I continued unprofitably before Aden till the 16th December, in continual danger of shipwreck if any storm had happened, and always fed with promises of trade, but no performance, and our three officers continuing in confinement.
Being informed by my boatswain that he was much in want of small cordage for many purposes, and that he wished he and others might go ashore to lay some on the strand by the town wall, I sent to ask permission from the governor, with assurance of their safely. This was immediately granted with the utmost readiness and complacency, desiring that they might use the most convenient place for their purpose, and offering the use of a house in which to secure their things during the night Yet after all these fair promises, every man who went ashore was seized, stript of their money and every thing they had, and put in irons. My pinnace was lost, all the ropes taken away, together with the implements for laying it over again. Thus there were now prisoners, two merchants, the purser, a man to wait upon them, a prating apothecary, my surgeon, master-caulker, boatswain, one of his mates, two quarter-masters, the cooper, carpenter, gunner's mate, cockswain, and five of his crew, in all twenty persons.
Monday, 16th December, I weighed anchor from the southermost road of Aden, and directed my course through the straits for Mokha. The 20th I came to the road of Mokha, where I saw the Trades-increase riding alone, but no appearance of the Darling. The Trades-increase was about four miles from shore, riding with two anchors ahead, on account of the vehemence of the weather. On coming near, the people of the Trades-increase lowered their flag, as a signal of bad news, by which I suspected some misfortune had befallen our general. When I had anchored, Mr Thornton, the master of the Trades-increase, came aboard, when he began with a heavy heart to unfold by degrees all that had happened since we parted at Aden.[357]
[Footnote 357: The incidents that happened at Mokha having been already related in the preceding section, we here omit a long account of them by Downton.--E.]
The 21st I sent ashore a letter to the general, informing him of the misfortunes that had befallen me at Aden. In answer, he gave me a brief account of the treachery that had been practised upon himself, and requested me, if I could get to sea, to go to Aden and remain there till I heard what became of him and the others on shore. The 22d the general and all his company set out on their journey for Zenan, attended by a strong guard of soldiers to prevent their escape. The carpenters, however, were detained at Mokha, where they wrought in chains on our pinnace for the pacha; likewise several wounded men, who were unable for the journey, remained still in chains at Mokha. That same evening, though the Turks guarded our men very narrowly, Mr Pemberton slipt aside among the bushes, and made for the sea-side, where he chanced upon a canoe with a paddle, in which he put off, committing himself to the danger of the sea, rather than trust to the mercy of the Turks. Through the fatigue of his long journey, he was forced to give over rowing by the morning; but it pleased God that the canoe was noticed from the Trades-increase, and picked up by her pinnace, which brought Mr Pemberton on board, hardly able to speak through faintness. The 27th, the Darling, which had been sent to seek me at Aden, returned to the road of Mokha, having lost an anchor and cable.
On the 2d January, 1611, I departed with all the three ships from Mokha roads, intending to ply up for Bab-al-Mondub, for three reasons: First, to ease our ground tackle, which was much decayed through long riding at anchor in boisterous weather; second, to seek some place where we could procure water, for which we were now much distressed; and, lastly, to stop the passage of all the Indian ships entering the Red Sea, by which to constrain the Turks to release our general with the people and goods. We stood over in the first place for the Abyssinian coast, where we left the Darling to look for her anchor and cable, while with the other two ships we plied to windward, and came to anchor in the evening on the Arabian coast, about three leagues to windward of Mokha, and about four miles off shore, in eight fathoms water. The 3d we set sail with the ebb-tide, working to windward; but in the afternoon I spent my two topsails, and before we got other two to the yard we were half-seas over towards the Abyssinian coast, and anchored in sixteen fathoms. Towards morning the wind increased, with dark cloudy weather and a rough sea, when we lost sight of the Trades-increase, at which time she had broke an anchor and drove, and let fall another anchor, which not holding, she drifted into six fathoms, when they were forced to cut their cable, and stand off into deeper water. The 4th, when preparing to weigh anchor, I saw the Trades-increase standing over for Mokha, while Mr Pemberton in the Darling was riding in a good road, to which I would gladly have gone, but not knowing what need our great ship might have of my carpenters, her own being prisoners at Mokha, I stood after her, and carrying too much sail in rigorous weather, we split both our new topsails, which had been sewed with rotten twine, as indeed most of our sails were. Owing to this, it was night before I got into Mokha road, where I learnt the Trades-increase had lost two anchors, on which I sent my carpenters aboard to stock some others for her.
From that to the 18th we continued in Mokha roads with little ease, and to the material injury of our cables. From the 6th to the 11th canoes came every day from the town with letters from the carpenters, containing a variety of forged news communicated by the aga, who permitted them to send off chiefly for the sake of wine and beer, with which they gratified the Turks; and were sometimes allowed to send off some little fresh provisions. The 12th the Darling came into the road, saluting me with three guns in token of good news. Mr Pemberton came immediately aboard, and told me, to my great comfort, that he had found an easy road and a good watering place, and had recovered his cable and anchor. The 18th some persons came off to us from Mokha, bringing us two bullocks, two goats, a few hens and eggs, and some fruit, but no news of our general. That afternoon we set sail for the good road on the Abyssinian coast, and anchored at night three leagues short of it, under an island which we named Crab island, owing to the great abundance of crabs we found there. The 19th we weighed again, and anchored under another island, smaller than the former; and on the 20th we stood farther into the bay, anchoring in eight fathoms, half a mile from shore, right opposite the watering place.
I sent George Jeff ashore in the pinnace to find out the river, and to endeavour to speak with the natives. Immediately on landing, about an hundred of the natives presented themselves, armed with lances, and one bolder than the rest came forwards, and even desired to be carried on board. He there informed me, by means of an interpreter, that the Turks had sent over to them, saying how they had betrayed and slain many of our men, and wishing them to do the like to as many as they could lay hold of. This young man was said to be a person of consideration, and was very kind to us all the time we lay in this bay. He remained all night in the Trades-increase, where he was kindly used to his entire content. The 21st, with all the boats, I went a-land with most of our men, setting some to dig wells, some to fetch ballast, others to fill water from a small well we found ready dug, and the rest under arms to guard those who wrought. Soon after our landing, there came to me the priest of the natives, with the father and brothers of our friendly youth, who had not yet left us. They received him very joyfully on his landing, and presented me with a goat, promising to bring us some more goats next day for sale. I remained ashore all night with a strong guard, to see that no harm were done to our water; and next day set the people to work as before: For, considering the ill usage the general had met with at Mokha from the Turks, and having no assurance of the honesty of this people, I was suspicions of what evil the Turks might intend, or might persuade this people to, against us, even by putting poison into our water; therefore, I trusted no one farther than I could avoid. This day was very boisterous, and none of the natives came near us all day. I continued this night likewise on shore, setting a strong guard to keep watch.
The 23d, the same people who had been with us before came down, and were followed by others driving several goats to sell, as they had promised. I entertained them kindly, making the purser buy their goats, and they departed in the evening well satisfied, promising to bring us more daily, which they faithfully performed. This day we completed all our ships in water. From the 24th to the 29th inclusive, the natives brought us goats and sheep every day, of which we bought as many as we could use, paying them to their satisfaction.
The 29th, having the wind at N.N.W. we set sail, being determined to ply up to the bab with all our three ships, to stop all the Indian ships that should come this year to the Red Sea, for the purpose formerly mentioned; but when abreast of Crab island it fell calm, on which we came to anchor, and I went on shore with a large party of men to cut wood for fuel. In the afternoon we saw two Jelbas coming over from Mokha, one of which brought me a letter from the general, dated 15th January, giving an account of his safe arrival at Zenan with all his company, except Richard Phillips, Mr Pemberton's boy, who was left sick at Tayes. This letter, having being kept till the 17th, mentioned the safe arrival of Mr Fowler and the rest of my company at Zenan. The general likewise informed me, that God had raised him a friend in the midst of his enemies, being the Raha,[358] who is next in dignity to the pacha. This letter made me alter my purpose of stopping the India ships, lest it might prove injurious to the general and his companions in captivity, as also to our countrymen trading in the Mediterranean.
[Footnote 358: Probably a typographical error for Kaha, called Cahya in the narrative of Sir Henry Middleton, and meaning the Kiahya.--E.]
The 7th February, the Trades-increase returned to me in the road of Assab, Mr Thornton bringing me another letter from the general, desiring me yet to forbear revenging our manifold wrongs, as he and his company expected to begin their journey back to Mokha in five days. The 2d March, a boat from Mokha brought me a letter from the general, stating that his journey was delayed, and desiring me to forbear taking revenge. The 5th, I sent the Darling over to Mokha, on which day our general and his company arrived there. Mr Pemberton found in the road of Mokha a great ship belonging to Dabul, called the Mahomet. The 11th, fearing some accident had befallen the Darling, owing to her long absence, I set sail with the other two ships, meaning to have gone over to Mokha; but before I reached Crab island, we saw the Darling coming over, on which we stood back to Assab. In the evening, Mr Pemberton came to me with twenty-two of the betrayed people of the Trades-increase, and fourteen of my people belonging to the Pepper-corn. He likewise brought me a letter from the general, giving me assurance of his enlargement as soon as the India ships were all arrived, and the wind came round to the westwards.
The 18th, I stood over to Mokha in the Pepper-corn, and arrived there on the 19th. Before I had anchored, I had a letter from the general, giving me to understand that the presence of my ship alarmed the Dabullians and displeased the aga, wherefore he wished me to go back to Assab. I immediately sent George Jeff ashore with two letters, by one of which I gave a brief account of our wants, and my opinion that the Turks only fed him with false hopes to serve their own purposes. In the other, written purposely that he might shew it to the aga, I stated, that so long as he was detained a prisoner, he had no power to command us who were free, and could not therefore keep us from the road of Mokha, or from doing whatever we saw meet for ourselves. To these the general wrote me the following answer:
Captain Downton, your overmuch care may work your own harms, and do me and my company no good, and therefore take nothing to heart more than is cause, for I have had and still have my full share. And whereas you allege, you are loth to depart this road without me, I am more loth to stay behind, if there were any remedy. I made a forced agreement with the pacha at Zenan, that our ships were to absent themselves from this road, till all the India ships were come in; and then, at the first coming of the westerly wind, I and all my company were to be set free. If they fail to perform with me, then I would have you shew your endeavours. In the mean time you must have patience, as well as myself. I would be loth the agreement should be first broken on our side, without any cause given by them.
For the provision that should have been sent in the jelba, it was my fault it was not sent, in that I did not urge it to the aga. After your departure to-morrow, as I desire you to see performed, I will go in hand with the lading of the goods in the jelba, which shall not be above three days absent from you. I have promised the ships shall not come into the roads till the westerly winds be come, which will be a month hence at the farthest; in the mean time you shall hear from me by jelbas or boats, which I will send of purpose. I doubt not but there will be good performance made with me by the Turks, in that my agreement was made with the pacha and not with Regib aga. If I doubted any new stratagem, I would have attempted to have escaped away by this time. I have had, and still have means for my escape, were it not to leave my people in danger of their lives: Doubt not, if they perform not with me, when the westerly winds come, but I shall have good opportunity. I had laid a plot to have escaped, if I could have persuaded Mr Femell, but he will by no means be drawn to any thing, till he see whether the Turks will perform or no, and he makes no doubt but to be sent aboard with the first of the westerly winds, when you shall come to demand us. You may ride in your quiet road-stead on the other side with all your ships, till God send us that long-wished-for westerly wind, unless you get a slatch of wind to carry one of your ships to the bab, to see if all be well there, and so return back to you. I know that all sorts of provisions waste apace in the ships; which, God sending me aboard, I hope quickly to renew.
The 27th March I sent over the Darling to Mokha, at the general's request, and she returned on the 6th April to Assab road, to deliver the victuals and other provisions, which had so long been detained by the Turks, and brought me a very kind letter from the general. The 21st, the King of Rahayta sent me a present of a fat cow and a slave, by a kinsman of his, who staid all night in the Trades-increase. At various times the Budwees[359] brought us abundant supplies of bullocks, goats, and sheep, which they sold to us for cloth, preferring that to money: But by the beginning of May, our cloth fit for their use being all gone, we could only purchase with money, after which our supply became scanty. The 11th May, our general happily effected his escape from Mokha aboard the Darling, with fifteen more of his people.[360]
[Footnote 359: Badwis, or Bedouins; the nomadic Mahometan tribes on the African coast of the Red Sea, are here meant--E.]
[Footnote 360: The narrative of Sir Henry Middleton in the preceding section, giving a sufficiently ample account of the incidents in the voyage, till the return of the ships to Mokha, it has not been thought necessary to continue the relation of Downton so far as regards the intermediate transactions, for which we refer to the account of the voyage already given by Sir Henry Middleton. But as his narrative breaks off abruptly soon after the return to the Red Sea, we resume that of Downton in the subsequent subdivisions.--E.]
SECTION 3. Account of Proceedings in the Red Sea on the second Visit.
The 1st April, 1612, on our return from India toward the Red Sea, we were by estimation eighteen leagues short of Aden. It was now ordered by the general, that I was to remain before or near the town of Aden, to enforce any Indian ships that should arrive there to proceed into the Red Sea, for which I received a commission, or written instructions, from the general, who was with all expedition to proceed with the Trades-increase to the bab, or gate of the Red Sea, both for the safety of the company's ship, of which we had intelligence from Masulipatam, that she was following our track into the mouths of the wolves, from whom by God's mercy we had escaped, and there to take revenge of the Turks and the subjects of the Great Mogul, for the wrongs done to us, our king, and our country. The 2d we found the Darling at anchor some eight leagues eastward of Aden, having got before us by reason of our having lingered four days for her. She had completed her business at Socotora, and had departed thence before we past it, going by Saboyna, Abdal Curia, and Mount Feluk, where we lingered for her. She brought from Socotora a letter left with the king, written by Captain John Saris, general of the Clove, Hector, and Thomas, ships belonging to our India company, signifying that he was gone into the Red Sea, notwithstanding the letter of Sir Henry Middleton, giving an account of the villanies there done to us. The general immediately departed toward the bab, with the Trades-increase and Darling, leaving me in the Pepper-corn at anchor, about eight leagues east from Aden.
Early in the morning of the 3d we set sail to the southwards, the better to discover, and so all day we kept to windward of Aden. We soon descried three sail bound for Aden, but they stood away from us, and we could not get near them, as it blew hard. At night we did not come to anchor, but lay to, to try the current by our drift, which I found to be three leagues in ten hours. The morning of the 4th I came to anchor a league or four miles from Aden, in twelve fathoms. Seeing a ship approaching, we set sail very early in the morning of the 12th to intercept her; and at day-light saw her at anchor about three miles south of us. We immediately made sail towards her, which she perceiving, got under weigh for Aden. Between nine and ten, by firing a shot, she struck her top-sails, and sent her boat to us, saying she belonged to the Zamorin, or King of Calicut, whence they had been forty days. The nakhada, or commander of this ship, was Abraham Abba Zeinda,[361] and her cargo, according to their information, consisted of tamarisk,[362] three tons; rice, 2300 quintals; jagara, or brown sugar, forty bahars; cardamoms, seven bahars; dried ginger, four and a half quintals; pepper, one and a half ton; cotton, thirty-one bales, each containing five or six maunds. Her crew and passengers consisted of seventy-five persons, of whom twenty were appointed to bale out water and for other purposes below, eight for the helm, four for top and yard and other business aloft, and twenty boys for dressing the provisions, all the rest being merchants and pilgrims. Her burden was 140 tons. Having carefully examined them, and finding they belonged to a place which had never wronged our nation, I only took out two tons of water, with their own permission, and dismissed them, giving them strict injunctions not to go to Aden, or I would sink their ship. So they made sail, standing farther out from the land, but going to leewards, we were forced to stand off and on all day and night, lest in the night she might slip into Aden.
[Footnote 361: Perhaps rather Ibrahim Abu Zeynda, or Sinda.--Astl. I. 421. b.]
[Footnote 362: Probably turmeric.--E.]
Every ship we saw, before we could come to speak them, had advice sent by the governor of Aden to inform them of us. When the Calicut ship was under our command, the governor sent off a boat, manned with Arabs, having on board two Turkish soldiers of the garrison, who had formerly been instruments of Abdal Rahman[363] aga, to bind and torture our men whom they had betrayed. On seeing our men, whom they had used so ill, they were in great doubt what usage they might now receive, as their guilty conscience told them they merited no good treatment at our hands. They brought some fruit to sell, and, I suppose, came as spies to see what we were doing. At the first sight of our men, whom they knew, they would fain have put off their boat again, but I would not permit them, causing them to be reminded of their former behaviour to our men, when in their hands; and when I thought them sufficiently terrified, I ordered them to be told, that they should now see how far our nation differed from the cruelty of Turks, who had most barbarously and injuriously used our men, without giving any cause of offence, whom they had betrayed by fair promises, yet I should now dismiss them without harm. They immediately departed, making many fair promises of sending us refreshments. They accordingly sent off next day a boat loaded with fish; but we were too far off for them to reach us, as we were obliged to put the Calicut ship to leeward towards the Red Sea.
[Footnote 363: In Purchas called Abdraheman; perhaps the name was Abd Arrahman.--Astl. I. 421. c.]
The morning of the 14th, the wind at east, we descried another ship of like burden with the former bound for Aden, which, about ten o'clock, a.m. we forced to come to anchor. I learnt that she was from Pormean, a town not far from Kuts Nagone,[364] a place tributary to the Great Mogul, who had despised our king, and abused our nation. The nakhada of this ship was a Banian; and being fearful, if any other ship should approach Aden, I must either leave the one or the other, I therefore made haste to search her by my own people. With great labour, before darkness overtook us, we had out of her six packs of coarse dutties, of six corges a pack; other thirty-six bales, containing thirty-six corges of coarse dutties; one small bale of candekins-mill, or small pieces of blue calico; with about thirty or more white bastas, and a little butter and lamp oil. So far as we could discover for that night, the rest of her lading consisted of packs of cotton-wool, as we term it, which we proposed to examine farther next day.
[Footnote 364: According to the editor of Astley's Collection, I. 421. d. Kuts Nagone is a place in the peninsula of Guzerat, not far from the western cape. The western cape of Guzerat is Jigat Point; but no such places are to be found in our best modern maps, and the only name similar is Noanagur, on the south side of the Gulf of Cutch; whence Kuts-Nagone in the text may be a corruption of Cutch-Noanagur.--E.]
This day Moharim aga, who was now mir, or governor of Aden, sent me a present of eggs, limes, and plantains; but I sent back word by the messenger, that the various intolerable injuries done to my friends and nation at this place last year, had occasioned my present approach, to do my nation and myself what right I might, to the disturbance and injury of the Turks; and as my coming was not to ask any favour from them, I would not accept any of their dissembled presents; for, as they cut our throats when we came to them in friendship, we could expect no favour now when we came in declared enmity. Wherefore, having received what was useful for my people, I had sent back what I considered the things to be worth. There came off also a boat, with store of fresh fish, which I caused to be bought, always making the bringer to eat part of what he brought, for fear of poison.
The 27th April we descried a sail plying to the eastwards, between us and the shore, which, being detained by the pinnace, proved to be a jelba belonging to Shaher, bound homewards with grain and other commodities, among which was some opium, and having several pilgrims from Mecca, as passengers on their way home. We purchased from them nine and a half pounds of opium as a trial, and dismissed them. The 30th I stopt two vessels, both belonging to a place on the Abyssinian or African coast, called Bandar Zeada; one laden only with mats, and the other having sixty-eight fat-rumped sheep, which we bought from them, and dismissed them.
The 8th May we plied towards the bab under easy sail, with a pleasant wind at N.E. by E. At ten a.m. we descried land on the African coast, looking at first like an island, but soon perceived it to be the main. From thence we steered N.W. towards the bab, which, by estimation, was then about ten leagues distant; and near four p.m. we descried the straits, when we lingered off and on to spend the night. At day-light next morning we made sail towards the bab. On entering the strait we descried a sail astern, coming direct for the strait, on which I struck my top-sails to wait for her, and sent off my pinnace to take possession. The pinnace returned with the Nakhada and Malim, whom I examined, and found them to be subjects of the Great Mogul, belonging to a place called Larree,[365] situated at the mouth of the great river of Sindi. I luft up along with this ship into a bay, on the east side of the straits, where we came to anchor in seven fathoms. I then sent my merchants aboard to examine her loading, which consisted of divers packs and fardels of cloth, seeds of various kinds, leather, jars of butter, and a great quantity of oil, some for eating and some for lamps. As this vessel had many passengers, and I could not keep her for want of water, I took out of her the likeliest packs of Indian cloth to serve our purposes, with some butter and oil for our own use, and then allowed her to proceed for Mokha.
[Footnote 365: Bander Larry, or Larry Bunder, on the Pity river, the most north-western branch of the Delta of the Indus, or Scinde river.--E.]
About three p.m. I descried a ship of 200 tons opening the east land of the straits, and immediately following her a vessel of huge size, her main-yard being forty-three yards long. On coming near the great ship, we knew her, by her masts and tops, to be the Mahmudi of Dabul; and knowing the pride of her captain, I was anxious to gain the command over him, as he would never formerly, either at Mokha or Dabul, come to visit our general. Seeing him stand from us, I gave him one shot, and stood with the other ship, which, seeing us stand with the great ship, struck to leeward, thinking to escape in the darkness of the night, now approaching. I took her for a ship of Diu; but, on getting up to her, she proved to be from Kuts Nagone, laden with cotton-wool, some packs of Indian cloth, with some butter and oil. Having got some of her principal men aboard my ship, I made her edge with me into shoal water, on the Arab coast, where I endeavoured, by means of lights, to discover five of my men, whom I had left in the Larree ship. We anchored at midnight in twelve fathoms, four leagues within the bab, where the next two days we took out of the Larree ship sixty-six bundles of Indian cloth, but which we returned again, as not needing it, and took only eight corges of bastas, for which we paid to their content, and some butter and oil. I now learned by a jelba, that Sir Henry Middleton had gone to Assab roads, with eight or nine India ships, on which I made sail to join him there, but the wind being unfavourable, had to come to anchor.
Next day, Giles Thornton, the master of the Trades-increase, came from Sir Henry Middleton, to let me know that he had got possession of all the Indian ships he desired. These were the Rekemi, of 1500 tons; the Hassany, of 600; the Mahmudi of Surat, of 150; the Salamitae, of 450; the Cadree, of 200; the Azum Khani, belonging to the Shah-bandar of Mokha, all belonging to Diu; besides three Malabar ships, the Cadree of Dabul, of 400 tons, and a great ship of Cananore. Mr Thornton told me, that before I could get into the road of Assab, Sir Henry and Captain Saris, with all their people, would be gone ashore to receive the King of Rahayta, who was come with his nobles and guards to visit the two generals. The day being near spent, Sir Henry and Captain Saris left the king in his tent, and went aboard the Trades-increase to supper. I understood also of a contract entered into with the Indian ships at the bab, by which it was agreed to exchange, all our English goods for such Indian commodities as should be settled by certain merchants on both sides. About this time likewise I was informed, that the Mammi, or captain of the gallies, and others, had come from the governor of Mokha to our general, to treat of peace, and to enquire what sum he demanded in satisfaction of our damages. Sir Henry, near the proportion of last year's demand, required the payment of 100,000 dollars; on which they craved a respite of sufficient time for sending to Zenan, to know the pleasure of Jaffar Pacha, after which they promised to wait upon him again. In the meantime the Darling had been preparing a small cargo of Indian cloths, with which to sail for Tekoa, for which place she departed on the 19th of May. Captain Saris also prepared the Thomas to follow the Darling to the same place, and sent her away on the 23d. This day likewise, Sir Henry dismissed a ship called the Azum Khani, belonging to the sabandar of Mokha.
A general meeting was held on the 30th May, at dinner, on board the Trades-increase, to which Captain Saris and Captain Towerson were invited, for holding a conference on the farther prosecution of our business with the Turks. At noon came over from Mokha, the sabandar, the mammi, and an aga, all appointed by the pacha to confer for an agreement in satisfaction of our injuries; and finding he would abate nothing in his demand of 100,000 dollars, they demanded leave to hold a conference with the nakhadas, or captains of the Indian ships, and the principal merchants, which was allowed. It seems this was for the purpose of trying what additional customs could be levied on the Indian goods, towards payment of the compensation demanded; but several of the nakhadas, in consideration of former injuries, either staid away from the conference, or opposed the augmentation; wherefore the three Turkish officers took leave of Sir Henry, promising to give him notice of what was to be done, as soon as they had an answer from the pacha; and thus they departed again towards Mokha on the 9th June. All this time our people were employed rummaging, opening, and repacking Indian goods fit for our purpose, and giving English commodities in return for these.
The 11th June, Sir Henry, with the Trades-increase, and Captain Saris with the Clove and Hector, departed from the road of Assab, carrying all the Indian ships along with them to the road of Mokha. I continued with the Pepper-corn at Assab, along with a small ship named the Jungo, redelivering all the goods I had taken out of her on the 9th and 10th of May. This being completed, I set sail along with her early in the morning of the 12th, following our admiral and the rest to Mokha, where we anchored in the afternoon of the 13th. The 19th, Sir Henry perceiving that the Turks meant nothing but delay, and were even in our sight unloading a ship of Kuts Nagone, he determined to hinder them till an agreement was made in compensation of our wrongs. Wherefore, by his orders, I warped nearer them with the Pepper-corn, and by firing several shots made them desist from their labour: Yet all this week the Turks amused us with delays, and came to no agreement.
The 26th, Sir Henry and Captain Saris convened a meeting of all the nakhadas of the Indian ships aboard the Mahmudi of Dabul, where Sir Henry, as he had done often before, recapitulated to them all the wrongs and damages sustained from the Turks, declaring his resolution on no account to permit them to have any trade with Mokha till he had received ample satisfaction; adding, that having already repaid himself for the injuries sustained in India, he must now be forced to carry them all out with him to sea, that the Turks might reap no benefit this year from the Indian trade. The Indians seeing that, by the abuses and delays of the Turks, it was likely to become an unprofitable monsoon for them, though their departure would be injurious to the Turks by loss of customs, yet, rather than carry back their commodities, they desired to make a composition with our two generals, paying a sum of money among them for leave to trade. Accordingly, having no means to enforce satisfaction from the Turks, without farther prejudice to the Indians, Sir Henry determined to accept their offer, still leaving the satisfaction due from the Turks to a future opportunity. To begin therefore, a composition was agreed upon with Mir Mohammed Takkey, nakhada of the Rehemi, for 15,000 dollars, she being nearly equal in value to the other four ships.
SECTION 4. Voyage from Mokha to Sumatra, and Proceedings there.
Composition being made with all the Indian ships, and their several sums in part received, Captain Saris sent away his vice-admiral, Captain Towerson, on the 6th August. The 13th Captain Saris departed, having received all the money due to him by composition from the Indian ships. Having completed all our business by the 16th, we set sail on that day with the Trades-increase and Pepper-corn, and passed through the straits of Bab-al-Mondub next day, endeavouring to steer a course for Cape Comorin on our way to Sumatra; but owing to calms and contrary winds we were long detained in the gulf between the bab and Cape Guard-da-fui. The 12th September we saw several snakes swimming on the surface of the sea, which seldom appear in boisterous weather, and are a strong sign of approaching the coast of India. The 13th we saw more snakes, and this day had soundings from 55 fathoms diminishing to 40. At sunrise of the 14th we descried high land, bearing E. by N. about 16 leagues distant, when we stood E. by S. till four p.m. when the nearest coast between us and the high land bore E. eight leagues off. We then directed our course south along the coast of India or Malabar, and on the 22d at nine a.m. descried Cape Comorin. The 24th we had sight of the island of Ceylon, and next day about noon we descried Cape de Galle, the southernmost part of that island. The 30th we found much injury done to the wheat in our bread room by wet; also of our coarse dutties, or brown calicoes of Pormean, we found twenty pieces quite rotten.
The 19th October, at three p.m. we anchored in the road of Tekoa,[366] where we found the Darling, which had been there ever since July in a great part of the rains, which were not yet ended, having buried before we arrived three of their merchants and three sailors. Most of their men were sick, and they had got but little pepper, and little more was to be had till next season, in April and May. The great cause of their want of trade was owing to civil wars in the country. We found here likewise the Thomas, a ship belonging to the eighth voyage, newly come from Priaman, where she had as poor success as the Darling had here. We here learnt the safe return and prosperous voyage of Captain David Middleton; also of the four ships of the ninth voyage, two of which were already arrived at Bantam; likewise that Captain Castleton had been lately here in his ship of war, and had left information of fifteen sail of Hollanders, already come or near at hand, and of two ships come for trade from New-haven in France; all which sorely damped the hopes of our tired, crossed, and decayed voyage. The 22d, finding little to be done here, the Pepper-corn departed towards Bantam, leaving me to remain in the Trades-increase till the 16th of next month. The 2d November all the men of any condition went away to the wars along with Rajah Bunesu, so that we could expect little trade till their return. The 20th we took on board the remains of the pepper weighed the day before, in which we found much deceit, the people having in some bags put in bags of paddy or rough rice, and in some great stones, also rotten and wet pepper into new dry sacks, yet had we no remedy.
[Footnote 366: Tekoa, Ticu, or Ticoo, is a port on the south-west coast of Sumatra, almost under the equator.--E.]
Having got all things in and our men aboard, we prepared to depart, and about midnight of the 20th November we set sail in clear moonshine, having the wind at N.E. off shore. Notwithstanding every care and exertion to avoid the two known rocks three leagues from Tekoa, we got fast on a rock, having four fathoms water at our stern, a quarter less three on the starboard a midship, and three fathoms under the head; a ship's length off five fathoms, the same distance on the larboard bow six feet, a midship to larboard sixteen feet, under the larboard gallery twenty feet, and all round deep water within a cable's length. God in his mercy gave us a smooth sea and no wind, so that the set or motion of the ship seemed quite easy; yet the water flowed in upon us so fast, that both chain-pumps with infinite labour could not in a long time command the water. With all possible expedition we got an anchor out astern, with two-thirds of a cable, which God so blessed, that before we could heave the cable taught at the capstan, the ship of her own accord was off into deep water. This was no sooner the case but we had a gust of wind at west, which put us off about a mile from the rock, where we anchored to wait for our boat, which brought our cadge after us. When it was clear day, we could not even perceive where the rock was. A principal reason of coming to anchor, was in hopes to overcome our leaks, being exceedingly desirous to hasten to Bantam, as without absolute necessity we wished not to return to Tekoa. But after consulting together on what was best to be done, we returned to Tekoa, there to endeavour to stop our leak, which we found to be in the fashioning pieces of the stern. Accordingly, about sunset of the 21st we came to anchor there in a place well fitted for our purpose. The 22d, 23d, and 24th we laboured hard to land indigo, cinnamon, and other things, using every exertion to lighten the ship at the stern where the leak was, and were busily engaged till the 8th December in mending the leak and reloading our goods; which done, we set sail again from Tekoa, and arrived on the 20th at Pulo-panian.
The Pepper-corn being filled at that place, Sir Henry Middleton called a council to consult on what was best to be done, taking into consideration the injury received on the rock by the Trades-increase; when it was resolved that she must necessarily be careened or hove down, and new strengthened, before she could return home; which requiring a long time, it would not be possible for her to get home this season. It was therefore concluded to dispatch the Pepper-corn immediately for England, as some satisfaction for the adventurers till the Trades-increase could follow.
SECTION 5. Voyage of the Pepper-corn Home to England.
By the 4th of February, 1613, the Pepper-corn being laden and ready for sea, we set sail for England, leaving Sir Henry Middleton behind in the Trades-increase.[367] We arrived on the 10th May in the road of Saldanha, where I hoped to have found all the ships formerly departed homewards; but I only found the Hector and Thomas, two ships of the eighth voyage. The Expedition had got round the Cape of Good Hope, bound towards some part of Persia, there to land Sir Robert Sherly and his Persian lady, and Sir Thomas Powell with his English lady, who were all intending for Persia. The next day we set sail in company with the Hector and Thomas; but towards evening the Thomas was far astern, and the Hector bore away under a press of sail, so that we lost them during the night. We lingered for them till the 19th at sunrise, employed in repairing our weak and decayed sails, at which time Saldanha bore S.E. one half E. seventeen leagues.
[Footnote 367: Sir Henry died on the 24th of May following at Machian, as was thought of grief, of which an account will be found in the journals of Floris and Saris.--Astl. I. 427. a.]
Continuing our course for England, after losing all hope of rejoining the Hector and Thomas, we descried, on the 11th September, the coast of Wales to windward, and that of Ireland to leeward, and finding the winds so adverse that I could not make Milford Haven, and our wants allowing no long deliberation, I determined to go to Waterford. The 13th in the morning we descried the tower of Whooke, some three leagues from us, the only land-mark for Waterford river. At eight o'clock a.m. we saw a small boat coming out of the river, for which we made a waft, and it came to us, being a Frenchman bound to Wexford. I hired this boat to go again into the river, to give notice of our coming to the lieutenant of the port of Dungannon, to prevent delay, as owing to the narrowness of the channel it might endanger our ship at anchor in winding round. At noon we got up the river as high as the passage.
I here found Mr Stephen Bonner of Lime with his bark, who had come here a-fishing; and who, laying aside his own business, used the utmost diligence in doing the best he could for the ease and relief of our weak and sick people. The 18th I dispatched Mr Bonner for London with letters for the company, to give notice of our arrival and wants, that we might be supplied. The 21st, Doctor Lancaster, bishop of Waterford, very kindly came to visit me, bringing good cheer along with him, and gave us a sermon aboard, offering me the communion, which, being unprepared, I declined, yet thanked him for his good-will. The 10th,[368] Captain John Burrell came to visit me, and offered me money to supply my wants, if I would send one along with him for it to Cork; wherefore I sent away Mr Mullineux with Captain Burrell to Cork for the money.
[Footnote 368: From this date to the 6th October, there is some inexplicable error in the dates of the text.--E.]
On the 12th, Anthony Stratford, lieutenant of the fort at Waterford, having hired a villainous fellow, whom I had caused to be kept in prison at Waterford for misdemeanors, to swear any thing that suited his purpose to bring us under the predicament of piracy, and having obtained a warrant from the Earl of Ormond, came to the passage, whence he sent a message desiring me to send my boat ashore well manned, to fetch him and other gentlemen aboard to see my ship. But immediately on my boat coming aland, he apprehended my men, and coming himself on board, arrested me and my ship for piracy, and committed me to prison in the fort of Dungannon, giving strict charges that no person should be allowed to come near me without a warrant from him; and such as did come to me, he would have put to their oaths to say what conversation passed between them and me. My man was sworn to carry no letters from me to any one, nor any to me; and several of my people were that night examined on oath, omitting no means to draw from them matter of accusation against me. I continued in prison till the morning of the 16th, when Stratford brought me a letter from his captain, Sir Lawrence Esmond, inviting me to meet him at the passage. At that place I met Sir Lawrence and the Bishop of Waterford, who were come from the Earl of Ormond to replace me in my charge, and which at their earnest entreaty I again undertook.
The 23d, Master Mullineux, who had sent off letters to the company with notice of this troublesome affair, returned from Cork with money to supply my wants. The 25th, Mr Benjamin Joseph came to me in a small ship from Bristol, bringing men, money, and provisions for my supply, which we took in, making all haste to be gone. The 6th October we set sail from Waterford river. The 12th in the morning we were abreast of Beechy head, and at eight p.m. we anchored in Dover roads. The 13th we anchored in the Downs at ten a.m. near H.M.S. Assurance, saluting her with five pieces of cannon. Mr Cocket her master came immediately aboard, and again arrested my ship till farther orders from the lord high admiral; upon which I immediately sent off Mr Mullineux to London with letters to the company, informing them of my situation.
The 17th, Mr Adersley came down from the company, bringing me a letter from the directors, an order for the release of my ship, and Mr Punniat, a pilot, to take charge of her from the Downs. The 18th in the morning we set sail, and at six p.m. came to anchor in the road of Gerend. The 19th we got up to Tilbury, where we again anchored, and at ten a.m. next day came to anchor at Blackwall; where, in the afternoon, came down Mr Deputy and several members of the committee, to whom I delivered up my charge.
SECTION XIII.
The Seventh Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1611, commanded by Captain Anthony Hippon.[369]
INTRODUCTION.
"Purchas has given us two accounts of this voyage, one written by Nathaniel Marten, master's mate of the Globe, which was the only ship employed in this expedition, and the other by Mr Peter Williamson Floris, who went cape merchant, or chief factor, on this voyage. This account by Marten is chiefly filled with nautical remarks, and observations of the latitude and variation, which may make it very acceptable to navigators and geographers, while we are sensible it may appear dry to many others. For this reason, Purchas retrenched much of the journal, and to make amends subjoined that by Floris. As it is our design to give a complete body of English voyages, intermixed with those of other nations, we presume that our readers will not be displeased for meeting sometimes with relations that do not afford much entertainment, especially considering that though these may not be so acceptable to some, they may yet be very useful to others. In effect, some of the most valuable voyages are those which afford least pleasure in reading. The first navigators of every nation to foreign countries, were chiefly employed in discovering the untried coasts, and wrote for the instruction of those who were to visit the same places afterwards, till they became sufficiently known. For this reason it is, that the farther we advance the relations become the more agreeable; so that in a little time those who read only for pleasure will have no reason to complain."--Astley.
[Footnote 369: Purch. Pilgr. I. 314. Astl. I. 429.]
At the close of this voyage, Purchas makes the following remark: "I think these mere marine relations, though profitable to some, are to most readers tedious. For which cause, I have abridged this, to make way for the next, written by Mr Floris, a merchant of long Indian experience, out of whose journal I have taken the most remarkable actions of this voyage, being full of pleasant variety." But, as well observed by the editor of Astley's Collection, Purchas has rather curtailed than abridged, often leaving out whole paragraphs and inserting others in an abrupt and unconnected manner, passing over places without any mention, and speaking of them afterwards as if they had been mentioned before. We have therefore used the farther liberty of still farther abridging his confused abridgment, yet so as not to omit any information that appeared at all interesting or useful.--E.
We weighed from Blackwell, in the good ship the Globe, on the 3d January, 1611, bound for the East Indies, and arrived at Saldanha the 21st May. Sailing thence on the 6th June, we passed not far from Mozambique, Comora, and Pemba, and on the 31st July passed before Point de Galle, in Ceylon. The 6th August we saw land from the topmast-head, and at 3 p.m. saw a tower or pagoda, and a ship bearing N.W. and came into eight fathoms about three leagues off shore, near Negapatam. Continuing our course N. by E. we took on the 8th a boat belonging to San Thome. The 9th, at noon, the town of Meliapore bore N.N.W. two leagues off. The best mark by which to know this place is a high hill up the country. There is a shoal about two leagues south of Pullicatt, and about a mile or more from the shore, the N.E. end of it being about a league off. We went over the end of it in three fathoms; but if you keep in ten or twelve fathoms, you will always be safe. The 9th we anchored off Pullicatt, which bore from us W. by N. There is a cross to the north of the town, which may be seen between two and three miles offshore, but you cannot see the town. Not liking our situation, we weighed on the 10th, and stood farther north, and anchored again in eight fathoms, the cross now bearing W. by S. the western point W. by N. and the northernmost point N.W. The 10th, at noon, the governor sent off a boat for our gentlemen, when Mr Brown and Mr Floris went on shore in our skiff which sunk when going over the bar; but, blessed be God, none of our men were drowned. Pullicatt is in 13° 30',[370] the variation being 1° 15'. The 15th Captain Hippon went ashore to speak with the governess, and returned aboard with all the merchants on the 16th, as they could have no trade.
[Footnote 370: More correctly lat. 13° 26' N. and long, 80° 24' E. from Greenwich.--E.]
We set sail the same day for Petepoly [Pattapilly,] and on the 18th, at five p.m. we made a tuft of trees near that place, bearing from us N.E. by E. six leagues off; and at seven p.m. we came to anchor in nine fathoms, the tuft being then N. by W. five leagues. The 19th we weighed early, and came to anchor again in five fathoms, two leagues from the tuft, which then bore E.N.E. Presently there came off to us two gingathas, or boats, by which our merchants sent a letter on shore; and, in the afternoon, another boat brought off a messenger from the sabandar, who sent off two boats next day for our merchants, when Messrs Floris, Essington, and Lucas went ashore, together with Adam Dounton, the purser's mate, and one named Lemon. The 21st, our merchants sent off a letter, saying they were kindly entertained. The 28th, Mr Floris and Simon Evans came aboard, when we weighed for Masulipatam, in the road of which place we arrived on the 30th, anchoring in three fathoms and a foot; the great tree, which is the mark for the road, bearing from us W.N.W. the southermost land S.W. by S. and the northermost N.E. by E. The 31st, Mr Floris, Mr Essington, Simon Evans, Cuthbert Whitfield, and Arthur Smith, went ashore in our skiff to remain. I made the latitude to be 15° 57' and that of Pattapilly 15° 49'.[371]
[Footnote 371: The latitude of Masulipatam is 16° 5' N. but that mentioned in the text seems to apply to some point not well defined, to the southwards. The latitude of Pattapilly appears to have been taken with sufficient accuracy.--E.]
We weighed from Pattapilly road on the 11th February, 1612, intending to proceed for Bantam, and came to anchor in the road of that place on the 26th April, about four p.m. in three and a half fathoms; Pulo-ponian bearing N. Pulo-tando N.W. by N. Polo-duo E.S.E. the western point of Pulo-range N.W. by N. northerly, and its uttermost point E, by N. northerly; the eastermost island, called Pulo-lima, joining to the western point of Java. Immediately after anchoring, Mr Spalding and two others came aboard. Our merchants came on board on the 31st May, about four p.m. and we set sail that night about nine, steering N.N.E. with the wind at S. In the morning of the 1st June, the wind veered to eastwards, and then to the north, with foul gusty weather, when we bore up and anchored under Pulo-tando, in nineteen fathoms, half a league from the shore. Between five and six next morning we again weighed, with the wind at S.E. steering N.N.W. the nearest land being S.W. six leagues off, which was a woody island about four miles long, off which was a ledge of rocks, or a sand-bank. About eight a.m. I espied from the topmast-head Lucapara, eight leagues off. The 7th, about ten a.m. we raised the hill of Mompyne N.E. eight leagues off, after which we never had less than ten fathoms. The 11th we were in lat. 1° N. and next morning from the topmast-head I espied the high land of Bintam, W. by N. some twelve leagues off.
The 4th August, at night, we weighed from Patane roads,[372] with the wind at S.S.W. and steered away N.W. by W. for Siam, where we arrived on the 14th, and anchored in five fathoms, having the southermost island S. by E. of us, the eastermost E. by S. and the river's mouth N. by W. The 3d November we weighed out of the bay, where we left our men, and graved our ship, and hauled off from the west to S.S.E. to get clear of the island, and so steered away. The 4th, at noon, I made the ship to be in the lat. of 12° 30', having run in twenty-three hours only twenty-five leagues, making our course S. by W. with the wind northerly. We arrived at Patane on the 11th.
[Footnote 372: By careless abridgement, Purchas omits their arrival here; and, owing to his inconclusive narrative of the navigation, we have here omitted a good deal of the nautical remarks, which are quite unconnected in the Pilgrims, and therefore of no utility.--E.]
"He was after this at Siam again, and again at Patane, and made a second voyage from Masulipatam to Bantam in 1614, and thence to England in 1615. But his journal is so large that I dare not express it. They arrived at the Lizard on the 20th August, 1615, having spent four years and nearly eight months in this voyage."[373]
[Footnote 373: This concluding sentence is the apology of Purchas for abbreviating the narrative of Marten, which he has done in so confused a manner, that we have been under the necessity of abridging it still farther.--E.]
SECTION XIV.
Notices of the preceding Voyage, by Peter Williamson Floris.[374]
INTRODUCTION.
"As the preceding journal of Nathaniel Marten is almost wholly nautical, this narrative of Floris is chiefly confined to the transactions, occurrences, and adventures that happened on land, in the several countries at which they touched in this voyage. Purchas tells us, in the title of this article, that it was translated out of Dutch; but whether by himself or some other, and whether from print or manuscript, he is silent. He informs us likewise, that Floris was cape merchant, or chief factor, in this voyage, and that he died in London in 1615, two months after his arrival from the expedition. This author is remarkable for several notable particulars respecting the affairs of the countries which he visited, which shews that he was curious, and for the freedom with which he censures the actions of his own countrymen, the Hollanders, which may pass for a proof of his sincerity."--Astley.
[Footnote 374: Purch. Pilgr. I. 319. Astl. I. 435.]
SECTION 1. The Voyage to Pullicatt, Patapilly, Bantam, Patane, and Siam.
Having covenanted and agreed with the right worshipful governor and deputy of the English East India Company, we embarked in the Globe, on the 5th January, 1610, according to the English style, being actually of the year 1611, and set sail for Gravesend. Sailing from the Downs on the 5th February, we came to Saldanha bay the 21st May, where we found three ships. Two boats came aboard of us, one from Isaac le Maire, and the other from Henrick Brouwer. Much refreshing was not here to be had at this season, by reason of heavy rains, being now their winter, and the mountains covered with snow. We used great diligence in searching for a root called ningim, for which purpose two of three Holland ships had come here, one being from Japan, that first discovered the secret. At this time the new leaf only began to peep forth, so that we could not have known it, if we had not received instructions. Its proper time of ripeness is in December, January, and February; and it is called kanna by the inhabitants.[375]
[Footnote 375: This kanna, or ningim, is supposed to be the same with the Ginseng, so highly prized in China for its restorative virtues. The Hottentots set the same value on it, and it is as rare to be met with in the country at the Cape of Good Hope as in Eastern Tartary.--Astl. I. 436. b.]
Having filled our water-casks, and refreshed ourselves with eight sheep and twenty cattle, we set sail from the bay, leaving there the boat of Isaac le Maire, commanded by his son Jacob, who was to continue there till December, bartering for hides and skins, and making train-oil. To him we gave letters for England. Near Tierra de Natal, on the 10th June, we were in great danger, a violent storm of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain, having almost thrown us ashore; but God mercifully and powerfully gave us unexpected deliverance.
The 1st of August we fell in with the island of Ceylon at Punta de Galle. The 6th we came before Negapatam, being twenty-eight Dutch miles or leagues wrong in our reckoning, the maps, in regard to that place, being very false, which might occasion great danger in the night, the like happening to the Hollanders. Neither found we the island so broad as it is there laid down. Mr Mullineux lays down Punta de Galle in 4°, whereas it is 6°.[376] Towards evening we passed before the road, and could see the houses very plainly. The 7th, we passed Langapatam, where the Hollanders have a factory of which they are very weary, having very little trade. The 8th, we came before San Thome, and on the 9th, before Pullicatt, passing over the shallows above a musket-shot, where we had only three fathoms water. At this place two boats came aboard of us, one from the sabandar, and another from the Hollanders. The 10th, the sabandar's men brought us a caul, or safe conduct, allowing us to come safely ashore; on which Mr Brown and I went ashore, but, by the roughness of the sea, our boat upset, yet, God be thanked, none of our men were drowned. The sabandar met us, compassionating our mischance, and appointed us a house, promising to procure us a letter from the king to the governess Konda Maa.
[Footnote 376: The truth lies between, as Point de Galle is in 5° 51' N. latitude.--E.]
On the 11th, Jan Van Wersicke, the Dutch president on the coast of Coromandel, shewed us a caul from Wencapati Rajah, the king of Narsinga, by which it was made unlawful for any one from Europe to trade there, unless with a patent or licence from Prince Maurice, and wherefore he desired us to depart. We made answer, that we had a commission from the King of England authorizing us to trade here, and were therefore determined to do so if we could. Upon this there arose high words between us, but which the sabandar soon ended, by informing us that the governess would be here in three days, by whose determination we must be regulated. She came on the 17th, and Captain Hippon coming then ashore, we made ready to wait upon her, but were delayed, and informed that she would send for us next day. We strongly suspected the Hollanders of underhand dealings; and as no one came for us the next day, we sent to the sabandar, who made answer, that as the king had granted an exclusive privilege to the Hollanders, it was necessary for us to apply to his majesty for liberty to trade; but as this would have required a delay of two months, which must lose us the monsoon for Patane, and as the Hollanders had prepared to send a present of two elephants to the king, we resolved to proceed to Patapilly and Masulipatam, towards which places we set sail.
Arriving on the 20th at Patapilly, the governor sent us a caul, or licence to land, which we did accordingly, and agreed with him for three per cent[377] custom, and sent goods on shore, it being determined that Mr Lucas and Mr Brown should remain there, while I went on with the ship to Masulipatam, the roadstead of which place was better. We got there on the 31st, when Zaldechar Khan sent us a licence. We agreed to send a present to Mir Sumela, a great officer under the king at Condapoli, and farmer of his revenues, that we might be secured against the chicanery of the inferior officers.
[Footnote 377: In Purchas it is called three-thirds per cent. which, in the text, we have changed to three; yet a little farther on it would appear that four per cent. had been agreed for.--E.]
The 20th January, 1612, Cotobara, king of Badaya, or Lollingana,[378] and Masulipatam, died, and great disturbances were apprehended; but Mir Masunim wisely prevented any troubles, by immediately proclaiming Mahmud Unim Cotobara, a young man of great hopes, son to a brother of the deceased king, who had left no sons. His uncle had submitted to the authority of the Persians,[379] but the new king evinced a spirit of independence, and disgraced Mir Sumela, the fountain of tyranny and oppression.
[Footnote 378: These titles are inexplicable, but in the sequel he appears to have been king of Golconda.--E.]
[Footnote 379: The Moguls are probably here meant, named Persians by Floris, because they used the Persian language.--E.]
The governor dealt fraudulently with me in regard to a bargain of cloth and lead, pretending that he had agreed with me only for 4000 pagodas, meaning by this dishonesty to have increased the customs from four per cent. which had been settled, to twelve: and when I insisted upon our agreed terms, he told me roundly, that he, being a mir, or descendant of Mahomet, would be believed before any Christian. Being at a loss how to deal with this dishonest rogue, and not having time to send to the new king at Golconda for redress, I had at one time resolved to right myself by force, as there seemed no means of bringing him to reason in a friendly manner; but, at last, by the intervention of some others of the Moors at Masulipatam, we came to a kind of an agreement.
Having thus concluded our affairs at Masulipatam, and those at Pattapilly being likewise ended, and the monsoon being favourable, we departed for Bantam, where we arrived on the 26th April, 1612. We there found the Dutch about to remove to Jacatra, in consequence of new and heavy exactions established by the governor of Bantam, with whom, as we had no factory there at this time, we made an agreement to pay three per centum for customs, yet not without some contest. By order of Captain David Middleton, a factory had been established at Succadania, on the coast of Borneo, which was continued by Mr Spalding; but, as matters were carried on there, it seemed more calculated for private interest than the public advantage of the company. The 1st of June we set sail from Bantam, and came into the road of Patane on the 22d, where we found the Bantam, a ship of Enkhusen; from the people of which we were informed of the manners and customs of the country. We landed on the 26th in great state, taking with us a present to the value of 600 dollars, to accompany our king's letter. We were well received, according to the customs of the country, the letter being laid in a basin of gold, and carried by an elephant, accompanied by a band of music, a numerous guard of lances, and many small flags. The queen's court was very sumptuous. The letter was read, and a free trade allowed us on payment of the same duties with the Hollanders; and we left the court without seeing the queen. We were then conducted by Daton Lachmanna, the sabaudar and officer appointed for entertaining strangers, to a place where a banquet of fruits was presented to us. From thence we were led to the house of the Oran-caya Sirnona, where we had another banquet. Next day the queen sent us meat and fruits aboard.
The 3d July there departed from hence a Dutch pinnace called the Greyhound, for Japan. The master's mate of this vessel had brought a letter from William Adams, an Englishman residing in Japan, directed to the English at Bantam; and by him we sent the company's letters to Mr Adams, which he promised to deliver with his own hands. We had no other means of transmitting this letter, as the Japanese were at enmity with the government of Patane, and had even burnt that place twice within five or six years.
We had much ado to get leave to build a fire-proof warehouse at this place, but were at length assigned a place close by the Dutch house, thirty fathoms long by twenty in breadth, on which we built a house forty-eight feet long by twenty-four feet wide. Their exactions were very unreasonable, amounting, besides the charges agreed upon, to 4000 dollars; which, however, we submitted to pay in hope of future advantages. We were sore afflicted here with sickness, even as if the plague had raged in our ship. Captain Hippon died on the 9th of July; and on opening the box marked No. 1, Mr Brown was found his appointed successor, but as he was already dead, No. 2 was opened, by which Mr Thomas Essington was nominated, who accordingly assumed the command. At this place we suffered much injury from thieves, some of which came into our house one night, where we always had a lamp burning, and stole 283 dollars out of my chest, besides other goods; though there wore fifteen persons sleeping in the house, besides a large black dog, and a watch kept in our yard. These circumstances occasioned suspicions against some of our own people, but we could never come to any certainty.
I and John Parsons, with six more, were left here at Patane to conduct the business of the factory, and the ship departed on the 1st of August for Siam. I wished afterwards to have written to Captain Essington at Siam, to inform him of the bad market I had for our lawns, but had no opportunity of sending a letter by sea; and not less than four persons together durst venture by land, on account of the danger from tygers, and because there were many rivers to cross by the way, owing to which their demands were very high, and I had to wait an opportunity. In September, the king of Jor, or Johor, over-ran the environs of Pan or Pahan, burning all before him, and likewise the neighbourhood of Cumpona Sina, which occasioned great dearth at Pahan.
The cause of our lack of trade here, where, four years before, I had seen such quick sales, as if all the world could not have provided sufficient commodities, was chiefly, that the Portuguese had brought an abundant supply to Malacca; besides which the Hollanders had filled Bantam and the Moluccas with goods, and also to the trade carried on by the Moors at Tanasserim and Siam, and at Tarangh, a haven newly discovered near Queda, on the western coast of Malacca; the Guzerats, others from Negapatan, and the English, all contributing to glut the market, so that the rumour only of such large supplies is sufficient to keep down the prices for ten years; insomuch that I cannot now clear five per cent. where formerly I could have gotten four for one. All these things considered, I dispatched a cargo on the 8th October, in a junk of Empan, for Macasser, sending John Parsons as chief factor. On the 9th, two junks arrived from Siam, one of which brought me letters from Captain Essington and Mr Lucas, saying they had much trouble and few sales, both because the country was already full of goods, and because the governments of Cambodia, Laniam, and Jangoma, were preparing for war against Siam.
The 25th, several junks departed from Patane for Borneo, Jumbi, Java, Macassar, Jortan, and other places; among which was the junk belonging to the Orancay Rajah Indramonda, bound for Bantam, and thence by Jortan, Amboina, and Banda, to Macassar. I cannot imagine how the Hollanders should suffer these Malays, Chinese, and Moors, and even assist them in carrying on a free trade over all India, while they forbid it to their own servants, countrymen, and brethren, on pain of death, and loss of their goods. It is surely an instance of great ignorance or envy, thus to allow Mahomedans and heathens to grow rich, rather than their own countrymen should gain a living, and a sign that the punishment of God is coming upon them.
The Globe arrived here from Siam on the 11th November, having been eight days on the passage. She had arrived on the 15th of August preceding in the road of Siam, and cast anchor in three fathoms at high-water: but next day, the water ebbing thirteen hours on end, she was left only in seven feet, fortunately on soft mud, so that she received little injury. When again afloat, she was removed to another anchorage, where there were three fathoms at low-water, being four leagues from the bar. The town lieth on the river, some thirty leagues from the sea. Sending news of their arrival, the sabandar and the governor of Mancock,[380] a place on the river, came back along with their messengers to receive the letter from the king of England to their sovereign, but chiefly for the sake of the expected presents. Captain Essington and Mr Lucas accompanied them to the town, where they were presented to the king on the 17th September, and received assurances of a free trade, the king giving each of them a small golden cup, and some little article of dress. The covetous mandarins, or officers of the crown, would have counteracted the royal permission of free trade, by taking every thing they pleased at prices of their own making, and paying when they pleased, acting in short more corruptly than those in any other part of India, though assuredly the rest are bad enough: but, on complaint being made to the king, he gave orders not to molest the English in their trade; after which all their goods were carried to a house assigned them by the king, being the best brick house in Siam, and close to that of the Hollanders. The time when our people were at Siam was the season of the rains, when the whole country was covered with water.
[Footnote 380: Rather Bankok, near the mouth of the river Menan.--Astl. I. 438. h.]
On the 26th October there arose such a storm of wind as had not been remembered by the oldest of the natives, tearing up trees by the roots, and occasioning extensive desolation. Among other things destroyed on this occasion, the monument which had been erected by the reigning king, in memory of his father, was overthrown. Our ship, the Globe, very narrowly escaped, by the diligent care of Mr Skinner and Samuel Huyts, and by means of dropping a third anchor, after she had drifted, with two anchors, from six fathoms to four, she was at length brought up, when only a mile from the land. On this occasion Mr Skinner was beaten from the anchor-stock, and very strangely recovered. Five men were drowned, one of whom was supposed to have been devoured by a whale, which was seen about the time when he disappeared.[381] After raging four or five hours, the storm subsided, and the sea became as calm as if there had been no wind. Yet a tempest continued aboard the Globe, occasioned, as was reported, by the unreasonable conduct of the master, who was therefore put under arrest, and Mr Skinner appointed in his room, on which this tempest also subsided. Their trade also was too much becalmed, although this had formerly been the third best place of trade in all India, after Bantam and Patane, the causes of which falling off will be best understood by the following narrative.
[Footnote 381: Whales are not of this description. Perhaps Mr Floris had said in Dutch, by a great fish, meaning surely a shark. At this place Purchas observes, in a side-note, "that the road of Siam is safe, except in a S.S.W. wind."--E.]
SECTION 2. Narrative of strange Occurrences in Pegu, Siam, Johor, Patane, and the adjacent Kingdoms.
Siam, formerly a mighty and ancient kingdom, had been, not long before, subdued, and rendered tributary to Pegu, yet did not continue long under subjection. On the death of the king of Siam, two of his sons, who were brought up at the court of Pegu, fled from thence to Siam. The eldest of these, called in the Malay language, Raja Api, or the fiery king, set himself up as king of Siam. He it was whom the Portuguese used to call the Black King of Siam. Against him the king of Pegu sent his eldest son and intended successor, who was slain in these wars, and was the occasion of the almost total destruction of the kingdom of Pegu, and caused the loss of many millions of lives. The king of Pegu, who was of the race of the Bramas, was sore grieved for the loss of his son, and caused most of his chief Peguan nobles and military officers to be put to death on the occasion. This caused much perturbation and confusion, so that his tributary kings, of whom there were twenty, revolted daily against him. At length, encouraged by these defections, Rajah Api, or the Black King of Siam, went to war against the king of Pegu, and even besieged the capital city of Uncha, or Pegu, for two months, but was forced to raise the siege and return to Siam.
Not long after this, on account of a great pestilence and famine, the king of Pegu found himself under the necessity of surrendering himself and all his treasures to the king of Tangu, that he might not fall into the hands of the king of Arracan, who was coming against him with a prodigious army: Yet the king of Arracan easily made himself master of the city and kingdom of Pegu, then almost depopulated by famine and pestilence. The king of Arracan now proposed to go against Tangu; but the king of that country sent ambassadors to him at Arracan, offering to deliver up to him a certain portion of the treasures of Pegu, together with the White Elephant and the king of Pegu's daughter, both of whom I saw at Arracan in 1608; even offering either to give up the king of Pegu or to put him to death. This the king of Tangu afterwards did, by slaying him, with a pilon, or wooden pestel with which they stamp rice; for being of the race of Brama, it was not lawful to shed his blood. In this manner was the mighty empire of Pegu brought to ruin, so that at this day there is no remembrance of it.[382] The king of Arracan gave charge of the town and fortress of Siriagh, [Sirian] upon the river of Pegu, to Philip de Brito de Nicote, to whom he gave the designation of Xenga, signifying the honest; which honour and confidence Xenga requited by taking his son a prisoner three or four years afterwards, and ransomed him for 1,100,000 taggans and ten galeas of rice. Brito yet domineers in Sirian, and cares for nobody.
[Footnote 382: This is to be understood of 1612, when Floris was there. After many revolutions, the empire of Pegu was re-established by a tribe called the Birmas, and now subsists in great power and splendour, including Ava, Arracan, Pegu, and Siam.--E.]
By the destruction of the power of Pegu, Siam recovered its independence, and hath since brought under subjection the kingdoms of Cabodia, Laniangh,[383] Jangoma, Lugor, Tanasserim, Patane, and several others. In 1605 Rajah Ahi, or the Black King, died without issue, and left the kingdom to his brother called the White King, who was a covetous prince, yet enjoyed his kingdoms in peace. He died in 1610, leaving several children behind him, on which great troubles arose in the kingdom. While he was on his deathbed, he caused his eldest son to be slain, a young prince of great hopes, at the traitorous instigation of one of the chief lords of Siam, named Jockrommeway, who having many slaves thought to make himself king. The presently reigning king was the second son of the White King, and soon after his accession put the traitor to death who had occasioned the slaughter of his elder brother. Among his numerous slaves Jockrommeway had 280 Japanese, who, thinking to revenge the death of their master, and to atchieve some memorable exploit, went immediately in arms to the palace, which they surprised, getting possession of the king and all his court, and compelled him to deliver up to them four of his principal nobles, whom they immediately slew, as the chief causes of their master's death. Having the king in their hands, they forced him to subscribe with his own blood to such agreement as they pleased to dictate, taking some of the chief palapos [384] or priests for hostages, and so departed with much treasure after much violence, the Siamese being unable to right themselves. On this occasion the kingdoms of Cambodia and Laos rebelled, as did also one Banga de Laa in Pegu. The king of Laniangh, or Lanshang, in Laos, came last year, 1611, with an army into Siam, within three days journey of Odija,[385] hoping to have found the kingdom still involved in the broils occasioned by the Japanese slaves. But as they were gone, the king of Siam went out with an army to meet him, and he retired to Laos. These two kings, of Cambodia and Laos, are said to have confederated together, and to have resolved to march together next April, 1613, in hopes to dispossess the young king of Siam, who is about twenty-two years of age; but which they are not likely to effect unless by the aid of treason among his principal subjects. Thus it was our hard fate to hit upon these bad times, so ill fitted for trade.
[Footnote 383: Probably Laos, the capital of which is named Laushang.--E.]
[Footnote 384: Called by other writers Tale-pois, or Tale-poius.--Astl. I. 440. a.]
[Footnote 385: Called likewise Judia, or Siam.--E.]
For various reasons we resolved to winter with the ship in Patane. The 31st of December, 1612, the queen of Patane went to sport herself, accompanied by above 600 proas. She lay first at Sabraugh, where we went to pay our compliments to her along with the Hollanders, when for the first time we were permitted to see and speak with her. She was a comely old woman of sixty years of age, tall, and of a majestic appearance, having never seen any one to compare with her in all India. She was accompanied by her immediately younger sister, who was next heir to the throne, and commonly called the young queen, yet an unmarried virgin about forty-six years of age; and had likewise along with her the little daughter of another sister, who was married to Rajah Siack, brother to the king of Johor.[386] After some conference, she let fall the curtain, as a signal for our departure, and it was signified to us that we should come again next day, which we did, and were well entertained. On this occasion twelve women and children danced before the queen, and performed as well as I had ever seen in the Indies. Then all the gentility present were commanded to dance, or at least to make the attempt, which caused no small laughter. We even and the Hollanders had to exhibit ourselves, which mightily amused the queen. She had not been out of her palace for seven years before till now, when she went on purpose to hunt wild buffaloes and bulls, of which there are many in the country. As she passed along with her train of proas between our house and the ship, she was saluted by several cannon from the ship, and by musket-shot from the shore.
[Footnote 386: Called by some Jor, Joor, or Johore:--Astl. I. 440. c.]
During the November and December of this winter, 1612, the waters had been higher, owing to the great continuance of the rains, than ever had been known in the memory of man, so that much cattle died and many houses were swept away, and a vast deal of harm done. The 25th January, 1613, we got news, by a Dutch ship from Siam, that Mr Lucas had sold more than half of his goods, of which the king had bought a large portion, and that he would not permit his officers to carry away the goods, under pretence of his name, without a signed warrant. We had also news from Queda, that the Portuguese, with 1500 men from San Thorne, had taken the factory of the Hollanders at Pullicatt, slain their men, and carried away their goods. In March, I sent away the ship for Siam with more goods.
The king of Pahan[387] had married a younger sister of the queen of Patane, whom she had not seen for twenty-eight years. Having requested a visit of her sister ineffectually by solemn embassies, she detained all the junks of Siam, Cambodia, Bordelongh, Lugor, and other places, that were laden with rice for Pahan, and sent out all her maritime force, consisting of about seventy sail, with 4000 men, under the command of Maha Rajah, Datou Bessar, and the Orancay Sirnora, with orders to bring her sister to Patane, either by force or persuasion. The king of Pahan will have much ado to defend himself; owing to the great dearth, and the burning of his house, granaries, and rice; it is also reported that the king of Johor is preparing to go in person against Pahan, while the king of Borneo is making ready for succour.
[Footnote 387: Named in some writers Pam or Pabang.--E.]
In April, 1613, there arrived several junks from Cambodia and China; and in May I received letters from Siam, giving notice that the Globe had arrived there, and that sales were very brisk. I was now busy in preparing a cargo for Japan; and expecting to do some good there with Chinese commodities, I borrowed 3000 dollars of the queen for three or four months, allowing six per cent. interest to the queen, and one per cent. to the treasurer. We now received bad news from Bantam, stating that Campochina had been twice burnt down, and the English factory consumed full of cloth. The Hollanders likewise had made great loss. We were informed also of a large English ship in great distress at Pulo Panian, a great mortality being among her people.[388] Intelligence was also received that the military force of Acheen had besieged Johor.
[Footnote 388: This was the Trades-increase.--Purch]
The 12th July, the king of Pahan arrived at Patane, much against his will, accompanied by his wife, who was sister to the queen of Patane, and also by two sons. He left his own country much oppressed by poverty, famine, fire, war, and rebellion. He brought intelligence that the Acheeneers had taken Jahor, and had carried away all the ordnance, slaves, and every thing of value, Rajah Boungson and his children being made prisoners, and the king of Johor having fled to Bintam. Several Hollanders also, who happened to be in a ship at Johor, were taken and slain. The siege lasted twenty-nine days. None of the grandees of Patane went to receive and entertain the king of Pahan; and the only attention paid to him, was by killing all the dogs in the place, as he has an aversion to dogs. We saluted him with our small arms as he passed our house, which gratified him much, on which he invited us to visit him and trade at his town.
The 16th July we got intelligence that Captain Saris was at Mackian on his way to Japan; as also that Sir Henry Middleton had died on the 24th of May, of grief, as was supposed, for the situation of the Trades-increase, which lay aground with all her masts out, one side only being sheathed, as of thirty-three of her crew remaining most of them were sick. An hundred English, a greater number of Chinese who were hired to work upon her, and eight Dutchmen, had all died of some strange sickness. Captain Schot, belonging to the Dutch company, had taken the castle and island of Solor, with a great quantity of sandal wood. In the Moluccas also they had done much injury to the Spaniards, and a hot war was there expected. The 31st of July the king of Pahan visited our factory in great state, and made us great promises of kind entertainment in his country. The 1st of August, the queen sent for us to court, to be present at a great feast given in honour of the king of Pahan; after which a comedy was acted by women, after the Javan manner, being in very antic dresses, which was very pleasant to behold. On the 9th the king of Pahan departed on his return to his own country, having been made a laughing-stock by the Pataneers: But his wife, the sister of the queen of Patane, refused to leave him, going back along with him and her sons, after having spent all she had instead of getting presents. On the 16th I had a letter from Thomas Bret at Macasser, complaining of a bad market, and informing me that John Parsons had become frantic: He said likewise that he had purchased a junk for the purpose of coming away; but that in the mean time the Darling had come there laden with cloth, for the purpose of settling a factory at that place.
Rajah Indra Monda arrived at Patane on the 18th of September, having gone from hence on the 25th October.[389] He had been to Macasser and thence to Banda, where be made a good market, and had brought back about 200 sockles of mace and a great parcel of nutmegs. He brought me a letter from Richard Welden. He likewise informed me of the state of Banda; where the Dutch general, Peter de Bot, had administered severe justice, hanging some of his men for sleeping on their watch; owing to which, several had deserted to the Bandanese, and ten had become Mahometans, who could not be recovered. Neither has the Dutch garrison any controul over the natives of Banda, any farther than that they compel all junks to ride at anchor under the guns of their castle, and command the seas there by the number of their ships: But on the land, they dare not even give a bad word to any of the Bandanese. The Globe arrived again at Patane on the 23d of September from Siam, bringing me a letter from Mr Lucas, who had not received any intelligence of the fate of the goods sent to Jangoma, as the passages were obstructed on account of the wars between the people of Ava and Laniangh, or Lan-shang, in Laos. The king of Ava is said to have taken Siriaugh, or Sirian, and to have caused the Xenga, Philip de Brito de Nicote, to be put to death. The king of Siam is in fear of an attack from the king of Ava in great force, for which reason he has good watch kept on his frontiers. At this time I repaid my debt to the queen in gold.
[Footnote 389: This must have been of the preceding year, though not so expressed.--E.]
On the 4th of October, being the first day of the Mahometan Lent or fast of Ramedan, a terrible fire occurred in the town, or fort rather, and court of Patane, occasioned by the following event. Datoo Besar and Datoo Lachmanna, who dwelt near each other, were the richest in Javan slaves at this place, except Rajah Shey. The Javan slaves had threatened to kill Datoo Besar, Lachmanna, Rajah Sitterbangh, and others, which came to their knowledge; on which Besar called his slaves before him to examine into the matter, which they utterly denied. Yet he ordered two who were most suspected to be bound, which the pongonla of the slaves would not suffer, wherefore Besar immediately dispatched him with his criss or dagger. The Javan slaves were so enraged at this, that they would have wreaked their vengeance on their master had he not been protected by his other slaves: But in their fury, they slew all that came in their way, and set fire to the houses, being joined by the slaves of Lachmanna; and being now above a hundred persons, they ran to the great gate called Punta Gorbangh, setting fire to all the houses on both sides as they went, so that the whole town was burnt except a few houses, which were the queen's court or palace, those of the Orancayo Sirnora and of Batoo Bandara, and the masjed or mosque. While running along the street, the Javans carried all the best of the female slaves along with them, and remained masters of the place till one in the afternoon, no one daring to oppose them.
We and the Hollanders were not without fear during this tumult, as the slaves threatened to destroy both our factories, for which reason we kept strong watch, and sent aboard for as many armed men as could be spared from the Globe. On their being landed and set in order, we resolved to march out and oppose the insurgents, who were now actually coming down to assail us; but learning from their spies of our strength and coming against them, they retired into the country, and fled by Quale-bouca to Bordolonch, and Sangora, and so forwards. Thus, without any harm by us received, we got the honourable name of the Defenders of Strangers. The Javans were afterwards pursued to little purpose, three or four sick men only being taken; and what became of the rest was not known while we remained in the country. This is the third time that Patane has been burnt down within a short space, having been twice before fired by the Japanese.
On the 21st October we took our leave of the queen, who presented Captain Essington and me with golden-handled crisses. We left in the factory William Ebert, Robert Littleword, and Ralph Cooper, with letters also for Mr Lucas at Siam. The same day, the Hope[390] arrived quite unexpectedly. They had been at Johor, where they had gone ashore; and before they could return to the ship, the fleet of Acheen came before the town to besiege it. Whereupon, the Dutch factors sent a letter on board, desiring them to send thirty armed men by land, and to bring the ship as high up the river as possible to fight against the Acheeneers. But, on account of shoals, the ship could not be got far enough up the river to be of service, and after twenty-nine days siege the town was surrendered upon composition. By this surrender twenty-three Hollanders remained prisoners, and twelve got aboard the Hope, in which there remained no one to command, except the master's mate and one assistant. They resolved to proceed for Patane, but were driven by a storm on the coral ground of Borneo, and by a change of wind were driven upon Pulo Condor. Being unable to shape their course for Patane, they sought for refreshments at Warellas, where they found a good bay; but the people being inimical, they could not procure any provisions. They came at length to Patane with only eighteen men, most of whom lay in a pitiful condition in their births. This ship brought 70,000 rials of eight, or Spanish dollars, and twenty-nine packs of India cloth.
[Footnote 390: From the sequel, and likewise as mentioned by Purchas in a sidenote, the Hope appears to have been a Dutch ship.--E.]
SECTION 3. Voyage to Masulipatam, and Incidents during a long Stay at that Place.
We set sail from Patane on the 22d October, 1613, and on the 25th we were in with the most southerly of the islands of Ridang, in lat. 6° N. of which there are about eighteen or twenty. In the evening of that day we came to the Capas, three small isles, about thirteen leagues from the Ridang islands, and two leagues from the continent. The 26th, we saw Pulo Tyaman, twenty-eight leagues S.S.E. from the Capas. The 29th, being calm, we came to Pulo Tingi, where, if you keep in eighteen fathoms, there is nothing to be feared but what maybe seen. The 1st November we saw the point of Jantana, or Johor, and the mount on the island of Bintam, and came next morning in sight of Piedra-branca; about ten o'clock a.m. we came to the dangerous reef that projects four leagues out to sea from the point of Johor. John Huigens van Linschoten describes this shoal well, which we passed not without danger, having the point and three little islands W.S.W. from us. It is good to keep to leewards till you bring these little islands in one line with the point of Johor, and Piedra-branca open with the isle of Bintam. Piedra-branca is a rock all covered with sea-fowl, and so bedunged as to make its top appear white, whence its name, which signifies the white-rock, or stone.
Till the 7th, we were every day turning up against the current till we got past the river of Johor, and about two leagues from Sincapura. On the 8th, when close to the strait, several proas came aboard us, those in them being Salettes, who were subjects to the king of Johor, who live mostly by fishing, always remaining in their proas with their wives and children. From these people we learnt that the king of Acheen had sent back Rajah Bouny Soe to Johor, who was younger brother to the former king; and, having married him to his sister, gave him thirty proas and 2000 Acheen soldiers, with a good supply of ordnance and other necessaries, ordering him to rebuild the fort and town of Johor, and to reign there as a dependant on Acheen. We here took a pilot to carry us through the straits.
We arrived on the 19th December at Masulipatam, where we found an English ship and two Holland ships. We were told that Mir Sadardi was now out of place, and that the government was in the hands of Atma Khan and Busebulleran. The English ship was the James, which was sent expressly to second us in our voyage, and brought us letters, with which Messrs. Marlow, Davis, Gumey, and Cob came aboard the Globe. The 21st I went ashore with the others, when we were met by Wentacadra, the son of Busebulleran, together with the sabandar, and other Moors, and were well received. They presented us with several tesseriffes, and gave to director Warner and me a fine horse each, which at first I refused, suspecting some treachery, but was compelled to accept. I took a caul, or licence for trade, the customs being settled at four per centum, and immediately landed goods.
The 25th January, 1614, the James departed for Pattapilly and sailed from thence on the 7th February, for Bantam. On the 18th February I went to Narsipoor, and on the 19th the ship was brought into the river, drawing nine three-fourths feet, and having ten and a half feet water, contrary to the reports of some who wished us no good. I returned to Masulipatam on the 23d, whence I dispatched a peon with letters to Mr Aldworth at Surat. That day there arrived a navette from Pegu, in which came Cornelius Franke, by whom we were informed that the king of Ava had certainly taken the fort of Serian, and slain all the Portuguese, and that Xenga, or Philip Britto de Nicole, was either spitted or soulathed, [391] this event having taken place in March last. The king, of Ava had given orders for rebuilding the town, to which he had invited the Peguers with many fair promises. He had gone from thence Tanasserim, where he was joined by Banga Dela, and 50,000 Peguers, who had been before under the king of Siam. The Moors in Masulipatam were greatly rejoiced at this news, hoping by its means to recover the trade of Pegu, and immediately made preparations for sending two ships there in September. In March there came news of eleven ships having arrived at Goa, eight of them from China, and three from Malacca, by which the market price of goods was much reduced; but, fortunately for me, I had almost finished my business before.
[Footnote 391: This strange word is unintelligible; but we have formerly given the history of Nicote from de Faria, by whom he is said to have been impaled.--E.]
In April, Atma Khan departed for Golconda, to render up his accounts, the year coming then to a close. It was well for him that the king had deposed his great treasurer, giving the office to Malek Tusar, who was the friend of Atma Khan; and well for us likewise, as the debts due by these governors are good while they continue in place, but otherwise doubtful.
The 18th of May, at five p.m. Captain Essington died of a sudden heat, having eaten his dinner at the table. He had some boils about him, which are very common at that season; one of which, on his shoulder, was very large, and would not break, which was supposed the cause of his death. I went immediately on board, and put the ship into the best order I could. The people all refused to submit to any other commander but me: yet I thought it a debasement to tread in the steps of my under-merchant, wherefore I committed the charge to Mr Skinner, in hopes that he and the rest would do every thing for the best, and returned myself to Masulipatam. I here found three persons, who said they were sent with letters from Obiana, queen of Pullicatt, Jaga Rajah, the governor of that place, and of St Thome, and Apa Condaia, secretary to the great king Wencatad Rajah, in which they promised, if I would come thither, that they would give me a place opposite the fort at Pullicatt, with all the privileges I could wish, and many other fair promises. But remembering how I and the James had been entertained there, I could give little credit to these assurances; yet, at length, it was agreed, that one of the messengers should remain with me while the other two went back with one of my people, by whom I sent letters to the before-mentioned persons, as also to the king, in which, after recapitulating the bad entertainment we had formerly received at Pullicatt, I offered that we would return to trade in the country, if they would send us the king's caul, or safe conduct, in due form.
The 29th of July, four persons arrived as ambassadors, accompanied by my man Wengali. These men came from Wencatad Rajah, the great king of Narsiaga or Velore,[392] bringing me a caul, or safe conduct and licence, with an Abestiam, which is a white cloth on which the king's own hand is printed in sandal or saffron; as also a caul from the queen of Pullicatt, together with letters from Jaga Rajah, Tima Rajah, Assa Condaia, and others. The king's letter was written on a leaf of gold, in which, after apologising for the former faults committed against us in Pullicatt, he desired us to return into his country, and chuse a place to our own liking, where we might build a house or castle according to our own pleasure, with other privileges. He even gave me a town of about 400 pounds of yearly revenue, with a promise to do more for me at my arrival. The Hollanders had wrought much against this; but their words had not now so much force, and the inhabitants grieved to see the English ships passing by every year without any profit to them, and therefore, making their complaints to the king, had occasioned these friendly offers. My man Wengali had been in the presence of the king, and even had spoken with him, the king having laid his hand on his head, and presented him with a tesseriffe.[393] I kept the ambassadors with me, allowing their daily charges, till the ship might come into the road, and that I had time to consider the proposals.
[Footnote 392: Narsinga appears at this place equivalent to the Carnatic, and Velore seems to have been the residence of the king.--E.]
[Footnote 393: In all probability a dress, the ordinary mark of honour given by princes in the east.--E.]
In August there was a greater flood at Narsipoor than had ever been known, at least for the last twenty-nine years. So much so, that whole hills of salt, many towns, and vast quantities of rice, were swept away, and many thousands of men and cattle drowned. In this great inundation, the water was three yards deep on the common highways. In Golconda, which has a branch of this river that is dry in summer, above 4000 houses were washed away. Two stone bridges, one of nineteen and the other of fifteen arches, as artificially built in my judgment as any in Europe, which are ordinarily at least three fathoms above the water, were three feet under water on this occasion, and six arches of the nineteen were washed away. This bridge might well compare with the one at Rochester in England.
The 4th October, our ship having been new sheathed, came over the bar without hurt, being hitherto detained by foul weather. I now called loudly for payment of the debts due me, and wrote on the subject the third time to the court, insisting to be paid both principal and interest. Upon this they wrote to Mir Mahmud Rasa and the Sabandar to satisfy me. The 23d the ship came into the road of Masulipatam, and I took order for having our goods shipped. On the 25th, news came of the death of Wencatad Rajah, king of Narsinga, after having reigned fifty years, and that his three wives, of whom Obyama, queen of Pullicatt, was one, had burned themselves alive along with his body. Great troubles were dreaded on this occasion, and the Hollanders were much afraid of their new-built castle at Pullicatt; but soon afterwards there came a reinforcement to its garrison of sixty-six soldiers, by a ship named the Lion. She arrived from Bantam on the 1st November, bringing news that the Dutch ship called the Bantam had been cast away in the Texel, as likewise the White Lion at St Helena. She brought us likewise intelligence that our ship, the James, had arrived at Bantam, whence she had sailed for Patane.
Finding the governor had trifled with me, and procrastinated the payment of his debt, so that we were in danger of not being able to return that year, I determined upon endeavouring to carry him or his son aboard our ship, however dangerous the attempt, as the whole company engaged to stand by me in the attempt. Wherefore I ordered the boat aboard, and to bring six muskets on shore, wrapped up in the sails, to lie in the custom-house till we might have occasion for them. Besides, as we were not permitted to have any weapons ashore, I gave orders for all our people to remain at home in our house, that they might be ready to join me at the custom-house when sent for, when they were to arm themselves with the pikes belonging to the governor's guard, or his sons, with instructions to enter then immediately into the custom-house, which stands close to the river, and then to barricade the door, that we might carry the governor or his son into the boat, before any alarm could be given in the town; and after getting them into the boat, we thought there would then be no fear of our getting them and ourselves off. Though we wished to have kept this matter a close secret, it yet got to the ears of the Hollanders, who considered it a mere bravado, and did not therefore reveal it. The 21st November the Gentiles [Gentoos] held a solemn feast, which they celebrate three times a-year, always when the new moon happens on a Monday. At this time all the men and women wash themselves in the sea, thinking, thereby to merit indulgence. The Bramins and Cometis do this likewise.
On the 24th I again demanded my money from the governor, and in very angry terms, he having already put me off seven months beyond our bargain. I also asked Mir Mahmud Rasa, why he did not help me, pursuant to the orders of the court; on which he laughingly answered, that we would talk of that at the custom-house, when my anger was over. To this I replied, that I would no longer be fooled, but would shew myself a captain under the king of England, as I had not been accustomed to such knavish dealing. Going thence to the custom-house, I found the governor's son there with a slender guard, the soldiers having set up their pikes against the custom-house, as I expected, and it was now high-water, so that every thing concurred to favour our project. I immediately therefore sent home for Mr Skinner and the rest of my men, who were waiting at the factory, as concerted, who presently came, leaving three only to take care of the house. They immediately laid hold of the pikes, and came into the custom-house, of which they shut the door. By this time I had seized Wencatadra by the arms, and held him fast till two or three came forwards to my assistance, who carried him immediately into our boat, which waited at the shore, into which I and all the rest embarked as quickly as possible, pushed off, and rowed away, so that before his father and Mir Mahmud could get down to the custom-house, we were rowing off as hard as we could. Yet, as it blew hard against us, and as we were forced to keep within two cables length of the shore, on account of the channel, they came in all haste after us, some even coming very near our boat, but we out-rowed them all. Some met us in front, which put us in much danger of having our retreat intercepted; but by firing three muskets they were so intimidated that they gave way to us, and we carried off our prize in sight of at least 3000 people, being far past the bar before our pursuers could get to it, and at length got safe aboard with our prisoner.
I had given orders to George Chancey to remain at the factory with three of our men, to give notice of the reason of our procedure, and to receive our debts; but he, contrary to my instructions, having gone out of the house from curiosity, to see the success of our enterprize, was assaulted by some unruly fellows, and heartily beaten. But on this coming to the knowledge of the governor, he took him under his protection, fearing lest his son might be made to pay for it. In the afternoon, Werner Van Bercham, the Hollander, came off to our ship, accompanied by the king's interpreter, to demand the reason of our violent procedure. My answer was, that they knew my reason already well enough, and that I had left my under-merchant on shore to explain every thing: and when I was informed of the severe treatment he had undergone, I pretended to be revenged on Wencatadra; but allowed myself to be prevailed upon by Van Bercham to overlook it for the present; yet threatened to hang him up at the yard-arm if any of my men were wronged, which he wrote to his father. I also gave strict injunctions, that no one should presume to come off to us in a boat without bringing me a letter from George Chancey, otherwise I should turn them all before the mast. Van Bercham and the secretary came off again on the 27th, offering me payment of the governor's own debt, which, and that of Callopas, for which he was surety, was all I demanded from him; but likewise that the governor should send me on board all others who refused to pay, which I said would satisfy me. Van Bercham made also a formal protest against me for all damages they had sustained, or might sustain, through my hostilities, to which protest I gave an answer in writing, shewing its nullity; and that very night the Dutch ship set sail for Patane.
In the meantime Wencatadra remained aboard our ship, without eating or drinking; for he, being a Bramin, might not eat or drink in any man's house, excepting what he himself dressed or made ready. Owing to this, I so pitied him that I offered to release him, if any two Moors of good quality would come aboard in his place; but none would undertake this for his release, so that he had to continue his fast. The governor at length paid his own debt, and that of Callopas, and made all the rest pay, except Miriapeik and Datapa, who were in Golconda, on which I sent back my prisoner on the 30th of November.[394]
[Footnote 394: There must be some inaccuracy in the dates of the text, as Wencatadra could hardly have lasted from the 24th to the 30th, six entire days.--E.]
After all was settled, several of the principal Moors came off to visit me, promising to write a true statement of my proceedings to the king, and requesting me not to injure any of the ships belonging to the Moors that I might meet with. I told them that I was satisfied for this time, but requested they would be careful in future not to give any such cause of dissatisfaction, and that they would listen more attentively to the complaints of the English. I also wrote letters for the king of Golconda to the same purpose, that we might hereafter have quicker justice. I then dispatched the ambassadors of Narsinga to Velore, not having fit opportunity to essay the promised trade in that country, owing to my short stay, and in respect of the troubles consequent upon the succession: yet I left letters with them for the first English ships that might come to the coast, giving them my best advice. The 7th December, Mr Chancey came aboard with the rest, and next night I put to sea, having first offered to come ashore and take a friendly leave: but the governor, fearing I had written an account of his proceedings by the Moors, refused my proffered visit, pretending that he was ashamed to look me in the face, having of a good friend made me his enemy.
SECTION 4. Voyage to Bantam, and thence to England.
The 3d January, 1615, we arrived at Bantam, where we found the James, come from Patane, together with the Concord and Hosiander. I went ashore, and received from Mr John Jordain, principal factor at Bantam, letters from Sir Thomas Smith, testifying that the company had joined in one.[395] I likewise had letters from Mr Cochin, at Macasser, saying he had received the cargo sent under the charge of William Ebert, with other circumstances; also from Adam Denton and Mr Gourney, complaining of the dead market, occasioned by the wars; and from Mr Lucas also, of his fears on the same subject; but as the Darling is now gone thither, I hope he may be comforted. We here agreed that the goods of the Hosiander should be trans-shipped into the Globe, of which Edward Christian was constituted captain by General Best, with Nathaniel Salmon as master, while Mr Skinner should go master in the Hosiander. Fifty men were appointed for the Globe, fifty-five for the James, and twenty for the Hosiander, which was to stay at Bantam, and three or four to keep the Concord.
[Footnote 395: Purchas has obviously here made large omissions, even marking the present place with an &c. We learn from the Annals of the Company, that at first each expedition was a separate adventure, proceeding on a subscription for the occasion among the members of the company, but that afterwards the whole was consolidated into a joint stock.--E.]
On the 30th the James set sail, to go on a month before, and to stay at the Cape or St Helena for us, that we might sail thence in company for England. Seeing the Hosiander could not so quickly be made ready, it was thought proper to send the Concord for Amboina, in which George Bale went, and George Chancey was to stay in Macasser. The Dutch ship Zelandia arrived from Japan, bringing letters from Mr Cox, advising that Mr Peacock and the Hollanders were slain in Cochin-china, and that Mr Adams, with four other Englishmen, were gone thence for Siam.
The 14th of February, Captain David Middleton arrived with the Samaritan, Thomas, and Thomasin, all the crews being in health and good condition. On being informed of the death of his brother Sir Henry, and the loss of the Trades-increase, Captain David Middleton was much distressed, and resolved to go home. On which account he called a council, to consult and determine how best to station the ships, and about manning the Hosiander. It was then thought fit to send home the Samaritan among the first; the Thomas to Sumatra; the Thomasin to Amboina, to aid the Concord; and the Hosiander to Patane and Japan to visit the factories at these places, all of which was put in execution. They set sail out of Bantam road on the 22d February.[396] They came into Saldanha bay on the 30th of April, where they found the James, which had only arrived the day before, though she left Bantam twenty-three days before them. The Advice and Attendant were here outward-bound. Weighing anchor from the road of Saldanha on the 17th of May, they came to St Helena on the 1st of June.
[Footnote 396: Purchas mentions, in a side-note, that the concluding paragraph of this article was supplied from the journal of Marten. But in this hurried conclusion, we are left to conjecture whether the Globe was the ship in which Floris returned to England.--E.]
Note. Following the narrative of Floris, in the Pilgrims of Purchas, vol. I. p. 328--332, is given "A Journal of a Voyage in 1612 by the Pearl to the East Indies, wherein went as Captain Mr Samuel Castleton of London, and Captain George Bathurst as Lieutenant; the Narrative written by John Tatton, Master." This ship was not fitted out by the Company; but Purchas observes in a side-note, that he had inserted it, "For the furtherance of marine knowledge," and that, though not directly belonging to the East India Company, yet holding society with the East Indian society. We suppose it to have been one of those Voyages of which the annalist of the Company, John Bruce, Esq. so much complains, as licensed by King James I. in contradiction to the exclusive charter, which that first king of Great Britain had granted to the English East India Company.
This journal, as it is called, is so retrenched or abbreviated in many parts, as to be almost throughout inconsequential, and often so obscured by the unskilful abridgement of Purchas as to be nearly unintelligible. We have not therefore deemed it necessary or proper to insert it in our Collection, as not tending to any useful purpose, nor containing any valuable or even amusing information. Almost the only circumstance it contains worth notice is, that they procured refreshments in a nameless bay on the western coast of Africa, to the north of the Cape of Good Hope, in which they bought calves and sheep very cheap, but could get no water. From many circumstances this appears to have been what is now called Saldenha bay; which name however in this voyage, is still given to that now called Table bay. The only water found in that nameless bay was a dirty puddle; and though the boat went a mile up a fine river at the bottom of the bay, they found it all salt, and the whole adjoining country very barren.--E.
SECTION XV.
Eighth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1611, by Captain John Saris.[397].
INTRODUCTION.
Purchas has chosen to place this, and the subsequent early voyages of the English to the East, in a separate division of his Pilgrims, which he entitles "English Voyages beyond the East Indies, &c. In which their just commerce was nobly vindicated against Turkish treachery; victoriously defended against Portuguese hostility; gloriously advanced against Moorish and Heathenish perfidy; hopefully recovering from Dutch malignity; and justly maintained against ignorant and malicious calumny."
[Footnote 397: Purch. Pilg. I. 884, Astl I. 451.]
The full title of this voyage in the Pilgrims is, "The Eighth Voyage set forth by the East Indian Society, wherein were employed three Ships, the Clove, the Hector, and the Thomas, under the Command of Captain John Saris: His Course and Acts to and in the Red Sea, Java, the Moluccas, and Japan, by the Inhabitants called Neffoon, where also he first began and settled an English Trade and Factory; with other remarkable Rarities: The whole collected out of his own Journal." In the preface to the 4th book of his Pilgrims, Purchas makes the following observations respecting this voyage: "We here present the East Indies made westerly, by the illustrious voyage of Captain John Saris; who, having spent some years before in the Indies, by observations to rectify experience, and by experience to prepare for higher attempts, hath here left the known coasts of Europe, compassed those more unknown coasts of Africa from the Atlantic to the Erithrean Sea, and after commerce there, tum Marte quam Merurio, compasseth the shores, and pierceth the seas, to and beyond all just names of India and Asia, penetrating by a long journey, the islands, cities, and court of the Japonian empire, there settleth an English factory; and after safe return, is ready to render to the readers the pleasure of his pain, and [why stay I thee any longer?] by a more pleasant discoursive way, to discover to thee the rarities of that discovery, and by hand, by the eyes, to lead thee along with him all the way: and then leave thee to those that shall tell thee of after accidents and later occurrences in the Japonian, Indian, and Asian affairs."--Purch.
"What Purchas has called collected out of the Journal of Captain Saris, means probably abbreviated by himself from that source. Saris was factor at Bantam in 1608, at the time of the third voyage of the East India Company, and has given an account of occurrences there from the time Scott left off, as contained in Section II. of this chapter of our Collection. In this voyage, he went farther eastwards than any English navigator had gone before, being the first of our nation that sailed to Japan in an English ship. William Adams indeed had been there some years earlier, having been carried there in a Dutch ship, by a western course. The remarks of Captain Saris are generally curious, judicious, and full of variety. As already noticed in the extended title by Purchas, Captain Saris had three ships under his command, the Clove, in which he sailed as general, the Hector, and the Thomas."--Astl.
This journal occupies fifty pages in the Pilgrims of Purchas, besides eleven pages more of observations on various occurrences at Bantam, during the residence of Saris there from October 1605 to October 1609, and other circumstances respecting the English affairs in the East, which will be noticed in the sequel. In the present edition, while we scrupulously adhere to that of Purchas, we have used the freedom of abridging even his abridgement, particularly respecting the nautical remarks, courses, distances, winds, currents, &c. which are now much better understood by navigators, and which would be quite uninteresting and tedious to most of our readers.--E.
SECTION 1. Incidents of the Voyage from England to Socotora.
We sailed from the Downs on the 18th April, 1611, passed the equator on the 6th June, and arrived at Saldanha bay on the 1st of August. Having well refreshed ourselves there for eight days, we set sail on the 9th August. The 3d September we made the land of Madagascar, near the bay of St Augustine. The 10th we made the island of Primeiras; and the 17th we made the islands of Angoza to the southwards of Mosambique. Finding a dangerous shoal and bad anchoring ground, with a lee shore and westerly current, we stood off on the 21st for Madagascar. In the chart we found these islands of Angoza laid down in lat. 15° 40' S. but by our observation they are in 16° 20' S.[398] The 24th, in lat. 16° 16', our course being N.E. we unexpectedly saw land bearing N. by W. five leagues off, while expecting the island of Juan de Nova to the eastwards, and being becalmed, we feared the current might set us upon it in the night. When day-light appeared next morning, we found it to be the northernmost island of Angoza, whence we had departed on the 21st, to the great amazement and discouragement of our mariners.
[Footnote 398: The town of Angoza is in lat. 15° 50', and the most southerly island in the bay of that name is in 16° 30' S.--E.]
The 3d October, after much trouble by currents, we came to anchor between Mosambique and Sofala, in lat. 16° 32' S. and long. 76° 10' E.[399] Our anchorage was in thirteen and fourteen fathoms, under an island near the main, upon which were no people, neither could we find fresh water, though we dug very deep for it in the sand. We weighed on the 10th, and stood over E. by N. for Madagascar, in hopes of getting out of the currents, and on the 26th came to anchor under Moyella, [Mohilla] one of the Comoro islands, in lat. 12° 13' S.[400] We here refreshed for eight days, procuring bullocks, goats, poultry, lemons, cocoas, pine-apples, passaws, plantains, pomgranates, sugar-canes, tamarinds, rice, milk, roots, eggs, and fish, in exchange for small haberdashery wares and some money, and had kind usage and plenty of fresh water, yet stood much on our guard for fear of any treachery. I invited the king of Moyella, being a Mahometan, aboard the Clove, and entertained him with a banquet, and with trumpets and other music; but he refused to eat, as it was then their Lent or Rammadan, yet he carried off the best part of the banquet for the queen his mother, saying that they would eat it after sunset. The name of the queen was Sultana Mannungalla, and the king's was Sharif Abubekr.[401] He requested me to give him a letter of recommendation for those who might come afterwards to his island, having formerly procured one to that effect from Stephen Verhagen, the admiral of twelve Dutch ships, in 1604, which he shewed me. I complied with his desire, yet left this caution at the end, that they ought not to repose too much confidence in this people, but stand well on their guard, as oft-times weapons preserve peace.
[Footnote 399: The longitude of that part of the coast of Africa, in the latitude indicated in the text, is 38° 30' E. from Greenwich. It does not appear what might have been the first meridian referred to by Saris.--E.]
[Footnote 400: Mohilla is in 13° 40'. The latitude in the text is nearly that of Johanna or Hinzuan.--E.]
[Footnote 401: In Purchas Sarriffoo Booboocarree, and afterwards Sharefoo Boobackar, which comes near the true name.--Astl. I. 454. a.]
The inhabitants are negroes, having short curled hair, and wear painted cloths round their middles, some having white caps, and others turbans, by which we knew them to be Mahometans. The king wore a white cotton coat, with a turban on his head, and a painted calico of Guzerat about his middle, being little whiter than the rest. He was very lean, with a round thin black beard and large eyes. His stature was short, and he was a man of few words, having some knowledge of Arabic, which he had learnt when on a pilgrimage to Mecca, on which account he had the name or title of Sharif.[402] At this place they chiefly desire money, or Spanish dollars, rather than commodities. Yet, for crimson broad-cloth, red caps, Cambaya, or Guzerat cloths, and sword-blades, you may purchase any commodities that the island produces, which indeed are only fit for refreshments, and not for traffic. He gave me a note of friendship under his hand.[403]
[Footnote 402: Haji is the title acquired by the pilgrimage, while Sharif signifies noble, and denotes being of the posterity of Mahomet.--Astl. I. 454. c.]
[Footnote 403: This note, in Arabic characters, is inserted in Purchas, consisting only of two lines, under which the name of John Sarris is written in the same characters. By this writing, the name of the king appears to have been as we have put it in the text.--Astl. I. 454. d.]
We sailed from the island of Moyella on the 4th of November, and on the 17th in the morning made the main land of Africa on the coast of Melinda, the bay or gulf of Formosa being N.W. four leagues distant. The 29th, in lat. 4° 44', being, as we supposed, twelve leagues off the shoals called Baxos de Malhina, we had a great rippling and over-fall of water, as if it had been a shoal, yet found no ground with 100 fathoms. The 1st December, in 3° 40', we had a fearful rippling, much like the fall at London bridge, being then not in sight of land, and still had no ground with a line of 100 fathoms. When we stood in towards the land it left us, but standing off again, and when fifty leagues from the land, we found it very terrible. The 2d, in lat. 2° 55', the rippling still continued. The 6th, in lat. 5° 5', steering S.E. by E. we had at times still more fearful ripplings than before, and still no ground at 100 fathoms. These ripplings shewed like shelves or ledges of rocks, not being always alike, but sometimes more, sometimes less, occurring many times each day, making as great a noise by the ship's sides as if she ran at the rate of five leagues in a watch, even when she hardly made any way a-head. We were much alarmed by them, not knowing whence they proceeded, and seeing no land. We now supposed ourselves near the easternmost of the islands which are off the northern end of Madagascar. [The Maha or Sechelles, to the eastwards of the Almirante islands.] We had here much rain, with thunder and lightening, and sudden gusts of wind, which did not continue long.
On the 25th of December, it was just a month and five days since we reached the equator, having been one minute north close to the shore, since which we have been forced back to 5° 25' S. Wherefore, those bound for Socotora at this time of the year must hold 200 leagues to the eastwards of Pemba, which will enable them to get to the northward.
The 1st of January, 1612, in lat. 3° 58' N. we made the land, being the main of Magadoxa, Cape das Baxas bearing N.N.E. eight leagues distant.[404] The whole coast seemed low, sandy, and barren. The 18th, in lat. 6° 27' N. we again got sight of the main land of Africa called Doara, at about eight leagues distance, seemingly not high, but sandy and barren. The 1st February we made Cape Dorfuy[405] about seven leagues off, having soundings in twenty-seven and twenty-eight fathoms, soft sand. The land at this cape is very high and barren close to the sea. The 10th, in lat. 11° 20', about eight leagues off the high land of Cape Gardafui,[406] we had ground in forty-five fathoms on small black sand, and found the current setting N. by E. Towards evening we had sight of Abdal Kuria, bearing E.N.E. about ten leagues off, being high land rising in two parts, so as to seem two islands at a distance. The 17th at night we came to anchor on the coast of Socotora, one and a half league to the westwards of the king's town called Tammarin, two miles from shore, in twenty fathoms water, small white sand. The 18th we came to anchor in nine fathoms on fine sand in the road of Tammarin, a league from shore, and right over against the king's house.
[Footnote 404: Cape das Baxas, on the coast of Samhar, is in lat. 5° N. so that the latitude in the text must be too short by about thirty-eight minutes.--E.]
[Footnote 405: Cape Orfui is in lat. 11° N.]
[Footnote 406: Cape Guardafui is in lat. 12° 24' N.]
SECTION 2. Occurrences at Socotora and in the Red Sea.
I sent ashore Mr Richard Cockes, our cape merchant, well accompanied, to wait upon the king of Socotora, to acquaint him who we were and the cause of our coming, and to procure cattle and fish to refresh our men. Mr Cockes was received and entertained in a friendly manner, and came back with a present of fresh provisions, together with a letter left there by Sir Henry Middleton, dated 1st September, 1611, aboard the Trades-increase in Delisha road, the original of which I retained, and returned an accurate copy for the information of future ships.[407] The 19th we went ashore in state, and were welcomed by the king, who feasted the whole company. He was superbly dressed in crimson velvet, richly decorated with gold lace. His house was built of freestone, in the fashion of a castle, and he had above an hundred attendants, fifty of whom were well clothed according to the Moorish fashion, the rest being natives of the island. His name was Sultan Amur Bensaid,[408] being the son of the king of Cushin [Caixem, Caxem, Kushem, or Kessem] on the coast of Arabia. After many compliments and courtesies, we took our leave of him at night, and returned on board. At this place we paid for cattle twelve dollars each, three shillings for sheep, and a dollar for goats; which, though dear, were hardly fit for men's meat, being so vilely and in a more than beastly manner abused by the people, that they were quite loathsome to see when opened. For rice we paid three-pence a pound, and the same price for dates. Hens a shilling each. Tobacco 700 leaves for a dollar. Eggs a penny each. And the king, who is universal merchant, would only take Spanish dollars, refusing our English money.
[Footnote 407: This letter was a brief summary of the disadventures of Sir Henry in the Red Sea by Turkish perfidy; as in his own journal has already appeared, with a caveat to all English ships, and notice of the road of Assab.--Purch.]
[Footnote 408: The editor of Astley's Collection, who appears to have been an orientalist, gives this name and title, Soltan Amor Ebensayd.--E.]
The 27th, I called a meeting of the merchandizing council, to whom I read the company's instructions, and the letter from Sir Henry Middleton, received from the king of Socotora. By the instructions, we were led to expect good store of aloes at this place, but the king was quite unprovided, and could not furnish any before next August. And as we were appointed to go from hence to Aden and Mokha, in the Red-sea, in case the monsoon did not serve for Surat, which we were now strongly dissuaded from by an account of the wrongs done there by treachery to Sir Henry, I represented that we should find it very chargeable to remain here or in Delisha roads for six months waiting the monsoon, as there was no getting to the coast of Guzerat until the end of September. My opinion was therefore, notwithstanding the bad tidings from Sir Henry, that we should proceed for Mokha, having with us the pass of the Grand Signior, which the former ships had not; by which means we would be able to certify to the company of what avail the pass might be, taking, care, however, to stand well on our guard, and not to trust any one ashore without a sufficient pledge. In this way we might ride securely, and might obtain trade aboard, if not on shore, our force being able to defend us, or to offend, upon occasion, against any force that port could fit out. If therefore we found no means of commerce, we could then avail ourselves of his majesty's commission, in respect of the violence used against Sir Henry and his company, and so enforce the vent of our English commodities, or make spoil of their trade and custom, by not permitting the entry of the Indian ships which were expected there on the 5th of March; but, till then, I should be very unwilling to deal with them by force. I considered this to be our best plan of procedure, as by it our fleet might remain together, and go in company to Surat when the monsoon would permit, according to our instructions, our joint force being better able to resist any inimical attempts. The council agreed to my proposal, so that we concluded to keep company together, and to proceed for the Red Sea.
We accordingly weighed anchor on the 1st March, and made sail for the Red Sea. The road of Tammarin has good anchorage in four fathoms, a musket-shot from the shore; and farther in are three, and three and a-half fathoms all along the bay, keeping two cables length from shore, all fair sand, with some stones, the coast being all bold. A demi-culverin shot may reach the castle from the anchorage, and the castle is of no strength. The latitude of Tamniarin bay is 12° 35' N.[409] The king of Socotora advised us, in sailing for the Red Sea, to keep to the south of Abdal Kuria, as, if we went to the north of that island, we should be forced over to the Arabian coast, and would find great difficulty to fetch Cape Guardafui; and, indeed, by experience, we found it best to keep the Abyssinian, or African shore aboard. The 4th, we saw Cape Guardafui, bearing west eight or nine leagues, being in lat. 12° 1' N. [12° 28'.] In the evening, standing in along the land to find the bay of Feluk, [Filek or Felix] our depths were twenty-six, eighteen, and seventeen fathoms. We here resolved to go for Mokha, not Aden, because the latter is merely a garrison town, and has little trade, besides other inconvenience, such as the exaction of heavy customs, and the like, as appeared by the sixth voyage under Sir Henry Middleton. Here, off Feluk, we took good store of mullets with our sein, and other large and excellent fish with hooks and lines. At this place there are several sorts of gums, very sweet in burning, as also fine mats, much in request at Aden, Mokha, and the Indies. Ordinarily the India ships touch here both going to the Red Sea and returning, purchasing there mats and gums, as likewise provisions, such as sheep and butter, which are far cheaper here than at Mokha. Boats from hence go daily with provisions to sell at Mokha and Aden, but they will only barter for linen-cloth [cotton.] At Feluk there is plenty of wood and water to be had, but not in the bottom of the bay. The passage up to the town is so large, that three ships may go up a-breast without danger. The entry is between a high hummock and a low sandy point. The masters proposed to steer from Feluk W. by N. along the African shore, to the island of Demiti or Mete, and then to shape a course for Aden.
[Footnote 409: In reality, 13° 30' N. in Arrowsmith's great Chart of the World. In Astley's Collection, V.I. chart vii. it is placed only in 12° 20'.--E.]
The 10th, in the morning, we had sight of two small islands off the high land of Demiti, about a league from the coast, and about four leagues distant from each other, the eastermost bearing S. by W. seven leagues, and the westermost S.W. the same distance. We now stood over for the high land of Aden, N.W. by N. and N.W. the wind at E. and E. by N. a stiff breeze, and the current easterly, lat. 11° 58' N.[410] The 11th we had sight of the high land of Arabia, being that of Darsina, and having a strong easterly current in coming over, though we steered between N.N.W. and N.W. we were so carried to the eastwards, that we only made our course N. by W. But after we were shot about twelve leagues off the African shore, we found no current, being broken off, as we supposed, by the point, or head-land of Aden. I now sent instructions to Captain Towerson and Mr Davis for their conduct on our arrival at Mokha roads, that our ships and people might be guarded against the treachery of the Turks. The 12th we were in sight of the high land of Aden, bearing W. by S. ten leagues off. The 13th, in the evening, we were fourteen leagues eastwards of the entry of the straits, and sixteen leagues west from Aden, and came here to anchor on a fine sandy bottom. The 14th, we weighed in the morning, steering for the straits, having a small gale at W. by N. with rain, being the first we had seen for four months. In the evening, believing ourselves off the straits, we stood off and on under easy sail all night, constantly heaving the lead, being eight or nine leagues off the Arabian coast. About noon of the 15th we opened the straits, and at night anchored in fifteen and a half fathom, on black oose, three leagues from the Arabian, and ten from the Abyssinian shore, the weather being so clear that we could distinctly see both.
[Footnote 410: The island or islands of Demiti or Mete, are in lat. 11° 45' N.--E.]
The 16th we weighed in the morning, and stood for Mokha, where we came to anchor in five and a half fathoms. Not long after anchoring, the governor sent off a poor old slave in a small canoe, to know the cause of our coming. I used this man kindly, who told me the English had been lately here, and were ill used by Regib aga, then governor, who was therefore cashiered, and the government was now in the hands of Ider [Hayder] aga, a Greek by birth, who was the friend of strangers and merchants. Giving him a present of two dollars, I sent him back to his master to tell him we were Englishmen, and friends to the Grand Signior, and, upon sending us a worthy person, we should acquaint him farther of the cause of our coming. Soon afterwards there came off an Italian renegado, well dressed, with a similar message, and to know if we had the Grand Signior's pass. I told him we had not only such a pass, but letters from the king of Great Britain to the pacha, which the Italian desired to see; but, holding him a base fellow for changing from the Christian religion, I refused,[411] and desired him to acquaint the governor with these things, and that we were appointed, in honour of the said pass, to fire fifty-one pieces of artillery on our arrival in these roads, which we meant presently to do. The Italian requested he might be allowed in the first place to inform his master of our intended salute, which was granted, and the purser directed to give him five dollars, and one to his boat's crew. His name was Mustafa Trudgeman.[412] We shot off nineteen pieces from the Clove, seventeen from the Hector, and fifteen from the Thomas, which the town answered with five pieces of excellent ordnance, and three each from two gallies. These were stout vessels, having twenty-five oars of a side, and were well fitted, having their yards up. The name of the captain of these gallies was Mami, and that of the captain of the town was Mahomet Bey.
[Footnote 411: He might have overthrown his affairs by this preposterous proceeding, which was the effect of religious malice, not zeal.--Astl. I. 459. a.]
[Footnote 412: Astley corrects this name to Tarjiman; but that word, variously written, is merely what is usually called Dragoman, linguist, or interpreter.--E.]
The 17th, I received a present from Hayder Aga of three bullocks, twenty hens, two baskets of plantains, and two of lemons, with many compliments, together with an invitation to come on shore. I sent back a handsome fowling-piece, desiring the messenger to say that I would come ashore to visit the governor if a sufficient pledge were given for my safe return, and that my reasons for this caution could not be unknown. The governor at this time sent his secretary aboard with a letter to me, desiring to know what message I had formerly sent by Mustafa Tarjiman, for he having, by much entreaty, procured a bottle of wine, had got so drunk before his return, that he could not speak. On the 18th, Mr Cockes, our chief merchant, and Bolton, our linguist, went ashore to inform the governor that the purpose of our coming was to enter into trade; and whenever the governor thought proper to send a person of equal rank to remain as a pledge in the ship for my security and safe return, I was willing to visit him in person, and to say farther, that I was not ignorant of the wrongs formerly done by Regib Aga to Sir Henry Middleton and his people; yet, if we might now have quiet trade, all past matters should be overlooked, and we would treat with him of such business as the Grand Signior had permitted by his pass or licence, which we had, which we hoped might extend to the sale of all our goods. The secretary remained on board as pledge for Mr Cockes and Mr Bolton, and eat freely of our victuals, which, however, he had cooked for him by his own people. They returned at night, having been feasted and kindly used, being carried through the town dressed in silver tissue robes, with music before them, by way of giving the people to know that we were made welcome; but, on coming away, they were divested of their robes. The secretary was now dismissed, with a present of half a piece of violet-coloured kersey. He was very desirous to learn if I were related to Sir Henry Middleton, which question was likewise put to Mr Cockes when ashore.
Mr Cockes brought off a letter from the governor, stating how handsomely he had treated the messengers; inviting Mr Saris on shore, with promises of good entertainment, without guile or deceit, offering to send his secretary, or any other person required, to remain in pledge; informing him that he had written to Jaffar Pacha, from whom he expected an answer in fourteen or fifteen days; and that, in the meantime, any of the English should be made welcome a-shore to buy fresh provisions, or any thing else the place could afford for their use; as also to sell any thing they pleased without molestation. This letter, dated at Mokha, the 25th of Moharem, ann. 1021 of the Hejeira, has the following singular subscription:
Dus como bono amco,
Haydar Aga, aga de Mokha.
"This letter seems to have been inserted by Parchas, who informs us likewise, that he possessed divers letters from Mami, captain of the gallies at Mokha, to Captain Saris, which he omits, as he says, to avoid prolixity, being similar to that of Haydar aga. In the Pilgrims he has inserted figures of three of their seals, by way of novelty, stating that these seals were stamps in ink, not on wax. He likewise adds a piece of a letter in the Banian language and character, commonly used in a great part of India, written to Captain Saris by the sabandar of Mokha. He likewise gives a facsimile of the Grand Signior's seal, or superscription rather, together with two lines and a half of the pass, or licence, in the Turkish language and character, stating that, in the original, all the larger strokes are gold, the rest being azure, intermixed here and there with red, the whole very beautifully executed. After which follows the letters patent, pass, or licence, rendered into English, of which the following is the substance:"
"You, who are my most laudable, fortunate, wealthy, and great beglerbeys or viceroys, both by sea and land, under the authority of my most happy and imperial throne, &c. Hereby you shall understand, that the ambassador of the king of Great Britain, residing at our most high port, hath informed us by his supplications, that some of the subjects of his master have discovered, with great cost and labour, a trade in the East Indies, &c. We do therefore command and charge you all and each of you, our before-mentioned officers and subjects, kindly to receive and entertain the said merchants and subjects of the king of Great Britain, coming to, or passing through, any of our dominions, intending to trade, especially in our dominions of Yaman, Aden, and Mokha, and the parts adjoining; assisting and relieving them, their men and ships, in all things needful; and also freely to permit them, by land or sea, to go or sail outwards or inwards, as their occasions may require, without let, hindrance, injury, or molestation. And if, contrary to the capitulations and league of amity between us and the king of Great Britain, you offer them the least wrong, or any way molest and trouble the said merchants in their traffic or otherwise in any respect, you shall not only incur our high displeasure, but shall be punished for example to others. Therefore, take care you carry yourselves conformably to this our imperial command, and give entire credit to this our imperial ensign. Given at our mansion in Constantinople, this 15th of Zulhajjeh, in the year of the Hejirah, 1019."[413]
[Footnote 413: The abbreviated passages, marked in the text by inverted commas, were too long for insertion in a note; and the circumstances they detail appeared too long and uninteresting in the original for being given at full length.--E.]
The 20th of March, according to agreement made the day before, the governor sent aboard Mahomet aga, admiral of the shore and commander of the roads, for receiving the Turkish customs and anchorage,[414] together with a grave old man, named Nasuf and two attendants, to remain as pledges of my safety. I went accordingly on shore, with all the merchants, in three skiffs, or boats, well fitted, and had a salute of fifty-one pieces of cannon fired off at our departure. We were received at the landing-place by the captain of the gallies and other principal persons, with music, drums, and trumpets, which played before us, while the inhabitants followed in such crowds that we could hardly pass; at the same time several cannon were fired as a salute from the castle. After passing two guards of very proper men, well clothed, we were conducted into the governor's house, all built of freestone, having large handsome stairs, by which we were led to a room spread with rich carpets, having a bow-window at the upper end, where a silken quilt was laid on the floor, with two cushions of cloth of silver, on which I was desired to sit down. Presently the governor entered from another chamber, himself dressed in a gown of cloth of silver, faced with rich fur, and accompanied by five or six persons richly apparelled. After taking me by the hand, he kissed his own hand, and put it to his head, in token of respect. He then led me to the bow-window, where we sat down, and, after some compliments, I delivered to him our king's letter, which was read by Mr Cockes, and interpreted by our linguist, Mr Bolton, to the captain of the gallies; who repeated it to the aga, such being their custom by way of state or ceremony. I then gave him the pass, or licence of the Grand Signior, which was read aloud by the secretary, after which he kissed it, and laid it on his head, giving it to his secretary to take a copy of it, after which, it was returned.
[Footnote 414: Probably the person called formerly Mahomet bey, captain of the town-E. This person seems to have been the person styled Lord of the Sea, or Amir al Bahr, in the voyage of Sir Henry Middleton, a different officer from the Shah bandar.--Astl. 1.460. a.]
The governor now bid us heartily welcome, desiring that what had formerly taken place with Sir Henry Middleton might be forgotten for that quarrel had originated between two drunken men, and had been improperly followed up by the former aga, for which he had now been five months displaced. In regard to trade, he could not permit any great matter till he received directions from his master, Jaffar Pacha, to whom he had written, and expected an answer in ten or twelve days; desiring me to allow my people in the meantime to come ashore freely, to buy what they wanted, and to sell small matters, that the inhabitants might see we were in peace and amity, and that the past was forgotten. These speeches made good what I had formerly suspected, concerning the doubts the India ships might entertain of our being here, unless they understood we were friends; and their staying away would prove a great injury to every officer of the port. Besides, we were purposely so placed at anchor, that no laden ship could come into the port but must ride under our guns; by which I reckoned we were sure of trade, either ashore or aboard, and by thus holding the town in awe, I might venture our boats and people the more freely on shore, to procure any thing our ships might need.
We were royally feasted by the governor, the dinner consisting of all sorts of wild fowl, poultry, goat's-flesh, mutton, cream, custards, various made dishes, and sundry confections, all served in vessels of tin, different from our pewter, made goblet-fashion, with feet, and so placed in piles, one above the other, that they reached a yard high, yet each dish could be served from without removing the others. All these meats were served up at once, before we sat down. Our drink was simple water, or boiled with an herb called Cauhaw,[415] giving it a somewhat bitter taste. Dinner being over, the governor led me into an inner room, where he was attended by four little boys, who were his catamites. Being here seated on a crimson velvet carpet, all the rest of the room covered with rich carpets, one of these boys, having in his hand a linen napkin, ushered in two other boys, one of whom carried a silver chaffing-dish, with burning coals, and the other a dish with sundry rich perfumes, as ambergris, lignum aloes, and others. The governor desired me to permit the boy to cover my head close with the napkin, after which the other boy held the chaffing-dish with perfumes under my head, that I might receive the perfume, which was very pleasant. The governor, and two principal persons who were with him, then did the like, which seemed a ceremony much used among them.
[Footnote 415: It ought to be called Kahwah, that is, coffee, which every one knows is a berry; but perhaps it was made of the husk, which the French say is most delicious, and never exported. See Voy. de l'Arabie Heureuse, p. 243, et seq.--Astl. I.461. d.]
After conversing for some time, three of the boys came in again, one carrying a vest, or gown, of cloth of gold, wrapped in a covering of taffety, which was dyed with saffron to preserve the colour of the gold; another had a sash, or turban, twenty-two yards long, all striped with gold; and the third bore a damaskeen, or Turkish sword, richly mounted in silver gilt, both hilt and scabbard. The governor himself put the vest, or gown, upon me, and girt the sword to my side, telling me that they were not presents from himself, but ordered by the Grand Signior, whose gifts they were. He then entreated me to ride about the town, along with the cadi, or chief justice, and the captain of the gallies, that the people might see the amity there was between us. A horse was brought for this purpose, very richly caparisoned, all the metal of the bridle being of silver; but I chose rather to go on foot, that I might the better see the town, which was agreed to. So, having walked with these officers all about the town, and having viewed the house proposed for our factory, I was conducted to the house of the captain of the gallies, where another costly banquet was prepared. From thence I returned to the house of the governor, who met me on the stairs, and who again earnestly entreated, that all the injuries done to Sir Henry Middleton might be forgotten, and that our perfect amity might be apparent by my frequent coming or sending ashore. Then taking leave, I was accompanied to the sea-side by a large train of the principal people of the town, and I returned on board under a salute of fifteen guns. The Turks who had remained as pledges were now gratified with sundry presents, and sent ashore in a friendly manner, giving them likewise a salute of fifteen guns.
The 21st, I sent Mr Cockes and others ashore, with a present to the aga of a case of bottles of rosa solis, which he had earnestly desired, and that it should be so wrapped up as not to be known. They were also directed to make enquiry into the amount of the customs, both inwards and outwards; the weights, measures, value of coins, and prices of indigos, calicos, cotton-yarn, and other commodities fit for us to lade with; also to endeavour to get the Jew to come aboard who was in the Ascension when cast away near the bar of Surat, who could give us certain intelligence respecting Sir Henry Middleton. It is to be noted, that this road of Mokha is very open and dangerous, with very shoal water a mile off, the town being built on low land, almost even with the sea. At this time the wind blew strong from the S.S.W. causing so high a sea that we did not send less than seven feet with every billow, riding in five fathoms. When the wind is at west there is no shelter; but the people told us, that when that wind prevails, which begins in the end of May, the heat is so extreme as to dull the wind, at which season there is much sickness.
The 31st, I understood from the captain of the town, that letters had come the night before from the pacha to the governor, ordering him to allow us free trade, both on shore and with the India ships, and to furnish us with all we might need, as he should answer at his peril to the contrary. I was very doubtful of the truth of these good news, as Mr Cockes had been with the governor only half an hour before, and had not heard a word of the matter. The captain said, that the reason why the governor had not mentioned it was, that there was a jelba in the port bound for Mecca, and ready to depart, and that the governor was unwilling it should be known the pacha had granted us free trade, lest on its coming to the ears of the sharif of Mecca, he might write to the Grand Signior and have the grant revoked. But our opinion rather is, that the pacha has returned a harsh answer, with directions for the aga to do with us what he cannot yet effect, by reason of our being so watchful over him, and therefore conceals his having an answer from Zenan till a more favourable opportunity. At this time, one Ashraf, who had secretly sent a letter of Mr Femell's, testifying their treacherous conduct here, gave notice to our linguist, that I ought to beware of coming on shore myself unless with good pledges, when I might come boldly, otherwise to put no trust in them, even though the governor should swear upon the Alcoran; for all the Turks here were soldiers, who cared little for oaths, and he had heard that the news from the pacha did not tend to our benefit, as the copy of the Grand Signior's pass had not yet reached him: After which, it would be seen fully what was meant to be done, and that would now be in other six days.
The 2d April, the caravan from Grand Cairo in Egypt arrived at Mokha, and on the 3d two ships arrived from India, one of Chaul and the other of Cananor, laden with indigo, calicos, chintzes, ambergris, and cotton-yarn, and at the least 400 passengers, who had much wealth along with them. We saluted them with nine pieces of cannon from our fleet, which they returned with three chambers each, being all they had. I sent my skiff aboard one of them to enquire what were the news on the coast of Surat, and got back word that three English ships were trading there; but they knew nothing more. This day the captain of the town came aboard with five chiefs of the janisaries, being sent by the governor to inform me that the pacha had sent orders to use us kindly, and give us a free trade; and desiring me therefore to come ashore next morning, when I should learn the particulars: But, remembering the caution given by Ashraf, I begged to be excused. Yet, as Captain Towerson wished to go on shore, I requested Mahomet Bey to tell the aga, that I would send my brother on shore next morning, on good pledge for his safety. Mahomet took this well, and being feasted with his retinue, besides giving them several presents, I saluted him when he went ashore with twenty pieces of cannon; on which he sent me word that he was so much gratified by my attention, I might rely on his best assistance at all times.
Though the pledges did not come off next morning, the 4th of April, yet Captain Towerson was so desirous of learning the orders of the pacha that he went ashore, considering that the two India ships, being absolutely in our power, were sufficient pledges if any injury should be offered. The governor used him kindly, and presented him with a handsome vesture; but nothing was effected in the business on which he went, the Turks not performing their promise. The governor however sent word, that it would be proper to send two of our men of consequence to wait upon the pacha at Zenan, with the king's letter and a present; after which we might depend upon speedy dispatch to our entire satisfaction. I approved of this, and even intended next day to have looked out a proper present; but next day, being the 5th April, the captain of the gallies sent aboard three letters, which the governor had received the night before, written by Sir Henry Middleton and Captain Sharpey, who were then at anchor at Bab-al-Mondub. The purport of these was, that Sir Henry had come from Surat, where he had little or no trade: That Captain Hawkins, disgusted with Agra, was aboard with his wife; and that Sir Henry had brought all the English away, except one man who had gone for England by land: And, finally, that Sir Henry was come back to be revenged of the Turk, and wished me to get off my people and goods in all haste. I therefore altered my determination of last night, and immediately sent off one of my merchants with a letter to Sir Henry, giving an account of the proceedings of my voyage, and of our entertainment here; and if he had not come thus to the Red Sea, I meant to have sent two of my principal men up to Zenan.
It may be proper to note, that the two India ships, formerly mentioned, discharged the following goods at Mokha. Lignum aloes, 60 quintals: Indigo, 600 churles, out of both ships: Sashes of all sorts, or Jong narrow cloths for turbans, a great quantity: Cinnamon of Ceylon, 150 bahars, each bahar being three churles and a half: Osfar, which is a red dye, a large quantity: A great store of cloves: A great quantity of bastas, or white calicos, from 20 to 40 dollars the corge, a corge being twenty pieces. The price of indigo was from as low as 30, to 35, 40, and 50 dollars the churle.
I wrote on the 7th to the captain of the town, Mahomet Bey, desiring him to induce the India merchants to barter with me at reasonable rates, for such commodities as suited us, so as to load one of our ships; by which Sir Henry Middleton would be satisfied they now meant to deal in a friendly manner with us, and would be induced to forbear hostilities. At this time there was a report in the town, that Sir Henry had taken a jelba or two, coming over with provisions from the Abyssinian side, so that we durst hardly venture our skiff and gang on shore. This day I had a letter from the Mami, or captain of the gallies, saying that the answer from the pacha to the governor was in these words: "Haydar Aga, You write me that three English ships are come to Mokha for trade, having the pass of the Grand Signior. Give them from me a faithful promise to come on shore, to take a house, and to buy and sell till the monsoon be past. You likewise write, that they mean to send up two men to me: Give them all things fit for their journey, &c." The Captain Mami said farther, that whatever I chose to propose, the aga and he would underwrite; and that as for traffic and bartering, they would do much for love, but nothing for force, and were as willing to load all our three ships as one of them.
We were informed that the weight in use at Mokha is called Incu, which is two rotulas. Ten incus, or twenty rotulas, make 23 pounds English haberepoize, sometimes 24, as the weigher chuses to befriend you. A churle of indigo is 150 rotulas, and of our weight between 166 and 170 pounds. Cotton-wool is sold by the bahar, which is 300 rotulas, or between 332 and 334 English pounds averdupois, and is sold very good and clean at 18 dollars the bahar. Their measure of length is called a pike, containing 27 inches, or 3/4 of our yard. According to the report made by the governor to Mr Cockes, the custom of this port of Mokha is worth yearly to the Grand Signior, 150,000 chekins; which, at five shillings each, amount to £37,500 sterling.[416]
[Footnote 416: It is proper to mention, that in Purchas it is said, The customs are worth fifteen hundred thousand chicqueens yearly, which, at five shillings each, are thirty-seven thousand five hundred pounds sterling.--In our correction we have used the most moderate rate, by reducing the 1,500,000 chequins to 150,000, to correspond with the rated sterling money; which otherwise must have been increased to L.375,000 sterling; assuredly immensely too much.--E.]
On the 9th the governor sent off a canoe, entreating me to send ashore next morning, when I should both have the pacha's answer, and a warrant to detain all such junks as might pass Sir Henry, or be forced to Mokha, and to trade with them for such goods as we desired, &c.; and entreating that I would allow my people to come ashore, as the merchants were become fearful in consequence of Sir Henry having detained some of the ships. The 10th, Mr Cockes went ashore, and had a conference with the governor and Captain Mami, who said they could not now perform what they had formerly promised, as the cadi said their lives would be in danger by so doing. They said likewise, that neither merchant nor broker would come aboard our ships, as I had requested, they were all so disconcerted by the conduct of Sir Henry: That the merchants of Cairo had their factors resident in Mokha, who purposely lay by to engross indigos and other Indian commodities, which they refused to purchase till they saw what quantities might come to market this season; and that the Banians, or Indian residents, who held all the indigos, and other commodities, refused to sell, under the impression of a scarcity in the market this season. He also brought word that those ashore were resolved not to buy any of our goods, unless we landed them in the first place.
SECTION 3. Adventures along with Sir Henry Middleton in the Red Sea, and other Observations in those Parts, with our Arrival at Bantam.[417]
The 13th May, 1612, understanding that Sir Henry Middleton was very desirous to confer with me, I resolved to go to him at the Bab, for which place I desired the master to sail with the first fair wind; and wishing to keep still on friendly terms with the Turks at Mokha, I gave information of this intention to the aga, from whom I took a letter for Sir Henry. The 14th, in the morning, we arrived at the Bab, where we found the Trades-increase riding, with four ships, or junks, of India, which she had detained. I went that day on board Sir Henry's ship, and remained with him till night, but no agreement could be formed between us that day. The 15th Sir Henry spent with me aboard the Clove. Seeing Sir Henry determined to proceed in a hostile manner with the Turks, I called a meeting of our commercial council on the 16th, and informed them, that owing to these disputes between Sir Henry and the Turks and Cambayans, our hopes of trade at Surat was now as small as what we had hitherto experienced at Mokha, for which reason our best plan would be to join Sir Henry in his intentions of forcing trade with the India ships. Wherefore I proposed that the Hector and Thomas should ply between Aden and the Bab, while the Clove kept the Abyssinian channel to take care that no vessels should pass that way in the night, by which means we might intercept as many India ships as possible, to which we might put off our broad-cloth, lead, tin, iron, and elephants teeth, the commodities we had provided for those parts, receiving in barter such articles as we knew would answer for those countries where we intended afterwards to proceed; besides, if we should procure indigo, that would answer towards our home investment. I informed the council that I had intelligence of two great ships expected daily, called the Rhemi and the Hassam; the smallest of which, by report, was able to load the Hector with suitable commodities.
[Footnote 417: As the adventures with Sir Henry Middleton have been already narrated with sufficient amplitude, these are here only slightly mentioned, to avoid prolixity and unnecessary repetition.--E.]
My proposals being agreed to, I went aboard the Trades-increase, where I agreed with Sir Henry that our two fleets should unite in trading with as many of the India ships as we could intercept, making exchange of our English commodities for such as they had suitable for us; Sir Henry to dispose of two-thirds of all the goods that should be bartered from this day forwards, and I to have the other third, paying, however, the customs to the Grand Signior. Accordingly, the Hector and Thomas were directed to ply between the north end of the island of Bab-al-Mondub and the Habesh shore, to intercept all ships that came that way, but with strict charges that no one should take from them the value of a penny, or offer them the slightest violence or injury.
The 18th I set sail for Mokha, where we arrived in five hours. The 20th the governor desired a list of our commodities, which Mr Cockes carried him. He picked several colours of our broad-cloth, promising to purchase to the extent of 1000 dollars, besides some quantity of lead and tin. Many others desired to have lead and iron, wherefore the governor requested some quantity might be brought ashore next morning, saying, that when he once began to trade with us, the merchants would certainly follow. He sent three samples of indigo, but none of the Lahore kind, which is round, and the best. The price asked was 100 dollars the churle, or 127 rotulas of Mokha, or about 150 pounds English. This price was quite unreasonable, as we estimated the three sorts to be only worth respectively thirty, forty, and forty-five dollars the churle. The 21st, we sent ashore eight pieces of cloth, one ton of iron, a ton of lead, and two chests of tin, of six cwt. For four of the best cloths they offered one and a half dollar the pike, which ought to be twenty-seven inches, but proposed to measure by a pike of thirty-one inches. They likewise offered 120 dollars for the bahar of tin, twelve for the bahar of iron, and fifteen for the lead, prices which we could not accept, and therefore our merchants returned aboard with their commodities at night.
The 25th we went for Assab, where, on the 27th, we found the Trades-increase and the Hector, with eleven sail of junks, or India ships, from various parts. On coming into the road, or harbour of Assab, it is proper to keep the northern shore aboard, leaving a little rock or hummock on the starboard side, when we have twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, and seven fathoms, on a sandy bottom. We anchored in seven fathoms, about half a mile from the shore. The 30th, the nakhadas, or Indian ship-masters, requested that such of their goods as we wanted might be sorted immediately, that they might not lose the monsoon for returning to India, offering to bring aboard our ships any packages we pleased, to be there examined, and to carry back what we refused. The 9th May, I caused two large India ships to be measured, which were of the following scantlings:--The Rhemi from stem to stern-port, was 153 feet long, her rake aft from the post being seventeen feet, the top of her sides in breadth forty-two, and her depth thirty-one feet. The Mahamudi was 136 feet long, her rake aft twenty, her breadth forty-one, her depth twenty-nine and a half, and her main-yard 132 feet.
The 15th May, the king of Rahayta, a petty prince on the African coast of the Red Sea, came to Assab to visit Sir Henry and me, riding upon a cow. He had a turban on his head, from which a piece of periwinkle shell hung down on his forehead instead of a jewel. He was entirely naked, except a piece of painted cloth about his loins, and was attended by 150 men, armed with darts, bows and arrows, swords and targets. Sir Henry and I went ashore, taking with us a guard of 100 men, shot and pikes, to prevent treachery, lest the Turks might have planned any trick through his means, under cover of courtesy, and we were loth to let him go back without an interview, lest we might lose his friendship, and the refreshments we procured at the port of Assab, which is in his dominions. We gave him several presents, and, at his particular entreaty, gave him his fill of aquavitae, so that he could hardly stand. These people are Mahometans, being black and hard-favoured, with crisp hair. The king presented us with five bullocks, and promised every assistance in his power.
This day I got a note of the prices of commodities, as lately bought and sold at Surat, of the following tenor:--Broad-cloth of twenty pounds each piece, of several colours, twenty mahmudies the conido, of thirty-five inches; five mahmudies being equal to one rial of eight, or Spanish dollar. Kersies, eighty-four mahmudies the piece, being less than ours cost in England. Lead; the great maund, of thirty-three pounds, seven one-third mahmudies. Tin, the small maund, of twenty-five pounds, five and a half dollars. At Dabul, iron sold for twenty-one dollars the bahar, of 360 pounds. Damasked pieces,[418] from twelve to eighteen dollars each. Elephants teeth, sixty-five mahmudies the great maund, of thirty-three pounds. Indigo cirkesa,[419] three sorts, the best at fourteen rupees, each worth half a dollar; the second sort, twelve rupees, and the third, eight rupees for the great maund, of thirty-three pounds. Three sorts of Lahore indigo, being the best of all, the best, thirty-six, the second, thirty, and the third, twenty-four rupees for a maund weighing fifty-five pounds. Charges of bringing it to the water-side, ten in the 100 for the cirkesa, and twenty in the 100 custom for the lahore indigo.
[Footnote 418: Perhaps these were damasked gun-barrels.--E.]
[Footnote 419: Cirkesa, by others named Serkes and Sherkes, is a village near Ahmedabab, the capital of Cambaya, or Guzerat, where indigo is made.--Astl. 466. d.]
The 23d May, the Thomas, having forty-nine men all in health, set sail for Socotora for aloes, and to go thence for Priaman and Tekoo in Sumatra, for pepper. The 8th August the Hector sailed for Priaman and Tekoo, having eighty-eight Englishmen aboard in perfect health, the monsoon being now favourable. The 10th and 11th all reckonings were cleared between us and the junks Hassani, Caderi, Mahmudi, Rehemi, and Salameti. Our whole cargo, including commodities and dollars, bartered for at this place, did not exceed 46,174 dollars. The two following acquittances on this occasion will enable the reader the better to understand the nature of the dealings at this place, in this forced trade with the India ships.[420]
[Footnote 420: These appear to have been translated by or for Purchas, the former from Arabic, and the latter from Malabar, as the one has a subscription and seal in Arabic, and the other a subscription in some Indian character, yet considerably different from that formerly inserted in Purchas under the name of Banian.--E.]
In Mokha Roads, in the Red Sea, 10th August, 1612.
Be it remembered, that I, Mahomed Hassan Comal Adin Ashen, captain of the Hassani of Surat, have bartered and sold to Captain John Saris, general of the eighth voyage to the East Indies, for the sum of 7400-11/48 rials of eight, in the following goods, viz.
Indigos of all sorts, 86 bales, amounting, with profit,
to rials 3046-7/48
Cambaya cloth, 316 corges, 7-1/2 pieces, amount, &c. 4136
Three carpets, valued at 20
Two cotton quilts, at 80 rials a corge, 8
Rice, butter, ginger, and sugar, amount 53-7/24
For 18 yds. broad cloth, received back in account, 96
Four bales gum-lac, with profit 40-10/24
----------
Sum total of merchandise sold, Rials 7400-11/48
And I have received in payment these following goods,
viz.
Broad cloths, 28-1/2 pieces, amounting, in rials, 4574-30/48
Ten pieces of kersies, 501-1/3
Thirty bahars of lead, 720
Twenty bahars of iron, 480
Four and a half bahars of tin, 679-1/2
Fifteen fowling-pieces, 445
----------
Sum total of these goods received, Rials 7400-11/48
In Mokha Road, in the Red Sea, the 12th August, 1612.
Be it remembered, that I, Nakhada Hassan, captain of the good ship Caderi of Diu, have bartered and sold to Captain John Saris, &c. for the sum of 2947-9/10 rials of eight, in these following goods, viz.
Indigo of both sorts, 31 bales, amounting, with profit,
to rials 1694-11/16
Brought over, Rials 1694-13/16
Spikenard, one bale; turbith,[421] one bale; cinnamon,
five bales; amount, with profit, 64-1/4
Cambaya cloth, 137 corges and 3 pieces, amount,
with profit, 1188-1/2
______________
Sum total, Rials 2947-9/16
And I have received in payment these goods following,
viz.
Broad cloths, six pieces, amounting, in rials, 890-2/3
Kersies, ten pieces, 477-1/3
Lead, 31-3/4 bahars, 762-17/48
Iron, 10 bahars, 240
Tin, 1-1/2 bahar, 226-2/3
Fowling-pieces, fourteen, 350
Received in money to balance 0-17/24
Sum total of goods received, Rials 2947-9/16
The 13th of August, 1612, we set sail from Mokha in the Clove, having on board seventy-five men, all in perfect health. The 14th we got sight of the Bab, but the wind being large at N.W. we steered through the great channel on the Abyssinian side, having 18 fathoms water about one league from the island of Babo, where is a good and safe harbour for shipping, but the place is barren. The 3d September we arrived at Socotora in Delisha road; when we understood the Thomas had been here three months before, but made no stay, as they could not agree for the aloes. The 4th the merchant and linguist went ashore, and were kindly treated by the king, but could not agree in the price, as he asked 40 dollars the quintal of 104 pounds, saying he had only 25 quintals, and was much solicited for it by the Portuguese. At length we agreed to give 30 dollars for one parcel, and 38 for another, and he delivered us 4067 pounds, which cost 1418-1/2 rials of eight, or dollars. On this occasion we found the king false both in his weights and word, yet we treated him well for the good of future voyages. We sailed for Bantam on the 8th September.
[Footnote 421: Perhaps turmeric is here meant--E.]
The 22d, in lat. 8° 12' N. by the stars, steering E. by S. with the wind W.S.W. we fell at midnight into the strangest and most terrifying shining water that any of us had ever seen, the water throwing so great a glare about the ship that we could discern the letters in a book perfectly, whereas it had been so dark only half an hour before, that we could not see half the length of our ship any way. We doubted it had been the breach of some sunken ground, and thought to have cast about; but after sailing in it half an hour without any alteration, we held on our course, and at length it proved to be cuttle-fish that made this fearful show.
We got sight of the island of Ceylon on the 27th in the morning, bearing N.E. by E. about 7 leagues off, being very high land up the country, but very low near the sea. The 29th we saw Cape Comorin about 14 leagues off, being very high land. This cape is in the latitude of 7° 42' [more accurately 7° 57' N.] whereas our charts lay it down in 6° 10'. During our course we did not fall in with any of the islands laid down in our charts, neither did we see any of the Maldive islands, which are said to be so numerous.
The 15th October, when in lat. 4° 49' S. we got sight of Sumatra, where we found a strong current setting us from the land. Such as are bound for the straits of Sunda, must keep the coast of Sumatra on board after they get into lat. 1° 30' S. as the current begins there. It is proper to keep thirty leagues off the coast of that island and with a good look-out, as there are many cayos[422] fifteen or twenty leagues out at sea, but which we did not see, as we were kept farther out by the current. The 24th we came to anchor in the road of Bantam, all our people being in as good health, or better, than when we left England. Contrary to our expectation, we here found the Hector, which had arrived only the day before, in company with the James and several Dutch ships. The arrival of all these ships, and the daily expectation of the Trades-increase, Pepper-corn, Darling, and Thomas, occasioned a great and sudden alteration in the prices of commodities. Such as were in considerable request, were raised nearly to three times the price for which they sold the day before the Hector arrived. Cloves, which the people of the Hector and James had bought the day before at sixteen dollars the pekul, were now risen to forty dollars and upwards. Pepper, which was ten dollars for ten sacks, rose upon our coming to twelve and a half dollars; and so of other commodities.
[Footnote 422: Keys, islands and rocks.--E.]
We went to court on the 26th, accompanied by our merchants, and gave divers presents to Pangran Chamarra, who enjoyed the entire authority of government as protector, although the king was now of full age. From him we procured a licence to land our goods, providing the royal officers were made acquainted with all that were brought on shore, that the king might not be wronged of his duties. The 28th a letter from Mr William Adams, written from Japan, was read in presence of all our merchants, that they might consider what hopes there were of trade in that country. It was now concluded in a council of commerce, considering the power of the Dutch in the Moluccas and Banda, where they were almost absolute masters, and that Bantam was exceedingly unhealthy, where besides our people injured themselves greatly on shore with drink and loose women, that the Hector should be dispatched in all speed to England, and that 14,000 sacks of pepper should be provided for her and the Thomas without delay, fearing that pepper might be raised still higher when the natives got news of the other expected ships. We accordingly bargained with Lackmoy for 2000 sacks of pepper, at 127-1/2 dollars the 100 sacks; and with Keewee for 1000 sacks at 125 dollars the 100 sacks, and for 3000 more at 150 dollars the 100. We now tried ashore what was the weight of a pekul of cloves, which we found to be 132 pounds English.
The 9th November, Sir Henry Middleton arrived at Bantam in the Pepper-corn. The 15th, at the earnest request of Chamarra the protector, we mustered before the palace eighty of our men in arms from our different ships, to assist in celebrating the breaking up of the Mahometan Lent, which gave him much content, more especially as the Dutch refused to gratify him. The 16th we agreed with Keewee for 4000 sacks of pepper at 160 dollars the 100 sacks, with an allowance of three in the hundred basse. The 18th eleven large Dutch ships arrived, the Thomas being in their company. She had only got at Priaman 312 bahars of pepper, and twenty tael of gold. On the 22d, 100 Dutchmen, armed with firelocks and pikes, all in brave array, marched to the front of the palace, where they drew up in a ring and gave three vollies. The protector sent word in the king's name to thank them, saying they had done enough, and might depart with their iron hats; for so the Javanese call head-pieces. The 28th, three Dutch ships sailed homewards bound, mostly laden with pepper and mace, and five more of their ships sailed for Banda and the Moluccas.
The 4th December, a Dutch ship arrived from Coromandel, from which we had intelligence that the Globe was at Patane bound for Siam. The 11th, the Hector, having taken in her lading, sailed from Bantam to the watering-place called Morough, where the air is good and healthy, and where refreshment of oranges is to be had in abundance, besides other wholesome fruits, intending to wait there till the Thomas was fully laden. The 22d, the Trades-increase and Darling arrived from Priaman. The 25th, in honour of the birth-day of the Saviour, certain chambers were discharged at our English factory, which were answered by ordnance from our ships. The 28th, Keewee, the chief China merchant, invited Sir Henry Middleton and me, with all our merchants, to dinner at his house, where he had a play acted by Chinese actors on a stage erected for the purpose, which they performed with good pronunciation and gesture. The 12th January, 1613, the Thomas set sail for England, having a crew of thirty-six English and three Indians.
SECTION 4. The Voyage of Captain Saris, in the Clove, towards Japan, with Observations respecting the Dutch and Spaniards at the Molucca Islands.[423]
In the morning of the 4th January, 1613, we weighed anchor from the road of Bantam for Japan, having taken in 700 sacks of pepper to make trial of trade at that place. Our crew consisted of seventy-four Englishmen, one Spaniard, one Japanese, and five Swarts, [blacks] or Indians. The 15th, in the morning, having little wind, we hauled off into fourteen fathoms, and steered E. by S. and E.S.E. leaving Pulo Lack on our starboard, and eleven or twelve small islands on our larboard; our depth shoaling from, fourteen to ten fathoms us we passed between two islands to the east of Palo Lack. In this fair way there is a shoal which has not above six feet water, and does not exceed half a cable's length in extent either way. Close in with it there are ten fathoms water, and the very next cast is on ground, as we had sad experience, having lain three hours beating on it with a reasonably stiff gale, but got off through God's mercy, and the extraordinary exertions of the crew. Our ship sprung a leak, which kept every man at the pump, myself only excepted, during the whole night, and till ten o'clock next day. Every one took his spell in turn, and little enough to keep the leak from increasing, so that we were all doubtful of being obliged to put back for Bantam, to the great risk of losing our men by sickness, and disappointing our voyage to Japan; but, thank God, our carpenter found the leak, and made it tight. To avoid this shoal it is necessary to keep close to the islands, as the main of Java is shoally.
[Footnote 423: In this voyage, being one not now usual, we have followed the course minutely along with Captain Saris--E.]
The 16th, we anchored at a watering-place called Tingo Java, fourteen leagues from Bantam, and about three and a half leagues westwards of Jacatra. We rode between two islands, which are about five miles off the point, having nine and ten fathoms close to the islands, but towards the main land is shoally. I sent presents to the king of Jacatra and to his sabandar and admiral, requesting leave to purchase such necessaries as we wanted; and on the 18th the king sent his chief men aboard, thanking me for the presents, and offering me every thing his country afforded. The 21st we set sail, steering near the eastermost of the two islands that are over against the watering-place, having nine and ten fathoms, and so to seawards of all the islands E.N.E. from the watering-place. The outwardmost of them beareth E. by N. northerly; and off its northern point is a shoal half a league distant, on which the sea is seen to break, at which time the east point of Jacatra bears east-southerly, depth seventeen and eighteen fathoms, and all the way out from twenty to fourteen fathoms. You will here find a current setting E.S.E. for which you must allow according as you have the wind. In the evening, having little wind at N. by W. and the current setting us to the S.E. upon the shore, we came to anchor in, thirteen fathoms, having shot three leagues to the eastward of the east point of Jacatra, with the wind at N.W.
We weighed on the 22d, with the wind at S.W. and steered E.N.E. to get into deep water, and had fourteen fathoms, when the high hill over Bantam bore W.S.W. half a point westerly. The morning of the 23d we deckt up our sails, the wind being at S.E. and had sight of an island off Cheribon, with three of those high-peaked hills of Java, the easternmost of which bore S.E. while Cheribon bore S. by E. Our latitude at noon was 6° 10' S. The wind at N.N.W. and the island bearing E. by N. three and a half leagues off. You may boldly keep in twenty-three or twenty-four fathoms water in the offing, and in twenty fathoms upon Java in the darkest night that is, and during the day upon Java in any depth you please. The 24th, in the morning, we had sight of the three high-peaked hills, and of three others farther eastwards, that looked like islands. Our depth was twenty fathoms, the point of Japara bearing S.E. by S. and the island [Carimon Java] bearing S.E. and N.W. about nine leagues off. We steered E. by S. and E.S.E. latitude 6° 10' and made our course twenty leagues E.
At day-break of the 26th, we had sight of Pulo Lubek, bearing N.E. by E. eight leagues off, wind at W. by N. We steered E. by S. in thirty-four and thirty-five fathoms; and about nine a.m. saw land bearing S.E. and S.E. by S. the before-named island now bearing N.E. by N. At noon our latitude was 6° 12' S. and our course twenty-two leagues E. and E. by N. By four p.m. Pulo Lubek bore W. by N. nine leagues off, and our depth was thirty-four fathoms. Noon of the 27th our latitude was 6° 4' S. our course twenty-eight leagues E. northerly, depth thirty-eight fathoms; and by three p.m. we had sight of an island N.N.E. seven leagues off. At five p.m. we had thirty-four fathoms.
At four a.m. of the 20th, we had twenty-five fathoms, steering E. till noon, when our latitude was 5° 55' S. our course having been twenty leagues E. northerly, and our depth was now thirty-five fathoms. From noon we steered E. by S. Early in the morning of the 29th, having the wind at W. by N. we steered E. by S. and had no ground with forty fathoms line; but at noon we found fifty-two fathoms, with many overfalls. Our latitude was this day at noon 6° 9' S. our course twenty-eight leagues E. by S. the wind W. and W. by N. and a current setting to the westwards. We steered E. and in the afternoon had no ground with 100 fathoms.
The 30th, in the morning, our latitude was 5° 57' S. our longitude from Bantam 224 leagues E. our course E. northerly twenty-eight leagues, the overfalls continuing, but had no ground at 100 fathoms. At three p.m. we had sight from the topmast-head of a low flat island, bearing N.E. by N. five or six leagues off, full of trees. We had eighteen fathoms water, and the next cast eighty-five fathoms. We steered E. by S. and at four p.m. the island bore N. by E. half a point N. three or four leagues off. We then had sight of two other low flat islands, one opening to the eastwards, and the other to the westwards, so that the first seen lay in the middle between them. At six p.m. that first seen island bearing N. half a point E. we sounded, and had no ground at eighty fathoms. We steered E. by S. constantly throwing the lead, in regard to the overfalls or ripplings, which were very fearful, yet had no ground at sixty fathoms.
At day-break of the 31st, we had sight of Celebes, its western extremity rising like an island, and the outermost high land bearing E. by N. six leagues off, our latitude 5° 52' S. our course E. northerly sixteen leagues, and a current setting N.W. At sun-set we took in our sails, that we might not overshoot the straits of Desalon, called Solore by the natives.[424] Keeping our lead going all night, while under easy sail, we had first twenty fathoms, the high land being then north, and drove thence into thirty-three and forty-seven fathoms, fearing a shoal about two-thirds of a league from Celebes, on which the sea breaks at low-water. The passage, or straits, on the Celebes side, is very dangerous, and full of sunken ground, wherefore we hauled off to the Desalon side, giving it a good birth, having a peaked hill next the sea-side, rising like an island. When you are to the westward, this hill bears N.N.E. When it bears north, then you are athwart the west end of the shoal, and then will the island on your starboard-hand bear E.N.E. so that you may boldly steer through in the middle between the two islands. When the peaked hill bears N. by W. then you are athwart the east end. This east end of Desalon shews like an island, and will deceive you till you come to it; but when you have brought the north end of the point E.N.E. you may be bold, as being now clear of the before-mentioned shoal. It is about four leagues between these islands, and we came within half a mile of the island on our starboard. While going through, the wind took us suddenly short, but on sounding, we had no ground at fifty-five fathoms.
[Footnote 424: The passage between the S.W. extremity of Celebes and the Sallyee islands seems here meant.--E.]
The afternoon of the 1st February we were abreast the point of the island, bearing S. of us, and the two islands which make the straits lay from each other N. and S. distant five small leagues. The morning of the 2d we had sight of the south part of Desalon, S.W. by S. and the north part W. by N. eight leagues off. We steered E. by N. the wind at N. by E. Our latitude being 5° 52' S. and Desalon ten leagues off. The morning of the 3d the south end of the isle of Cambyna bore N.E. by E. and a small island or hummock N.E. eight or nine leagues off. In the morning of the 4th we were in latitude 5° S. with the wind at N.E. and at 3 p. m. we saw land E. by N. which we made to be Boeton or Botun. The 5th, being three or four leagues off Cambyna, we found the current carrying us to the northwards. The 7th at day-break we neared Botun, and the 8th saw another island called Tingabasse, or Tockan Bessy, rising round and flat.
The 9th we had sight of two Curra-Curras between us and Botun, on which we sent the skiff to one of them, which brought one Mr Welden, who had formerly belonged to the Expedition, and a Dutchman, both of them being bound for Banda. Mr Welden was in the employment of the king of Botun, in the trade between that place and Banda, and had the command of these two curra-curras. Our latitude was 5° 20'. We had the wind at E.N.E. and steered north. At night the wind came southerly, and we steered N.N.E. From the east point of Botun the land falls away suddenly, forming two great bays to the N.N.W. and with three great islands which lie to the northward of Botun, forms the straits of that name. The strait of Botun is not above a league broad, the entrance being on the north side of the island. If you come from the westwards, when abreast the north-west point, the proper course is E.N.E. and E. by N. up to the road, with no danger but what may be seen; but you must leave the three great islands to the north of your course, not going between any of them; and on falling in with the west end of Botun, go not between and the island lying off it. There are two long islands, but leave both to starboard, as there is broken ground between them and Botun. If the wind serve, haul to the northward of all the islands, going either between Botun and Cambyna, or else to the northward of Cambyna likewise, and so you may keep the shore of Celebes, for it is bold.
The morning of the 13th we had sight of the island of Buro or Boero, being high land; and the 14th, in the morning, we bore up with the east point of the island, to seek for some place where we might anchor. At noon of the 18th, we were within a mile of an island called Sula, and sent our skiff ashore to speak with the natives. We had fifteen fathoms only the ship's length from shore, and no ground a mile off with 100 fathoms line. The west part of Boero bore S. 1/2 a point W. and N. 1/2 a point E. fourteen leagues one from the other, the land stretching N.N.E. The morning of the 21st we were four or five leagues off an island called by our sailors Haleboling, being a high-capped round island, different in shape from all the islands in sight, the point of this island of Haleboling, or Boa de Bachian, bearing N.E. by N. four leagues off. The 22d, in the morning, we had sight of land N. by E. being the island of Machian, which is very high land. The 23d, in the morning, we were three leagues from the land, having the wind at N.E. and were in search of a place wherein to anchor. Within a quarter of a mile from the shore we had forty fathoms, wherefore we bore up to the south part of the island, where we had twenty and nineteen fathoms for a few casts, and then no ground. We steered from this point E.S.E. for so the land lieth open, off the point of the high round island, being four leagues between the two points; but the western point is an island, with three or four others to the eastwards of it, which cannot be perceived till very near them. The land then falls away N.E. having a large and round bay or sound, very deep, with land on both sides of it. This round hill is Bachian, and yields great abundance of cloves; but by reason of the wars they are wasted, and as the people are not allowed the advantages of the cloves, they are not gathered, but are left to drop from the trees upon the ground to absolute waste. The natives are oppressed by the Hollanders and Spaniards, and induced by them to spoil and waste each other in civil wars; while both of these, their oppressors, remain secure in strong-holds, and look on till they can snatch, the bone from he who can wrest it from his fellow. Finding no ground on which to anchor, and being unable to get to the northwards, we stood off and on all night, hoping to get a shift of wind to carry us to Machian.
The morning of the 24th; the high land of the island, laying from us S. by E. ten or twelve leagues, had a rugged appearance. We stood in, however, and when a league from the point, sent off the skiff to look for water, and to sound for an anchorage. She returned on board, having neither found water nor place to anchor in; wherefore we stood into the bay, and presently got sight of a town and fort belonging to the Hollanders, called Boa de Bachian. The pinnace a-head found water in several places, which were all very steep and in the bottom of the bay, near to which is the Dutch fort very artificially built, and warlike, with a town hard by. We came here to anchor, a sacker shot from the fort, having very irregular soundings in going up, as seventy, sixty, eight, and ten fathoms, the ground all ooze. The Dutch saluted us with five pieces, which I returned with a like number. A messenger being on board of my ship from the king of the island, I told him our salute was in honour of his master; who indeed had sent me word by this person, that he would have come aboard to visit me, but was hindered by the Dutch. In this fort there were thirteen pieces of artillery, one being a brass demi-culverine, the others sackers and minions. The Hollanders here are more feared than loved by the natives, which yet is the cause of their greater profit; for, as soon as we arrived, the natives told us, they durst not for their lives bring us a catty of cloves.
At our anchorage here, the outermost point bore S.S.W. and the other S.W. distant from us four leagues. The king sent his admiral and others of his nobles aboard to bid me welcome, saying that they knew what nation we were of by our flag. They used many ceremonious compliments, wishing we were seated among them instead of the Dutch, that they might get clear of them, as they had almost ruined their country by civil wars. I entertained them in a friendly manner, saying we had come among them for trade, and would leave a factory with them, if their king were so inclined. They answered, that such a thing would please them much, but could not now be granted; yet they would acquaint their king with what I said. The captain of the Dutch fort made me a visit on board, from whom I understood that his force consisted of thirty men, most of whom were married, some to natives of the country, and some to Dutch women; eleven of whom, as he told me, were able to do military duty even against the Spaniards or any other nation, being large and strong viragoes, with few other good qualities. No sooner was the captain on board but he was followed by this Amazonian band, who complained that they suffered great misery, and readily sat down along with our sailors to partake of such as our ship afforded; after which they returned ashore with the captain.
The 3d March we sent our skiff to sound the east side of the bay, and at an opening or entrance near a little island, she found an anchorage in twelve, sixteen, and twenty fathoms on coral ground, out from under the command of the fort; but having a shoal to the southwards, the length of three cables. This is in latitude 0° 50'. The 4th, the king of Ternate sent me a present by his priest. The 5th, at sun-rise, we observed the variation to be 4° 48' easterly. This day a Moor came aboard with a sample of cloves, and offered to sell us some quantity if we would go for them to Machian; being sent on this errand by his master, who was now on this island of Bachian. For this reason we deemed it proper to stay a day longer to have some conference with this person, whose name was Key Malladaia, being brother to the old king of Ternate. The 6th he came aboard, and promised to go with us to Machian, and to bring us to a place there called Tahannee.[425] He accordingly left two of his chief men with me as pilots, desiring us to go before and wait for him at an island by the way, where he promised to be with us in two days, giving great encouragement to hope for abundance of cloves. He told us that the Dutch gave 50 dollars the bahar, but they would cost us 60, which I very readily promised to give. The 7th we weighed from this anchorage or road, called Amascan; and, by direction of our new pilots, steered W. and W. by N. for Machian, leaving two islands to larboard, four or five miles from Amascan; we had twenty-two, thirty, and even forty fathoms, two cables length only off the island. The 10th we had sight of Machian, being a high and capped island, bearing N.E. and the island of Tidore opening like a sugar-loaf on its western side, but not such high land as Machian. We anchored in twenty-three fathoms, a mile from a little island in the mouth of a strait or passage among islands five leagues from the straits of Namorat, and fourteen leagues from the road of Amascan, where is the Dutch fort we had been near in Bachian. The 11th in the morning, we weighed with the wind at S.S.E. and the current setting to the northwards, enabled us to pass the straits. The wind then veered to N.W. by N. on which we stood east till noon, when we tackt to westwards, and had sight of Gilolo, a long land. Our depth going out of the strait was from twenty-nine to thirty-four fathoms, and we had many islands to the E. and E.S.E. The point of old Bachian was three or four leagues north of the strait, leaving four islands to starboard. The island which makes that side of the strait is called Tavally Backar, where we anchored and remained till the 12th, waiting for Key Malladaia, being the place where he appointed to come to us, being ten leagues from Machian. In this island of Tavally we had plenty of wood, but no water. The 13th our coopers provided themselves with rattans, which make excellent hoops, and of which there was abundance to be had here of all sizes.
[Footnote 425: Tahannee is a town on the island of Machian, where the Portuguese formerly had a fort, but there is none now, neither for them nor the Hollanders. There is here the best anchorage in the whole island, and though very near the shore, yet perfectly safe.--Purchas.]
As Key Malladaia did not make his appearance on the 14th, his people doubted that the Dutch had detained him, on seeing us making our way among the islands, and suspecting he was in treaty with us. Wherefore we set sail with the wind at N.W. and plied up towards Machian. The channel between Bachian, Machian, Tidore, and Ternate, stretches N. by W. and S. by E. and is six leagues across in its narrowest part. In the morning of the 15th, we passed between Gilolo, otherwise called Batta-china and Caia, our latitude at noon being 0° 17' N. so that Machian was not truly placed on our chart, in which the equator is made to pass through its middle, whereas we found it five leagues more to the northwards. The 16th in the morning we were close by the island of Caia, and had sight of a sail to the northwards, which we learnt from a fisherman to be a Dutch vessel, bound from. Machian to Tidore with sago, of which the natives make use instead of bread.[426] In the morning of the 17th we were near a fort of the Hollanders, called Tabalda; and at four p.m. we came to anchor in the road of Pelebere, hard by Tahanue, in fifty fathoms water, so near the shore as to be within call;, having one point of land to the S.S.W. two miles off, another N.E. by N. one and a half mile off, and the island of Caia five leagues distant. This night some small quantities of cloves were brought to us, and a price fixed at sixty dollars the bahar of 200 cattees, each cattee being three pounds five ounces English.[427] I received a letter from Key Malladaia at Bachian, excusing his absence, promising to be with me shortly, and saying he had sent orders to his people to supply me with all the cloves they could procure.
[Footnote 426: In the test of the Pilgrims, Captain Sons calls sago a root, while Purchas, in a marginal note, informs us that some say it is the tops of certain trees. Sago is a granulated dried paste, prepared from the pith of certain trees that grow in various of the eastern islands of India, and of which a bland, mucilaginous, and nutritive jell; is made by maceration and boiling in water.--E.]
[Footnote 427: The bahar in this instance may be called 662 pounds, and the agreed price for the cloves rather below 5d the pound.--E.]
A Samaca came aboard on the 18th, who made great offers of kindness. He was accompanied by two Dutchmen, who were very inquisitive to know who had directed us into this road, saying it must have been one of the natives, and if they knew him, they would cut him in pieces before our faces. To this they added, that we did wrong in coming into these parts, as the country belonged to the Dutch by right of conquest. I ordered them back to their fort, desiring them to tell their captains, that I was ready to let them have any thing I could spare, at reasonable rates, before all others, because we acknowledged them as our neighbours and brethren in Christ; but that we could not acknowledge the country to be their property, and would therefore continue to ride there while we thought proper, and would trade with whoever was pleased to come to us. The two Dutchmen then departed, threatening the natives then aboard, that they would all be put to death if they brought us any cloves. The natives made light of this threat, saying they looked on us as friends, and would come aboard in spite of the Dutch; and this day we bought 300 cattees of cloves in exchange for Cambaya cloth, and some sold for ready money.
Next day the two Dutchmen came again on board, and immediately begun to write down in their table books the names of all the natives which came aboard our ship, on which I made our boatswain turn them out of the ship, with orders not to return. Several of our men were sent ashore, to see what entertainment the natives would give them; and on going to the towns of Tahanne and Pelebere, they were hospitably used. The natives told our men, that the Dutch had so wrought with Key Chillisadang, son to the king of Ternate, who was newly come to this island, that he had prohibited them from selling us any cloves on pain of death, otherwise we should have had them in preference to the Dutch, who greatly oppressed them. Towards night that prince passed by our ship in his curracurra, and I sent our pinnace to him, handsomely fitted with a fine Turkey carpet awning, and curtains of crimson silk and gold, requesting he would come aboard. He seemed to take this message kindly, but excused himself; saying he would visit me in the morning.
The 21st an Orankey came aboard, telling us that a curracurra belonging to the Dutch had searched three or four proas, or canoes, bringing cloves to us, which they had confiscated, and threatened to put the natives to death for the next offence. He told us likewise, that the Dutch, since our arrival, had dispersed the whole garrison of their forts round about the island, to prevent the natives from bringing us any more spice; and had sent a message to Tidore, for two large ships to come and anchor beside us, one a-head and the other a-stern, that they might force us away without trade or refreshments. The 22d, we saw one of these ships coming round the point, after which we had little trade, as the natives were afraid to come near us; and they waited to see what we might do, as the Dutch reported we would run away at the sight of their ship. This vessel was the Red Lion, carrying thirty guns, which came to anchor astern Of our ship. I this day received a present from Key Malladaia, who was not yet come to the island.
The 24th, Key Chillisadang, prince of Ternate, sent to tell me that he was coming to make me a visit, on which I made preparations to give him a handsome reception. He came attended by several great curracurras, and rowed thrice round the ship before coming aboard. On entering, we fired five guns, and immediately conducted him to the cabin, where I had prepared a banquet that might have been set before the king of Ternate, with a concert of music, with which he was much delighted. He promised to give the people leave to bring us cloves, but requested me to have patience for a day or two, till he had advice from his brother, who was then at Tidore. At parting, I gave him several presents, and saluted him with seven pieces of cannon.
In the morning of the 25th, a curracurra of the Dutch rowed past our ship, scoffing at our people, and singing a song which they had made to deride us, which they often repeated, to the great displeasure of our people, who were likewise much offended by their rowing several times over our can-bodies, endeavouring to sink them. Thereupon I ordered the pinnace to be well manned and armed, and directed, if the Dutch on their return continued their scoffs, to run aboard and sink their curracurra. They accordingly came back, singing and scoffing as before, on which the pinnace ran aboard them with such violence, that the water came through her sides. There were on board this curracurra two Dutch captains of their forts, and plenty of men armed with shot and darts; but our pinnace was well provided, and had two good fowlers[428] at her head. She lay a good space aboard the curracurra, desiring the Dutchmen to take this for a warning to leave off their impertinent scoffs, or we should teach them better manners in a worse way the next time. So they went away, promising to do so no more.
[Footnote 428: Probably some species of ordnance, as swivels or musquetoons.--E.]
Towards evening the Dutch sent one of their merchants to me, with a writing from their doctor-of-laws, who was their chief in the absence of De Bot, or Blocke, who had come from Holland as general over eleven ships. The purport of this writing was, that all the inhabitants of the Moluccas had entered into a perpetual contract with the Dutch for all their cloves, at fifty dollars the bahar, of 200 cattees, in reward for having freed them from the Spanish yoke, at great expence of blood and treasure; and required therefore, that I should not excite the people to disobedience, to their great disadvantage, as the country was certainly theirs by right of conquest. He added, that the islanders were indebted in large sums to the Dutch, advanced on promise of repayment in cloves. I answered, that I had no intention to interfere in any of the concerns of the Dutch, and had only come for the purpose of trading with whoever might be inclined to trade with us.
The 27th, the Dutch made the prince Key Chillisadang moor his curracurra astern of us, to prevent the natives from coming aboard of us; and, in our sight, we saw him stop a canoe, which we thought was bringing us spice, and obliged it to go back to the land: yet, towards night, two of the natives brought us off some refreshments. Next day, understanding that we were dissatisfied with his proceedings, the prince removed behind a point at some distance, which much displeased the Dutch. In the afternoon, I went with the skiff, well manned, to endeavour to bargain with the prince for a parcel of cloves, but found him gone to another place. Seeing my skiff going into the bay, Captain Blocke followed in his curracurra, and would have landed where I was, but I would not suffer him. On the natives seeing this, and that Captain Blocke went back to his ship without landing, many of the better sort came down to us with much respect, and sent for cocoas and other fruits, which they distributed to the boat's crew. When the master of my ship saw Captain Blocke following me in great haste, he manned our long-boat to assist us in case of need, but on a signal to that effect from me, he returned on board.
On the 30th, the Dutch brought the prince to ride in his old place, and towards evening another Dutch ship came into the roads, called the Moon, having thirty-two pieces of good cannon, but not more than fifty men. She came to anchor a-head of us, and so near, that we could hardly swing clear of each other. The prince sent an apology for coming back, but we now saw that he was forced to do as the Dutch thought proper. On the 31st, several harsh dealings and discourtesies passed between us and the Dutch. The 1st of April, 1613, the Dutch mustered about 120 men ashore, gathered from their ships and forts, and every morning and evening relieved guard with drum and fife, and displayed ensign. On the 2d, seeing no appearance of Key Malladaia, according to his promise, I ordered our water-casks to be filled, and every thing to be in readiness for setting sail with the first fair wind. At noon this day, we found the latitude of this road of Pelebre, or Pelabry, to be 26' N. of the equator, the variation being 3° 28', and the highest land in the island of Machian bearing W.N.W. half a point westerly.
On the 5th of April we weighed anchor with little wind, and the current setting to the southwards, we drove to sea under our foresail, passing a-head of the Moon, the larger of the Dutch ships, which made a fair shot under our stern, which we presently answered close a-head of his admiral, expecting farther, but heard no more of them. At noon they both weighed and followed us; but having the wind at S.W. we were far to windward, so that the natives came aboard of us with cloves for a time, as fast as we could weigh and pay for them, the Dutch being unable to hinder. There came also an Orankey aboard, who promised us a good parcel of cloves, if we could come near the shore in the evening. The 6th, about fifty cattees of cloves were brought to us in several canoes. Towards evening; stood rather nearer the shore than I wished, in consequence of seeing a weft, on which I sent a skiff to the Orankey, who said his cloves were ready, and should be brought aboard in the dark. But in consequence of a Dutch curracurra passing by, he was in such fear, that though our people offered to guard him, he durst not venture aboard.
In the morning of the 16th, we were abreast of Mootiere, four leagues from the western point of Machian, N. by E. half a point easterly; and three leagues from it to the north is the island of Marro, two leagues beyond which is Tidore, between and around all which islands is clear passage on all sides, without any danger. Our latitude at noon was 0° 25'; and we could see the two Dutch ships to the southwards, plying after us. In sailing from Marro to Tidore, it is proper to keep a sharp look-out, as there is a long shoal in the fair way, quite even with the sea at high-water, close to which the water has a whitish look. This shoal stretches N.E. and S.W. between Marro and Battachina. It is seen at low-water, the ebb being six feet, the tide setting six hours to the north, and six to the south; but if you keep close to the islands, there is no fear.
The Spanish fort is on the east side of Tidore, where there is deep water close in shore; and, while off that place, the wind suddenly fell quite calm, so that the current set us in upon the land, when the fort made a shot at us, but willingly sent it short, to which we made answer by one shot to seawards. The fort then fired other two guns, which were meant to strike us, one being aimed between the mizen and ancient staff, and the other between the main and foremasts. They then fired one gun without shot, to which we answered in like manner; on which they sent off a boat with a flag of truce, the current still setting us towards the shore, there being no wind to fill our sails, and no ground at 100 fathoms, so that we could in no way keep off. There were two gallies riding under the fort, which, on their boat putting off, fired two blank shots. The boat came and made fast to our stern, having two Spaniards of some rank, who were known to Hernando, the Spaniard we brought from Bantam. These Spaniards were sent from Don Fernand Byseere, the captain-general of Tidore, to enquire who we were, what we came for, and why we did not come to anchor under the fort. Being requested to come aboard, they said they were enjoined to the contrary, wherefore I made wine and bread be handed down to them from the poop, which they fell to lustily, although under the heaviest rain I ever saw, yet would not come aboard. I told them we were subjects of the king of Great Britain, as they might well see by our colours; but they said the Dutch had often passed by scot-free by shewing British colours, which was the reason they had fired the second sharp-shot at us, thinking we were Dutch. I sent word to the Spanish commandant, that I had every inclination to serve the subjects of the king of Spain, as far as in my power, but meant to anchor farther on, where, if Don Fernando pleased to come aboard, I should give him the best welcome I could.
The Spaniards went away well satisfied with this answer, and as a fine breeze immediately sprung up, we stood along shore. The captain-general sent off to me the pilot-major of the gallies, Francisco Gomez, a man of good presence, to bid me welcome, offering his assistance to bring my ship into the best anchorage under the fort; or any where else about the island. Being dark, he brought us to an anchorage, about a league and a half from the fort, at a place where he said there was no force; and, after supper, he entreated to be set ashore, as the captain-general meant to dispatch letters to Don Jeronimo de Sylva, the maestre del campo at Ternate, for instructions concerning our visit. On the morning of the 9th, before sun-rise, we found ourselves within command of a battery of eight cannon, wherefore we hoisted our anchor, and removed a league farther to the southwards, where we again anchored in thirty-five fathoms. The pilot Gomez came aboard soon after, accompanied by other two Spaniards of good family, whom I received with such welcome, that they took their lodging on board. They brought me a present of eatables from their general, to whom I sent back a suitable return; offering to supply his wants with any thing in my ship he desired, taking cloves in payment, and desiring a speedy answer, as I could not tarry long. The two Dutch ships continued to ply after us, as if they would have anchored beside us, but they afterwards went to anchor at their new fort of Maracco, or Marieca.