A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS, ARRANGED IN SYSTEMATIC ORDER: FORMING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF NAVIGATION, DISCOVERY, AND COMMERCE, BY SEA AND LAND, FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THEPRESENT TIME. BY ROBERT KERR, F. R. S. & F. A. S. EDIN. ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS AND CHARTS. VOL. IX. MDCCCXXIV. CONTENTS OF VOL. IX. PART II. BOOK III. CONTINUED. CHAP. X. (_Continued_. ) Early Voyages of the English to India, after the Establishment of theEast India Company SECT. XV. (_Continued_)--Eighth Voyage of the English East-IndiaCompany, in 1611, by Captain John Saris §5. Further Observations respecting the Moluccas, and the Completion ofthe Voyage to Japan §6. Arrival at Brando, and some Account of the Habits, Manners, andCustoms of the Japanese §7. Journey of Captain Saris to the Court of the Emperor, with hisObservations there and by the Way §8. Occurrences at Firando during the Absence of Captain Saris §9. Continuation of these Occurrences §10. Conclusion of these §11. Occurrences at Firando, after the return of Captain Saris §12. Voyage from Japan to Bantam, and thence to England §I3. Intelligence concerning Yedso or Jesso, received from a Japanese atJedo, who had been twice there §14. Note of Commodities vendible in Japan §15. Supplementary Notices of Occurrences in Japan, after the departureof Captain Saris SECT. XVI. Ninth Voyage of the East-India Company, in 1612, by CaptainEdward Marlow SECT. XVII. Tenth Voyage of the East-India Company, in 1612, written byMr Thomas Best, Chief Commander §1. Observations during the Voyage from England to Surat §2. Transactions with the Subjects of the Mogul, Fights with thePortuguese, Settlement of a Factory and Departure for Acheen §3. Occurrences at Acheen in Sumatra §4. Trade at Tecoo and Passaman, with the Voyage to Bantam, and thenceto England SECT. XVIII. Observations made during the foregoing Voyage, by MrCopland, Chaplain, Mr Robert Boner, Master, and Mr Nicholas Whittington, Merchant §1. Notes extracted from the Journal of Mr Copland, Chaplain of theVoyage §2. Notes extracted from the Journal of Mr Robert Boner, who was Masterof the Dragon §3. Extract from a Treatise by Mr Nicholas Whittington, who was left asFactor in the Mogul Country by Captain Best, containing some of hisTravels and Adventures SECT. XIX. Eleventh Voyage of the East-India Company, in 1612, in theSalomon SECT. XX. Twelfth Voyage of the East-India Company, in 1613, by CaptainChristopher Newport §1. Observations at St Augustine, Mohelia, and divers Parts of Arabia §2. Proceedings on the Coast of Persia, and Treachery of the Baloches §3. Arrival at Diul-ginde, and landing of the Ambassador: Seeking Tradethere, are crossed by the slanderous Portuguese: Go to Sumatra andBantam; and thence to England CHAP XI. Continuation of the Early Voyages of the English East IndiaCompany to India Introduction SECT. I. Voyage of Captain Nicholas Downton to India, in 1614 §1. Incidents at Saldanha, Socotora, and Swally; with an Account of theDisagreements between the Moguls and Portuguese, and between the Naboband the English §2. Account of the Forces of the Portuguese, their hostile Attempts andFight with the English, in which they are disgracefully repulsed §3. Supplies received by the Portuguese, who vainly endeavour to useFire-boats. They seek Peace, which is refused, and depart. Interviewbetween the Nabob and Captain Downton, and Departure of the English SECT. II. Relations by Mr Elkington and Mr Dodsworth, in Supplement topreceding Voyage §1. Continuation of the Voyage from Surat to Bantam, by Captain ThomasElkington §2. Brief Observations by Mr Edward Dodsworth, who returned to Englandin the Hope SECT. III. Journey of Richard Steel and John Crowther, from Agimere, inIndia, to Ispahan, in Persia, in the Years 1615, and 1616 SECT. IV. Voyage of Captain Walter Peyton to India, in 1615 §1. Occurrences during the Voyage from England to Surat §2. Occurrences at Calicut and Sumatra. Miscarriage of the EnglishShips, Abuses of the Dutch, and Factories in India §3. Brief Notice of the Ports, Cities, and Towns, inhabited by, andtraded with, by the Portuguese, between the Cape of Good Hope and Japan, in the Year 1616 SECT. V. Notes, concerning the Proceedings of the Factory at Cranganore, from the Journal of Roger Hawes SECT. VI. Journal of Sir Thomas Roe, Ambassador from James I. To ShahJehanguire, Mogul Emperor of Hindoostan Introduction §1. Journey from Surat to the Court of the Mogul, and Entertainmentthere, with some Account of the Customs of the Country §2. Occurrences in June, July, and August, 1616, from which theCharacter and Dispositions of the Mogul and his Subjects may be observed §3. Of the Celebration of the King's Birth-day, with other Occurrences, in September, 1616 §4. Broils about Abdala Khan, and Khan-Khannan: Ambitious Projects ofSultan Churrum to subvert his eldest Brother: Sea-fight with aPortuguese Carrack; and various other Occurrences §5. Continuation of Occurrences at Court, till leaving Agimere, inNovember, 1616 §6. Sir Thomas Roe follows the Progress of the Court, and describes theKing's Leskar, &c. §7. A New-year's Gift--Suspicion entertained of theEnglish--Dissatisfaction of the Persian Ambassador--English Ships of Warin the Indian Seas §8 Asaph Khan and Noormahal protect the English from Hope ofGain. --Arrival of Mr Steel. --Danger to the Public from privateTrade--Stirs about a Fort SECT. VII. Relation of a Voyage to India in 1616, with Observationsrespecting the Dominions of the Great Mogul, by Mr Edward Terry §1. Occurrences during the Voyage from England to Surat §2. Description of the Mogul Empire §3. Of the People of Hindoostan, and their Manners and Customs §4. Of the Sects, Opinions, Rites Priests, &c. Of the Hindoos; withother Observations SECT. VIII. Journey of Thomas Coryat by Land, from Jerusalem to theCourt of the Great Mogul §1. Letter from Agimere to Mr L. Whitaker, in 1615 §2. Do. From Agra to his Mother, in 1616 §3. Some Observations concerning India, by Coryat SECT. IX. Account of the Wrongs done to the English at Banda by theDutch, in 1617 and 1618 SECT. X. Fifth Voyage of the Joint-stock by the English East IndiaCompany, in 1617, under the Command of Captain Martin Pring §1. Occurrences on the Voyage out, and at Surat, Bantam, and Jacatra §2. Dutch Injustice, and Sea-fight between them and Sir Thomas Dale §3. Departure for Coromandel, with Occurrences there, and Death of SirThomas Dale. --Capture of English Ships by the Dutch; and Occurrences atTecoo §4. News of Peace between the English and Dutch §5. Voyage of Captain Pring from Bantam to Patania and Japan §6. Voyage from Japan to Bantam, and thence to England SECT. XI. Voyage of the Ann-royal, from Surat to Mokha, in 1618 SECT. XII. Journal of a Voyage to Surat and Jasques in 1620 §1. Voyage from England to Surat §2. Voyage from Surat towards Jasques §3. Account of a Sea-fight with the Portuguese §4. Second Sea-fight with the Portuguese §5. Sequel of the Voyage SECT. XIII. Relation of the War of Ormus, and the Capture of that Placeby the English and Persians, in 1622 SECT. XIV. Account of the Massacre of Amboina, in 1623 SECT. XV. Observations during a Residence in the Island of Chusan, in1701, by Dr James Cunningham; with some early Notices respecting China §1. Voyage to Chusan, and short Notices of that Island §2. Ancient and modern State of the Country, and coming of the Englishto reside there §3. Manner of cultivating Tea in Chusan §4. Of the famous Medicinal Root called H-tchu-u §5. Removal of Dr Cunningham to Pulo-Condore, with an Account of theRise, Progress, and Ruin of that Factory §6. Some Account of the Factory at Pulo-Laut, with the Overthrow of thatFactory, and of the English Trade in Borneo * * * * *[Illustration: CHART OFNORTH EASTERNAFRICA] Published 1st July 1813 A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. * * * * * PART II. BOOK III. (CONTINUED. ) * * * * * CHAPTER X. --_Continued_. EARLY VOYAGES OF THE ENGLISH TO INDIA, AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THEEAST INDIA COMPANY. SECTION XV. --_Continued_. _Eighth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1611, by CaptainJohn Saris_. §5. _Farther Observations respecting the Moluccas, and the Completion ofthe Voyage to Japan_. The 10th of April, 1613, the Spanish commandant sent me a message, requesting me to stop till the next morning, when he would visit mealong with the sergeant-major of Ternate, who had arrived with a letterfrom Don Jeronimo de Sylva, allowing them to trade with me for differentthings of which they were in want, and to satisfy me in what I hadrequested; wherefore I resolved to stop a while longer, to see if wecould do any good. Expecting Don Fernando next day, according topromise, and hearing nine guns from their fort, we supposed he wascoming: But it proved to be for the arrival of the prince of Tidore fromthe wars, who was returned with the heads of 100 Ternatans. His force inthe expedition in which he had been engaged, consisted of sixty menarmed with matchlocks, two brass _bases_ and three or four _fowlers_. Hehad over-thrown _Key Chilly Sadang_, the son of the king of Ternate, whom the Dutch had brought over from Ternate to prevent the natives ofMachian from supplying us with cloves. While on his return to Ternateafter our departure, he was drawn into an ambush by the son of the kingof Tidore, who lay in wait for the purpose, and slew him, together with160 men who were along with him, not one of the whole being spared. Theprince of Ternate brought home the head of Key Chilly Sadang to hiswife, who was sister to the slain prince. Key Chilly Sadang in a greatmeasure owed this discomfiture to a barrel of powder he had bought fromus at Machian, as it exploded at the commencement of the rencounter, andthrew his whole party into confusion. Along with the prince of Ternate, one of his younger brothers and the king of Gilolo were both slain. Towards evening, the sergeant-major of Ternate, who was also secretaryof the government, came aboard, and made many compliments, requesting meto come to Ternate, where they would do for me every thing in theirpower. I consented to do this the more readily, as Ternate was in myway. I received a message on the 12th from the prince of Tidore, apologisingfor not having yet visited me, and saying that he had a quantity ofcloves which I might have, for which I thanked him, and requested theymight be sent soon. They promised to send the cloves before nextmorning; wherefore, to guard against treachery, I kept double watch, with match in cock, and every thing in readiness: For this prince ofTidore was a most resolute and valiant soldier, and had performed manydesperate exploits against the Dutch, having shortly before surprisedone of their ships of war when at anchor not far from where we then lay. Before day, a galley, which the Spaniards told us they expected, cameover from _Batta China_, and were very near us in the dark before wewere aware. On hailing, they answered us that they were Spaniards andour friends, and then made towards the shore in all haste. She was butsmall, having only fourteen oars of a side. We this day found ourlatitude to be 0° 50' N. We weighed on the 13th with the wind at N. And a current setting to theS. In passing the fort we saluted with five guns, which they returned. Several Spaniards came off with complimentary messages, and among thesea messenger from the prince, saying we should have had plenty of clovesif we had waited twenty-four hours longer. But we rather suspected thatsome treachery was intended, by means of their gallies, frigates, andcurracurras, which we thus avoided by our sudden departure. On roundingthe western point of Tidore, we saw four Dutch ships at anchor beforetheir fort of Marieca; one of which, on our appearance, fired a gun, which we supposed was to call their people aboard to follow us. Westeered directly for the Spanish fort on Ternate, and shortened sail oncoming near, and fired a gun without shot, which was immediatelyanswered. They sent us off a soldier of good fashion, but to as littlepurpose as those of Tidore had done. Having little wind, our ship saggedin, but we found no anchorage. Having a gale of wind at south in theevening, we stood out to sea, but lost as much ground by the current aswe had gained by the wind. The 14th, with the wind at S. S. W. We steeredN. N. W. Being at noon directly under the equinoctial. We had sight of agalley this day, on which we put about to speak with her; but findingshe went away from us, we shaped our course for Japan. Before leaving the Moluccas, it may be proper to acquaint the readerwith some circumstances respecting the trade and state of these islands. Through the whole of the Moluccas, a _bahar_ of cloves consists of 200_cattees_, the _cattee_ being three pounds five ounces _haberdepoiz_, sothat the bahar is 662 pounds eight ounces English averdupois weight. Forthis bahar of cloves, the Dutch give fifty dollars, pursuant to whatthey term their perpetual contract; but, for the more readily obtainingsome loading, I agreed to pay them sixty dollars. This increase of pricemade the natives very desirous of furnishing me, so that I certainly hadprocured a full lading in a month, had not the Dutch overawed thenatives, imprisoning them, and threatening to put them to death, keepingstrict guard on all the coasts. Most of these islands produce abundanceof cloves; and those that are inhabited of any note, yield the followingquantities, one year with another. Ternate 1000 bahars, Machian 1090, Tidore 900, Bachian 300, Moteer 600, Mean 50, Batta China 35; in all3975 bahars, or 2, 633, 437 1/2 English pounds, being 1175 _tons_, twelve_cwts. _ three _qrs. _ and nine and a half _libs. _ Every third year is farmore fruitful than the two former, and is therefore termed the greatmonsoon. It is lamentable to see the destruction which has been brought uponthese islands by civil wars, which, as I learnt while there, began andcontinued in the following manner: At the discovery of these islands bythe Portuguese, they found fierce war subsisting between the kings ofTernate and Tidore, to which two all the other islands were eithersubjected, or were confederated, with one or other of them. ThePortuguese, the better to establish themselves, took no part witheither, but politically kept friends with both, and fortified themselvesin the two principal islands of Ternate and Tidore, engrossing the wholetrade of cloves into their own hands. In this way they domineered tillthe year 1605, when the Dutch dispossessed them by force, and tookpossession for themselves. Yet so weakly did they provide for defendingthe acquisition, that the Spaniards drove them out next year from bothislands, by a force sent from the Philippine islands, took the king ofTernate prisoner, and sent him to the Philippines, and kept both Ternateand Tidore for some time in their hands. Since then the Dutch haverecovered some footing in these, islands, and, at the time of my beingthere, were in possession of the following forts. On the island of Ternate they have a fort named: _Malayou_, having threebulwarks or bastions, _Tolouco_ having two bastions and a round tower, and _Tacome_ with four bastions. On Tidore they have a fort called_Marieka_, with four bastions. On Machian, _Tufasoa_, the chief town ofthe island, having four large bastions with sixteen pieces of cannon, and inhabited by about 1000 natives: At _Nofakia_, another town on thatisland, they have two forts or redoubts, and a third on the top of ahigh hill with five or six guns, which commands the road on the otherside. Likewise at _Tabalola_, another town in Machian, they have twoforts with eight cannons, this place being very strongly situated bynature. The natives of all these places are under their command. Thoseof _Nofakia_ are not esteemed good soldiers, and are said always to sidewith the strongest; but those of Tabalola, who formerly resided at_Cayoa_, are accounted the best soldiers in the Moluccas, being deadlyenemies to the Portuguese and Spaniards, and as weary now of the Dutchdominion. In these fortified stations in Machian, when I was there, theDutch had 120 European soldiers; of whom eighty were at _Tafasoa_, thirty at _Nofakia_, and ten at _Tabalola_. The isle of Machian is therichest in cloves of all the Molucca islands; and, according to report, yields 1800 bahars in the great monsoon. The Dutch have one large fortin the island of Bachian, and four redoubts in the isle of Moteer. Thecivil wars have so wasted the population of these islands, that vastquantities of cloves perish yearly for want of hands to gather them;neither is there any likelihood of peace till one party or the other beutterly extirpated. Leaving them to their wars, I now return to our traffic, and shall shewhow we traded with the natives, which was mostly by exchanging orbartering the cotton cloths of Cambaya and Coromandel for cloves. Thesorts in request and the prices we obtained being as follows:_Candakeens_ of Baroach six _cattees_ of cloves; candakeens of _Papang_, which are flat, three cattees; _Selas_, or small _bastas_, seven andeight cattees; _Patta chere Malayo_ sixteen cattees; five _cassas_twelve cattees; coarse of that kind eight cattees; red _Batellias_, or_Tancoulas_, forty-four and forty-eight cattees; _Sarassas chere Malayo_forty-eight and fifty cattees; _Sarampouri_ thirty cattees; _Chelles, Tapsiels_, and _Matafons_, twenty and twenty-four cattees; white_Cassas_, or _Tancoulos_, forty and forty-four cattees; the finest_Donjerijus_ twelve, and coarser eight and ten cattees; _Pouti Castella_ten cattees; the finest _Ballachios_ thirty cattees; _Pata chere Malayo_of two fathoms eight and ten cattees; great _Potas_, or long fourfathoms, sixteen cattees; white _Parcallas_ twelve cattees; _SalalosYtam_ twelve and fourteen cattees; _Turias_ and _Tape Turias_ one andtwo cattees; _Patola_ of two fathoms, fifty and sixty cattees; those offour fathoms and of one fathom at proportional prices; for twenty-eightpounds of rice, a dollar; _Sago_, which is a _root_ of which the nativesmake their bread, is sold in bunches, and was worth a quarter of adollar the bunch; velvets, sattins, taffetics, and other silk goods ofChina were much in request. This may suffice for the trade of theMoluccas. Proceeding on our voyage, it was calm all day on the 16th of April, butwe, had a good breeze at night from the west, when we steered N. N. W. Inthe morning of the 17th, we steered north, with the wind at E. By S. Butit afterwards became very variable, shifting to all points of thecompass, and towards night we had sight of land to the northwards. Onthe 18th we had calms, with much rain, and contrary winds at intervals, for which reason I resolved to go for the island of _Saiom_, which wasto the westward, and to remain there and refresh the crew, till thechange of the monsoon might permit me to proceed on my intended voyage. But almost immediately the wind came round to the west, and we stood N. And N. By E. On the 19th, with little wind at W. We continued our courseN. By E. The weather being extremely hot, with much rain. It was quitecalm in the morning of the 20th, but we had a constant current settingus to the eastwards, which indeed had been the case ever since we leftTernate. In the afternoon, the wind came round to the northward, a briskgale, and we stood west to stem the current, bearing for a large islandcalled _Doy_, where we proposed to rest and refresh. In the morning of the 21st, we were fairly before that island, near itsnorthern extremity, which was a low point stretching southwards. Westood in E. By S. With the wind at N. By E. And at noon sent our skiffin search of a convenient place for anchoring; but the current set sostrong to the eastwards, that we were unable to stem it, and couldmerely see at a distance a very large bay, having a great shoal off itsnorthern point half a league out to sea, while we had sixty fathomswater off the shore upon a bottom of sand. As night approached, we stoodoff till morning; and next day, about sun-set, we came to anchor in thelarge bay, having on standing in fifty-six, thirty-five, twenty-six, andtwenty-four fathoms water. I sent some people ashore in the skiff on the 23d, to look out for aconvenient watering-place, and for a proper situation in which to set upa tent to defend our men from the rain when on shore. They accordinglyfound a fit place right over against the ship, and saw many tracks ofdeer and wild swine, but no appearance of any inhabitants. The countrywas full of trees, and, in particular, there were abundance of_cokers_, [1] _penang, serie_, and _palmitos_, among which were plenty ofpoultry, pheasants, and wood-cocks. I went ashore along with ourmerchants, and had a tent set up. Our carpenter made several veryingenious pitfalls for catching the wild-hogs. We took some fish amongthe rocks with much labour, and got one pheasant and two wood-Pigeons, which last were as large in the body as ordinary hens. Some of ourcompany staid all night ashore to look for the wild-hogs coming into thetraps, and some very large ones were seen on the 24th, but none werecaught. This morning, about half past seven, the moon, being at thefull, was eclipsed in a more extraordinary manner than any of us hadever seen, being three hours and a half obscured before she recoveredher entire light, _which was very fearful_. [Footnote 1: Cocoa-nut trees. --E. ] The 25th, our people searching about the woods, brought great store of_cokers_ to the ship, together with some fowls, and the heads of thepalmito trees, which we boiled with our beef, and found them to eat likecabbages. The 28th, the company were busily employed in taking in woodand water. The skiff was sent out to sound the shoal, and found ten andtwelve fathoms at the northern point of the bar, near the shoal. Allthis time we had prodigious rain both day and night. The 29th and 30thwere employed in bringing wood aboard, which we found as good as ourEnglish billets. The skiff was sent on the 1st of May to sound thewestern point of the bay, where the water was found very deep. Onlanding at that part of the coast our people found the ruins of severalhuts, among which were some brass pans, which shewed the place had beenlately inhabited, but, as we supposed, the inhabitants had been huntedfrom their houses by the wars. We set sail on the 12th May, 1613, from this island of _Doy_, being thenorth-eastmost island of _Batta-China_, or Gilolo, in the Moluccas, inlatitude 2° 35' N. [2] The variation here was 5° 20' easterly. By noon ofthis day we were fourteen leagues N. By E. From the place where we hadbeen at anchor for twenty days. [3] The 1st June, passed the tropic ofCancer. The 2d, being in lat 25° 44' N. We laid our account with seeingthe islands of _Dos Reys Magos. _[4] Accordingly, about four p. M. We hadsight of a very low island, and soon afterwards of the high land overthe low, there being many little islands, to the number of ten oreleven, connected by broken grounds and ledges, so that we could notdiscern any passage to the westward. At night we stood off and took inour top-sails, and lay close by in our courses till morning. The islandsstretch from S. W. To N. E. The 3d, we stood in for the land, whichappeared to us a most pleasant and fertile soil, as much so as any wehad seen from leaving England, well peopled, and having great store ofcattle. We proposed to have come to anchor about its north-east point, and on sounding, had sixty fathoms. We saw two boats coming off to us, and used every means to get speech of them, wishing for a pilot, anddesiring to know the name of the island, but the wind was so strong thatwe could not get in, wherefore we stood away N. W. And had sight ofanother island bearing N. N. W. For which we steered, and thence descriedanother, N. E. Half E. About seven or eight leagues off. Coming under thewestern island, we observed certain rocks about two miles offshore, oneof which was above water, and the other, to the north, under water, agreat way without the other, and the sea breaking on it. [Footnote 2: The latitude in the text, which we have reason to believeaccurate, as Captain Saris was so long at this place, indicates thenorthern end of the island of _Morty_, east and a little northerly ofthe northern peninsula or leg of Gilolo. --E. ] [Footnote 3: We have omitted in the text the naked journal of dailywinds, courses, and distances, as tending to no useful informationwhatever. --E. ] [Footnote 4: The indicated latitude, considering the direction of thevoyage between Morty and Japan, nearly coincides with the small islandsof Kumi and Matchi, west from the south end of the great Liqueo. --E. ] On the 7th, we supposed ourselves about twenty-eight or thirty leaguesfrom _Tonan_. [5] In the morning of the 8th, we had sight of a high roundisland, bearing E. Six leagues off, with various other islands, in sixor seven directions westwards, five or six leagues off. [6] In themorning of the 8th we had sight of land bearing N. N. E. And of six greatislands in a row N. E. From the island we descried the preceding evening;and at the northern end of all were many small rocks and hummocks. In abay to the eastwards of these, we saw a high land bearing E. And E. ByS. And E. S. E. Which is the island called _Xima_ in the charts, but named_Maihma_ by the natives, while the former island is called _Segue_, or_Amaxay_. [7] The 10th, four great fishing-boats came aboard, about fivetons burden each, having one large sail, like that of a skiff. They hadeach four oars of a side, resting on pins fastened to the gunwales, theheads of the pins being let into the middle of the oars, so that theyhung in just equipoise, saving much labour to the rowers. These peoplemake much more speed in rowing than our men, and perform their workstanding, by which they take up less room. They told us we were justbefore the entrance to _Nangasaki_, which bore N. N. E. ; the straits of_Arima_ being N. E. By N. And that the high hill we saw yesterday wasupon the island called _Uszideke_, [8] making the straits of _Arima_, atthe north end of which is good anchorage, and at the south end is theentrance to _Cahinoch_. [9] We agreed with two of the masters of thesefishing-boats for thirty dollars each, and rice for their food, to pilotus to _Firando_, on which agreement their people came aboard our ship, and voluntarily performed its duty as readily as any of our ownmariners. We steered N. By W. The pilots reckoning that we were thirtyleagues from Firando. One of the boats which came to us at this timebelonged to the Portuguese who dwelt at Nangasaki, being Christianconverts, and thought our ship had been the Portuguese ship from Makao;but, on finding we were not, made all haste back again to advise them, refusing every entreaty to remain with us. [Footnote 5: The island of Tanao-sima is probably here meant, being themost southerly of the Japanese islands. It may be proper to remark, thatthe termination _sima_, in the names of islands belonging to Japan, obviously means _island_, like the prefix _pula_ in the names of islandsin the Malay Archipelago. --E. ] [Footnote 6: There is a considerable cluster of small islands south fromTanaosima, between the latitudes of 29° 30' and 30° N. --E. ] [Footnote 7: Xima, or sima, only means island. Perhaps Mashama may bethat named Kaba-sima in modern maps, and Amaxay may possibly be Amacusa, these islands being in the way towards Nangasaki. --E. ] [Footnote 8: This seems the same island called before Amaxay, orAmacusa. --E. ] [Footnote 9: Cochinotzu is the name of a town on the south-westpeninsula of the island of Kiusiu; but Cochinoch in the text seems thesound leading to Nangasaki, and the straits of Arima appear to be thepassage between the north side of Amacusa and Kiusiu. --E. ] §6. _Arrival at Firando, and some Account of the Habits, Manners, andCustoms of the Japanese_. We came to anchor about half a league short of Firando, about threep. M. Of the 11th June, 1613, the tide being then so much spent that wecould not get nearer. I was soon afterwards visited by _Foyne Sama_, theold king of Firando, accompanied by his nephew, _Tone Sama_, whogoverned the island under the old king. [10] They were attended by fortyboats or gallies, some having ten, and others fifteen oars of a side. Oncoming near our ship, the king ordered all the boats to fall astern, except the two which carried him and his nephew, who only came on deck, both dressed in silk gowns, under which were linen shirts and breeches. Each of them wore two _cattans_, or Japanese swords, one of which washalf a yard long in the blade, and the other only a quarter of a yard. They wore neither turbans nor hats, the fore part of their heads beingshaven to the crowns, and the rest of their hair very long, and gatheredinto a knot behind. The king seemed about seventy-two years of age, andhis nephew, or grandchild, twenty-two, who governed under him, and eachwas attended by an officer, who commanded over their slaves as theydirected. [Footnote 10: As the Portuguese, who first visited Japan, chose todesignate the sovereign of that country by the title of emperor, theydenominated all its provinces kingdoms, and their governors kings. --E. ] Their manner of salutation was thus: On coming into the presence of himthey mean to salute, they put off their shoes, so that they arebarefooted, for they wear no stockings. Then putting their right handwithin the left, they hold them down to their knees, bending theirbodies, then wag or swing their joined hands a little to and fro, makingsome small steps to one side from the person they salute, and say _augh!augh!_ I immediately led them into my cabin, where I had prepared abanquet for them, and entertained them with a good concert of music, totheir great delight. I then delivered the letters from our king to theking of Firando, which he received very joyfully, saying he would notopen it till _Ange_ came, who would interpret it. _Ange_, in theirlanguage, signifies a pilot, and by this name was meant one _WilliamAdams_, an Englishman. He had come this way in a Dutch ship from theSouth Seas, about twelve years ago; and, in consequence of a mutinyamong the people, the ship was seized by the emperor, and Adams hadremained in the country ever since. After staying about an hour and ahalf, the king took his leave, bidding us welcome to the country, andpromising me kind entertainment. He was no sooner ashore than all his nobility came to see the ship, attended by a vast number of soldiers, every person of any note bringinga present; some of venison, some of wild-fowl, and some of wild-boar, the largest and fattest we had ever seen, while others brought us fish, fruits, and various things. They greatly admired the ship, and seemednever to be satisfied with looking at her; and as we were much pesteredby the number of these visitors, I sent to the king, requesting he wouldorder them to remove, to prevent any inconveniences that might arise. The king immediately sent a principal officer of his guard, with ordersto remain aboard, to see that no injury was done to us, and ordered aproclamation to that effect to be made in the town. The same night, Hendrik Brewer, who was chief of the Dutch factory at Firando, came tovisit me, or rather to see what had passed between the king and us. Iwrote this day to Mr Adams, who was then at _Jedo_, [11] nearly 300leagues from Firando, to inform him of our arrival. King _Foyne_ sent myletter next day by his admiral, to _Osackay_ (_Osaka_, ) the nearest portof importance on the principal island, whence it would go by post toJedo, and he sent notice to the emperor by the same conveyance, of ourarrival and purposes. [Footnote 11: Called _Edoo_, in Purchas. ] In the morning of the 12th, we had fish brought to us in abundance, andas cheap as we could desire. We this day weighed to make sail for theroad; and, on this occasion, the king sent at the least threescore largeboats, or gallies, well manned, to tow us into the harbour. On seeingthis multitude of boats, I was in some doubts of their intentions, andsent my skiff to warn them not to come near the ship. But the king wasin the headmost boat, and observing my suspicions, waved hishandkerchief for all the boats to wait, and came aboard himself, tellingme that he had ordered all these boats to assist in bringing me round apoint which was somewhat dangerous, on account of the strength of thetide, and could not be stemmed by even a good breeze of wind, and if theship fell into the eddy, we should be driven upon the rocks. Having gotthis explanation, we sent our hawsers to the Japanese boats, on whichthey fell stiffly to work, and towed us into the harbour. In the meantime, the king breakfasted with me, and when I proposed rewarding hispeople for towing me in, after we were at anchor, he would not allowthem to accept of any thing. We now anchored in five fathoms, on soft ooze, so near the shore that wecould have talked with the people in their houses. We saluted the townwith nine guns, but had no return, as there are no cannon at this place, neither any fortifications, except barricades for small arms. Severalnobles came off to bid me welcome, two of whom were men of high rank, named _Nobusane_ and _Simmadone_. I entertained them well, and, attheir departing, they used extraordinary state, one remaining on board tillthe other was landed, their children and chief followers using the likeceremony. There came continually such numbers of people on board, bothmen and women, that we were not able to go about the decks. The shiplikewise was quite surrounded by boats full of people, greatly admiringher head and stern. I permitted several women of the better sort to comeinto my cabin, where the picture of Venus and Cupid was hung, ratherwantonly executed. Some of these ladies, thinking it to be Our Lady andher blessed Son, fell down to worship with appearance of much devotion, whispering our men, so that their companions might not hear, that theywere Christians, having been converted by the Portuguese jesuits. The king came aboard again, bringing four principal women along withhim, who were attired in silken gowns, overlapped in front, and girtround them. Their legs were bare, except that they had half buskinsbound about their insteps with silk ribbon. Their hair was very blackand long, tied up in a knot on the crown, in a very comely manner, nopart of their heads being shaven, like the men. They had comely faces, hands, and feet, with clear white complexions, but wanting colour, whichthey supplied by art. Their stature was low, but they were very fat, andtheir behaviour was very courteous, and not ignorant of the respect dueaccording to their fashions. The king requested that no person mightremain in the cabin except myself and my linguist, who was a native ofJapan, brought along with me from Bantam. He was well skilled in theMalay language, in which he explained to me what was said by the king, in Japanese. The women were at first somewhat bashful, but the kingdesired them to be frolicsome. They sung several songs, and played oncertain instruments, one of which resembled our lute, being bellied likeit, but longer in the neck, and fretted like ours, but had only four gutstrings. They fingered with their left hands, as is done with us, andvery nimbly; but they struck the strings with a piece of ivory held inthe right hand, as we are in use to play with a quill on the citern. They seemed to delight much in their music, beating time with theirhands, and both playing and singing by book, prickt on lines and spacesmuch like our own. I feasted them, and gave them several Englishcommodities, and after two hours stay, they returned on shore. At thisinterview I requested the king to let us have a house in the town, whichhe readily granted, taking two of my merchants ashore with him, to whomhe pointed out three or four houses, desiring them to make their choice, paying the owners as we could agree. On the 13th I went ashore, attended by the merchants and principalofficers, and delivered our presents to the king, to the value of about£140, which he received with great satisfaction, feasting me and mywhole company with several kinds of _powdered_ wild-fowl and fruits. He called for a standing cup, which was one of the presents, and orderingit to be filled with their country wine, which is distilled from rice, and as strong as brandy, he told me he would drink it all off to thehealth of the king of England, which he did, though it held about a pintand a half, in which he was followed by myself and all his nobles. Asonly myself and the Cape merchant sat in the same room with the king, all the rest of my company being in another room, he commanded hissecretary to go and see that they all pledged the health. The king andhis nobles sat at meat cross-legged, on mats, after the fashion of theTurks, the mats being richly edged with cloths of gold, velvet, sattin, or damask. The 14th and 15th were spent in giving presents; and on the16th I agreed with _Audassee_, captain of the Chinese quarter, forhis house, paying ninety-five dollars for the monsoon of six months; he toput it into repair, and to furnish all the rooms conveniently with mats, according to the fashion of the country, and we to keep it in repair, with leave to alter as we thought fit. This day our ship was so pestered with numbers of people coming onboard, that I had to send to the king for a guardian to clear them out, many things being stolen, though I more suspected my own people than thenatives. There came this day a Dutchman in one of the country boats, whohad been at the island of _Mashma_, where he sold good store of pepper, broad-cloth, and elephants teeth, though he would not acknowledge to usthat he had sold any thing, or brought any thing back with him in theboat; but the Japanese boatmen told us he had sold a great quantity ofgoods at a mart in that place, and had brought his returns in bars ofsilver, which he kept very secret. The 21st the old king came aboard again, bringing with him several womento make a frolic. These women were actors of comedies, who go about fromisland to island, and from town, to town, to act plays, which are mostlyabout love and war, and have several shifts of apparel for the bettergrace of their interludes. These women were the slaves of a man whofixes a price that every man must pay who has to do with them. He mustnot take a higher price than that affixed, on pain of death, ifcomplained against. At the first, he is allowed to fix upon each womanwhat price he pleases, which price he can never afterwards raise, butmay lower it as he likes; neither doth the party bargain with the womenfor their favours, but with the master. Even the highest of the Japanesenobility, when travelling, hold it no disgrace to send for these pandersto their inn, and bargain with them for their girls, either to fill outtheir drink for them at table, as is the custom with all men of rank, orfor other uses. When any of these panders die, although in their lifethey were received into the best company, they are now held unworthy torest among the worst. A straw rope is put round their neck, and they aredragged through the streets into the fields, and cast on a dung-hill tobe devoured by dogs and fowls. The 23d, there arrived two Chinese junks at Nangasaki, laden with sugar. By them it was understood that the emperor of China had lately put, todeath about 5000 persons for trading out of the country contrary to hisedict. Yet the hope of profit had induced these men to hazard theirlives and properties, having bribed the _Pungavas_, or officers ofthe sea-ports, who had succeeded those recently put to death for the sameoffence. The 29th, a _soma_, or junk, belonging to the Dutch, arrived atNangasaki from Siam, laden with Brazil wood and skins of all kinds. Ontheir arrival, they were said to be Englishmen, as, before our coming, the Dutch used generally to pass by the name of English, our nationbeing long known by report in Japan, but much scandalised by thePortuguese jesuits, who represent us as pirates and rovers on the sea. In consequence of this report, the Japanese have a song, which they call_English Crofonio_, shewing how the English take the Spanish andPortuguese ships, which, while singing, they act likewise with catans, and so scare their children, as the French used to do theirs with thename of Lord Talbot. The 1st July two of our company happened to quarrel, and had nearly goneout to the field to fight, which had greatly endangered us all, as it isthe law here, that whoever draws a weapon in anger, although no harm bedone, is presently cut in pieces; and if they do even but small hurt, not only they are so executed themselves, but all their relations areput to death. The 2d, I went ashore to keep house at Firando, myhousehold consisting of twenty-six persons. At our first coming, wefound that the Dutch sold broad-cloths of £15 or 16 a-cloth, for fortydollars, or £8 sterling the _mat_, which is a measure of two yardsand a quarter. Being desirous to keep up the price of our cloth, and hearingthat the Dutch had a great quantity, I had a conference with Brower, thechief of their factory, proposing that we should mutually fix pricesupon such cloths as we both had, and neither of us, in any respect, sellbelow the prices agreed upon; for performance of which, I offered toenter into mutual bonds. In the morning, he seemed to approve of thisproposal, but ere night he sent me word that he disliked it, allegingthat he had no authority from his masters to make any such agreement. Next morning he shipped away a great store of cloth to differentislands, rating them at low prices, as at twenty, eighteen, and sixteendollars the _mat_, that he might the more speedily sell off his own, andglut the market before ours came forwards. Pepper, ungarbled, which cost 1 3/4 dollars at Bantam the sack, wasworth at our coming ten _tayes_ the _pecul_, which is 100_cattea_ of Japan, or 130 pounds English. A _taye_ is worthfive shillings sterling. A rial of eight, or Spanish dollar, is worththere in ordinary payment only seven _mas_, or three shillings andsixpence sterling, one mas being equal to a single rial. The _pecul_of tin was worth thirty _tayes_; the _pecul_ of elephants teetheighty _tayes_: Cast iron six tayes the pecul: Gunpowder twenty-threetayes the pecul: Socotrine aloes the cattee, six _tayes_: Fowling-piecestwenty tayes each: Calicos and such little commodities, of Guzerat orCoromandel, were at various prices, according to their qualities. On the 7th of July the king of the Gotto islands, which are not far fromFirando to the S. W. Came upon a visit to king _Foyne_, saying he hadheard of an excellent English ship being arrived in his dominions, whichhe greatly desired to go aboard of. King Foyne requested of me that thismight be allowed, the king of Gotto being an especial friend of his;wherefore he was banqueted on board, and several cannon were fired athis departure, which he was much pleased with, and told me he would beglad to see some of our nation at his islands, where they should meet ahearty welcome. Three Japanese, two men and a woman, were put to deathfor the following cause: The woman, in the absence of her husband, hadmade separate assignations with both the men. He who was appointedlatest, not knowing of the other, and weary of waiting, came too soon, and enraged at finding her engaged with another man, drew his _cattan_and wounded both very severely, almost cutting the man's back in two. Yet the wounded man, getting hold of his _cattan_, wounded theaggressor. This fray alarming the street, word was sent to king Foyneand to know his pleasure, who accordingly gave orders to cut off alltheir heads. After their execution, all who thought proper, as many did, came to try the temper of their weapons upon the dead bodies, which theysoon hewed in small pieces, which were left to be devoured by theravens. The 10th three others were executed in the same way with the former, being beheaded and afterwards cut in pieces, for stealing a woman longsince from Firando and selling her at Nangasaki. When any are to beexecuted, they are led out of town in the following manner: First therego two men, one having a mattock and the other a shovel, to dig thegrave, if that be allowed to the criminal. Then a third person carryinga small table or board, on which is written the crime of the party, which is afterwards affixed to a post on the grave in which he isburied. Next comes the party to be executed, having his hands boundbehind him by a silken cord, and having a small paper banner, much likeone of our wind-vanes, on which the offence is written. The criminal isfollowed by the executioner, having his _cattan_ or Japanese sword byhis side, and holding in his hand the cord with which the hands of thecriminal are bound. On each hand of the executioner walks a soldierarmed with a pike, the head of which rests on the criminal's shoulder, to intimidate him from attempting to escape. In this manner I saw oneman led out to execution, who went forwards with a most wonderfulresolution, and apparently without fear of death, such as I had neverseen the like in Europe. He was condemned for stealing a sack of ricefrom a neighbour, whose house was burning. The 11th there arrived three Chinese junks at Nangasaki, laden withsilks. The 19th the old king begged a piece of _poldavy_ from me; andthough a king, and famed as the bravest soldier in Japan for his conductin the wars of Corea, he had it made into coats, which he wore next hisskin, some part of it being made into handkerchiefs. The 20th, a _soma_or junk arrived at Nangasaki from Cochinchina, laden with silk andbenzoin, which last was exceedingly clear and good. The 29th Mr Adamsarrived at Firando, having been seventeen days in coming from Sorongo, while we had waited no less than forty-eight days for his coming. [12]After receiving him in a friendly manner, I conferred with him in thepresence of our merchants, as to our hopes of trade in this country. Hesaid the trade was variable, but doubted not we might do as well as theDutch, and gave great commendations of the country, to which he seemedto be much attached. [Footnote 12: The first messenger, for not making haste with the lettersto Adams, was banished by the angry king. --_Purch. _] On the morning of the 30th, an officer of the young king was cut topieces in the street, as it was thought for being too intimate with theyoung king's mother; and one of the officer's slaves was slain alongwith him, for endeavouring to defend his master. This day there came twoSpaniards to Firando, who were acquainted with Mr Adams, to request apassage in our ship for Bantam. They had belonged to the crew of aSpanish ship, sent from New Spain about a year before to makediscoveries to the north of Japan, and coming to Jedo to wait themonsoon which serves for going to the northward, which begins in the endof May, the crew mutinied against their captain, and every one wentaway whither he listed, leaving the ship entirely unmanned. On receivingthis account of the Spaniards, I thought it best not to let them entermy ship. On the 3d of August, king _Foyne_ sent to know what was the size of thepresent from our king to the emperor, as also the number of people Imeant to take along with me to the court, that he might provideaccordingly for my going up in good order, in regard to barks, horses, and palanquins. This day likewise I caused the presents to be assorted, for the emperor and those of chief consideration about him, of whichpresents respectively the values were as follow:-- For _Ogoshosama_, the emperor, ---------------------£87 7 6 _Shongosama_, the emperor's son, ----------------43 15 0 _Codskedona_, the emperor's secretary, ----------15 17 6 _Saddadona_, secretary to the emperor's son, ----14 3 4 _Iccocora Juga_, judge of _Meaco_, ---------4 10 6 _Fongodona_, admiral of _Orungo_, -----------3 10 0 _Goto Shozavero_, the mint-master, -------------11 0 0 ________ Total, £180 3 10 §7. _Journey of Captain Saris to the Court of the Emperor, with hisObservations there and by the Way_. The 7th August, 1613, being furnished by king _Foyne_ with a propergalley, and having taken leave of him, I went aboard ship to put allthings in order for my departure. [13] This galley rowed twenty-five-oarsof a side, and was manned by sixty Japanese; and I fitted her outhandsomely in our fashion, with waste cloths, ensigns, and all othernecessaries. Leaving instructions with the master of the Clove and thecape merchant, for the proper regulation of the ship and the house onshore during my absence, and taking with me ten Englishmen and nineother attendants, as the before-mentioned sixty were only to take chargeof the galley, I departed from Firando on my voyage and journey for thecourt of the Japanese emperor. We rowed through among various islands, all or most of which were well inhabited, and had several handsome townsupon them, one of which, called _Facata_, has a very strong castle builtof freestone, but without any cannon or garrison. The ditch of thiscastle is five fathoms deep and ten broad, all round about the walls, and is passed by means of a drawbridge, and the whole is kept in goodrepair. The tide and wind were here so strong against us that we couldnot proceed, for which reason I landed and dined at this town, which wasvery well built, and seemed to be as large as London is within thewalls. All its streets are so even, that one may see from one end to theother. This place is exceedingly populous, and the people very civil andcourteous; only that at our first landing, and indeed at all places towhich we came in the whole country, the children and low idle peopleused to gather about and follow us a long way, calling _coré, coré, cocoré, Waré_ that is to say, _You Coreans with false hearts_; all thewhile whooping and hallooing, and making such a noise that we could nothear ourselves speak; and sometimes throwing stones at us, though seldomin any of the towns, yet the clamour and shouting was every where thesame, as nobody reproved them for it. The best advice I can give tothose who may come after me, is to pass on without attending to theseidle rabblements, by which their ears only will be disturbed by thenoise. All along this coast, and indeed the whole way to Osaka, we foundvarious women who lived continually with their families in boats uponthe water, as is done in Holland. These women catch fish by diving evenin the depth of eight fathoms, that are missed by the nets and lines;and by the habit of frequent diving their eyes become excessively redand bloodshot, by which mark these divers may be readily distinguishedfrom all other women. [Footnote 13: The old king sent 200 tayes, worth five shillings each, toCaptain Saris, for his expences in the journey. --_Purch. _] In two days we rowed from Firando to Facata. When eight or ten leaguesshort of the straits of _Xemina-seque_, [14] we came to a great town, where there lay in a dock a junk of 800 or 1000 tons burden, _allsheathed with iron_, [15] and having a guard appointed to keep her frombeing set on fire or otherwise destroyed. She was built in a very homelyfashion, much like the descriptions we have of Noah's ark; and thenatives told us she served to transport troops to any of the islands incase of rebellion or war. [Footnote 14: The editor of Astley's Collection has altered theorthography of this name to _Shemina seki_. In modern maps, we find atown named _Sunono sequi_, on one side of these straits, which dividethe island of Kiusiu from the south-west end of the great island ofNiphon. --E. ] [Footnote 15: It is not a little singular, that metallic sheathingshould have been observed by English mariners in Japan so long ago as1613, and yet never attempted in the British or any other European navytill more than 150 years afterwards, and then brought forwards as a newinvention. --E. ] We met with nothing extraordinary after passing through the straits ofXemina-seque till we came to Osaka, where we arrived on the 27th ofAugust. Our galley could not get nearer the town than six miles;wherefore we were met by a smaller vessel, in which came the _goodman orhost_ of the house where we were to lodge in Osaka, and who brought withhim a banquet of wine and _salt fruits_ to entertain me. A rope beingmade fast to the mast-head of our boat, she was drawn forwards by men, as our west country barges are at London. We found Osaka a very largetown, as large as London within the walls, having many very high andhandsome timber bridges which serve to cross the river _Jodo_, which isas wide as the Thames at London. Some of the houses here were handsome, but not many. It is one of the chiefest sea-ports in all Japan, and hasa castle of great size and strength, with very deep ditches all round, crossed by drawbridges, and its gates plated with iron. This castle isall of freestone, strengthened by bulwarks and battlements, havingloop-holes for small arms and arrows, and various passages for throwingdown stones upon the assailants. The walls are at least six or sevenyards thick, all built of freestone throughout, having no packing withtrumpery within, as I was told, but all solid. The stones are large andof excellent quality, and are so exactly cut to fit the places wherethey are laid, that no mortar is used, only a little earth beingoccasionally thrown in to fill up any void spaces. In the castle of Osaka, when I was there, dwelt the son of _Tiquasama_, who was the true heir of Japan; but being an infant at the death of hisfather, he was left under the guardianship of four chiefs or great men, of whom Ogoshosama, the present emperor, was the principal. The otherthree guardians were each desirous of acquiring the sovereignty, andbeing opposed by Ogoshosama, levied armies against him; but Ogoshosamadefeated them in battle, in which two of them were slain, and the othersaved himself by flight. After this great victory, Ogoshosama attemptedwhat he is said not to have thought of before. Seizing the true heir ofthe throne, he married the young prince to his own daughter, andconfined them in the castle of Osaka, under the charge of such personsonly as had been brought up from their childhood under the roof of theusurper, so that by their means he has regular intelligence of everything they do. Right opposite to Osaka, on the other side of the river Jodo, there isanother town called _Sakay_, not so large as Osaka, but of considerableextent, and having great trade to all the neighbouring country. Havingleft samples and lists of prices of all our commodities with our host atOsaka, we departed from that place on the night of the 29th of August ina bark, and arrived at _Fusima_ next night, where we found a garrison of3000 men, maintained there by the emperor, to keep Miaco and Osaka undersubjection. This garrison is shifted every third year, and the relieftook place while we were there, so that we saw the old bands march awayand the new enter, which they did in a most soldier-like manner. Theymarched five abreast, and to every ten files or fifty men there was acaptain, who kept his men in excellent order. Their shot marched first, being _calivers_, for they have no muskets and will not use any, thenfollowed pikes, next swords or _cattans_ and targets, these werefollowed by bows and arrows, and then a band armed with weapons called_waggadashes_, resembling Welsh hooks: These were succeeded by calivers, and so on as before; but without any ensigns or colours; neither hadthey any drums or other warlike instruments of music. The first file ofthe band armed with cattans had silver scabbards, and the last filewhich marched next the captain had their scabbards of gold. Thecompanies or bands were of various numbers, some 500, some 300, and someonly of 150 men. In the middle of every band there were three horsesvery richly caparisoned, their saddles being covered by costly furs, orvelvet, or stammel broad-cloths. Every horse was attended by threeslaves, who led them in silken halters, and their eyes were hoodwinkedby means of leathern covers. After each troop or band, the captain followed on horseback, his bed andall his necessaries being laid upon his own horse equally poised on bothsides, and over all was spread a covering of red felt of China, on thetop of which sat the captain crosslegged, like a huckster between twopaniers. Such as were old or weak in the back had a staff artificiallyfixed on the pannel, on which he could lean back and rest himself as ifsitting in a choir. We met the captain-general of this new garrison twodays after meeting his first band, having in the mean time met severalof these bands in the course of our journey, some a league, and otherstwo leagues from each other. The general travelled in great state, muchbeyond the other bands, yet the second band had their arms much morerichly decorated than the first, and the third than the second, and soevery successive band more sumptuous than another. The captain-generalhunted and hawked all the way, having his own hounds and hawks alongwith him, the hawks being hooded and lured as ours in England. Thehorses that accompanied him for his own riding were six in number, andwere all richly caparisoned. These horses were not tall, but of the sizeof our middling nags, short and well knit, small-headed, and verymettlesome, and in my opinion far excelling the Spanish jennet in spiritand action. His palanquin was carried before him, being lined withcrimson velvet, and having six bearers, two and two to carry at a time. Such excellent order was taken for the passing and providing of thesesoldiers, that no person either inhabiting or travelling in the road bywhich they passed and lodged, was in any way injured by them, but all ofthem were as cheerfully entertained as any other guests, because theypaid for what they had as regularly as any other travellers. Every townand village on the way being well provided with cooks-shops andvictualling houses, where they could get every thing they had a mindfor, and diet themselves at any sum they pleased, between the value ofan English penny and two shillings. The most generally used article offood in Japan is rice of different qualities, as with our wheats andother kinds of grain, the whitest being reckoned the best, and is usedinstead of bread, to which they add fresh or salted fish, some pickledherbs, beans, radishes, and other roots, salted or pickled; wild-fowl, such as duck, mallard, teal, geese, pheasants, partridges, quails, andvarious others, powdered or put up in pickle. They have great abundanceof poultry, as likewise of red and fallow deer, with wild boars, hares, goats, and kine. They have plenty of cheese, but have no butter, and useno milk, because they consider it to be of the nature of blood. They have great abundance of swine. Their wheat is all of the red kind, and is as good as ours in England, and they plough both with oxen andhorses, as we do. During our residence in Japan, we bought the best hensand pheasants at three-pence each, large fat pigs for twelve-pence, afat hog for five shillings, a good ox, like our Welsh runts, at sixteenshillings, a goat for three shillings, and rice for a halfpenny thepound. The ordinary drink of the common people is water, which theydrink warm with their meat, holding it to be a sovereign remedy againstworms in the _maw_. They have no other drink but what is distilled fromrice, as strong as our brandy, like Canary wine in colour, and not dear:Yet, after drawing off the best and strongest, they still wring out asmaller drink, which serves the poorer people who cannot reach thestronger. The 30th of August we were furnished with nineteen horses at the chargeof the emperor, to carry up my attendants and the presents going in ourking's name to _Surunga_. I had a palanquin appointed for my use, and aled horse, well caparisoned, to ride when I pleased, six men beingappointed to carry my palanquin on plain ground, but where the road grewhilly, ten were allowed. The officer appointed by king _Foyne_ toaccompany me, took up these men and horses by warrants, from time totime, and from place to place, just as post-horses are taken up inEngland, and also procured us lodgings at night; and, according to thecustom of the country, I had a slave to run before me, carrying a pike. We thus travelled every day fifteen or sixteen leagues, which weestimated at three miles the league, and arrived on the 6th of Septemberat _Surunga_, [16] where the emperor resided. The road for the most partis wonderfully even, and where it meets with mountains, a passage is cutthrough. This is the main road of the whole country, and, is mostlycovered with sand and gravel. It is regularly measured off into leagues, and at every league there is a small hillock of earth on each side ofthe road, upon each of which is set a fair pine-tree, trimmed round likean arbour. These are placed at the end of every league, that thehackney-men and horse-hirers may not exact more than their due, which isabout three-pence for each league. [Footnote 16: Suruga, Surunga, or Sununnaga, is a town in the provinceof that name, at the head of the gulf of Totomina, about 50 miles S. W. From Jedo. --E. ] The road is much frequented, and very full of people. Every where, atshort distances, we came to farms and country-houses, with numerousvillages, and frequent large towns. We had often likewise to ferry overrivers, and we saw many _Futtakeasse_ or _Fotoquis_, being thetemples of the Japanese, which are situated in groves, and in thepleasantest places of the country, having the priests that attendupon the idols dwelling around the temples, as our friars in old timeused to do here in England. On approaching any of the towns, we sawsundry crosses, having the dead bodies of persons who had been crucifiedaffixed to them, such being the ordinary mode of punishment for mostmalefactors. On coming near Surunga, where the emperor keeps his court, we saw a scaffold, on which lay the heads of several malefactors that hadbeen recently executed, with the dead bodies of some stretched on crosses, while those of others had been all hewn in pieces by the natives, tryingthe tempers of their _cattans_, as formerly mentioned when at Firando. This was a most unpleasant sight for us, who had necessarily to passthem on our way to Surunga. The city of Surunga is fully as large as London, with all itssuburbs. [17] We found all the handicraft tradesmen dwelling in theoutward parts and skirts of the town, while those of the better sortresided in the heart of the city, not choosing to be annoyed by thecontinual knocking, hammering, and other noise made by the artisans intheir several callings. As soon as we were settled in the lodgingsappointed for us in the city of Surunga, I sent Mr Adams to the imperialresidence, to inform the secretary of our arrival, and to request asspeedy dispatch as possible. He sent me back for answer, that I waswelcome, and that after resting myself for a day for two, I should beadmitted to an audience of the emperor. The 7th of September we wereoccupied in arranging the presents, and providing little tables ofsweet-smelling wood on which to carry them, according to the custom ofthe country. [Footnote 17: It is hardly necessary to remark, that this applies toLondon in the year 1613, then vastly smaller than now, when Westminsterwas a separate city, at some miles distance from London; the Strand, Piccadilly, and Oxford Street, country roads; Whitehall a countrypalace; and the whole _west end_ of the town, fields, farms, or countryvillas. --E. ] On the 8th of September I was carried in my palanquin to the castle ofSurunga, in which the emperor resides, and was attended by my merchantsand others, the presents being carried before me. In entering thecastle, we had to pass three draw-bridges, at each of which there was aguard of soldiers. The approach to the presence was by means of a fairand wide flight of stone stairs, where I was met and received by twograve and comely personages; one of whom was _Codske dona_, theemperor's secretary, and the other named _Fongo dona_, the admiral. Bythese officers I was led into a handsome room, the floor of which wascovered by mats, on which we sat down cross-legged. Shortly after, theyled me into the presence-chamber, in which stood the chair of state, towhich they wished me to do reverence. This chair was about five feethigh, covered with cloth of gold, and very richly adorned on its backand sides, but had no canopy. We then returned to the former room, andin about a quarter of an hour word was brought that the emperor was inthe presence-chamber. They then led me to the door of the room where theemperor was, making signs for me to go in, but dared not even to look upthemselves. The presents sent from our king to the emperor, and thosewhich I offered as from myself according to the custom of the country, had all been placed in a very orderly manner upon mats in thepresence-chamber, before the emperor came there. Going into the chamber, of presence, I made my compliments to theemperor according to our English fashion, and delivered our king'sletter to the emperor, who took it in his hand and raised it towards hisforehead, and commanded his interpreter, who sat at a good distancebehind, to desire Mr Adams to tell me that I was welcome from a long andwearisome journey, that I might therefore rest me for a day or two, andthen his answer should be ready for our king. He then asked me if I didnot intend to visit his son at _Jedo_. [18] Answering, that I proposedto do so, the emperor said, that orders should be given to provide me withmen and horses for the journey, and that the letters for our king shouldbe ready against my return. Then, taking leave respectfully of theemperor, and coming to the door of the presence-chamber, I found thesecretary and admiral waiting to conduct me down the stairs where theyformerly met me, when I went into my palanquin and returned with myattendants to our lodgings. [Footnote 18: Always called _Edoo_ in Purchas, but we have thought itbetter to use the form of the name now universally adopted ingeography; but which name, from the orthography used by Captain Saris, is probably pronounced in Japan, _Idu_, or _Eedoo_. --E. ] On the 9th I sent the present intended for the secretary to be deliveredto him, for which he heartily thanked me, but would in no wise receiveit, saying, the emperor had so commanded, and that it was as much as hislife was worth to accept of any gift. He took, however, five pounds ofSocotorine aloes, to use for his health's sake. I this day delivered tohim the articles of privilege for trade, being _fourteen_ in number, which we wished to have granted. These he desired to have abbreviatedinto as few words as possible, as in all things the Japanese are fond ofbrevity. Next day, being the 10th September, the articles so abridgedwere sent to the secretary by Mr Adams; and on being shown by thesecretary to the emperor, they were all approved except one, by which, as the Chinese had refused to trade with the English, we requiredpermission, in case of taking any Chinese vessels by force, that wemight freely bring them into the ports of Japan, and there make sale ofthe goods. At the first, the emperor said we might take them, since theyrefused to trade with us; but, after conference with the Chineseresident, he altered his mind, and would not allow of that article. Allthe rest were granted and confirmed under his great seal, which is notimpressed in wax as with us in England, but is stamped in print with redink. These articles of privilege were as follow:-- _Privileges granted by OGOSHOSAMA, Emperor of Japan, to the Governor andCompany of the London East India Company_. [19] [Footnote 19: This copy Captain Saris brought home and gaveme--_Purch. _] 1. We give free licence to the subjects of the king of Great Britain, viz. To Sir Thomas Smith, governor, and the Company of the East IndianMerchants Adventurers, for ever, safely to come into any of the ports ofour empire of Japan, with their ships and merchandize, without anyhinderance to them or their goods; and to abide, buy, sell, and barter, according to their own manner, with all nations; to remain here as longas they think good, and to depart at their pleasure. 2. We grant to them freedom from custom for all such goods as they havebrought now, or may hereafter bring into our empire, or may export fromthence to any foreign part. And we authorise all ships that mayhereafter arrive from England, to proceed immediately to sell theircommodities, without any farther coming or sending to our court. 3. If any of their ships shall happen to be in danger of shipwreck, wecommand our subjects not only to assist them, but that such parts of theship or goods as may be saved, shall be returned to the captain, or thecape merchant, or their assigns. That they may build one house, or more, for themselves, in any part of our empire that they think fittest fortheir purpose; and, at their departure, may sell the same at theirpleasure. 4. If any English merchant, or others, shall die in our dominions, thegoods of the deceased shall remain at the disposal of the cape merchant;and all offences committed by them shall be punished by the said capemerchant at his discretion, our laws to take no hold of their persons orgoods. 5. We command all our subjects trading with them for any of theircommodities, to pay them for the same without delay, or to return theirwares. 6. For such commodities as they have now brought, or may bringhereafter, that are fitting for our proper use and service, we commandthat no arrest be made thereof, but that a fair price be agreed with thecape merchant, according as they may sell to others, and that promptpayment be made on the delivery of the goods. 7. If, in the discovery of other countries for trade, and the return oftheir ships, they shall need men or victuals, we command that oursubjects shall furnish them, for their money, according as their needsmay require. 8. Without other passport, they shall and may set out upon the discoveryof _Yeadso_, or _Jesso_, or any other part in or about our empire. From our castle in Surunga, this first day of the ninth month, in the eighteenth year of our _dary_, or reign. Sealed with our broad seal, &c. (_Underwritten_) MINNA MOTTONO. _Yei. Ye. Yeas_. [20] [Footnote 20: Kempper writes this other name of _Ongosio Sama_, as hecalls him, _Ijejas_; which, according to the English orthography, is_Iyeyas_. --Astl. I. 489. B. ] On the 11th of September, the present intended for the mint-master wasdelivered to him, which he received very thankfully, and sent me inreturn two Japanese gowns of taffeta, quilted with silk cotton. The 12thMr Adams was sent to the mint-master, who is the emperor's merchant, having charge of the mint and all the ready money, being in greatestimation with the emperor, as he had made a vow, whenever the emperordies, to cut out his own bowels and die with him. The purpose of MrAdams waiting upon him at this time, was to carry a list of the pricesof our English commodities. About noon of this same day, being furnishedwith horses and men by the emperor, as formerly specified, we set outfor Jedo. The country between Surunga and Jedo we found well peopled, with many _Fotoquis_, or idol temples. Among others which we passed, wasone having an image of great reputation, called _Dabis_, made of copper, hollow within, but of substantial thickness. We estimated its height tobe twenty-one or twenty-two feet, being in the form of a man kneeling onthe ground, and sitting on his heels; the whole of wonderful size, andwell proportioned, and being dressed in a gown cast along with thefigure. Some of our men went into the inside of this idol, and hoopedand hallooed, which made an exceeding great noise. It is highlyreverenced by all native travellers who pass that way. We found manycharacters and marks made upon it by its visitors, which some of myfollowers imitated, making their marks in like manner. This temple andidol stand in the main road of pilgrimage to _Tencheday_, which is muchfrequented for devotion, as both night and day people of all ranks andconditions are continually going or returning from that place. Mr Adams told me that he had been at the _Fotoqui_, or temple dedicatedto Tencheday, to which image they make this devout pilgrimage. Accordingto his report, one of the fairest virgins of the country is broughtmonthly into that _Fotoqui_, and there sits alone in a room neatlyfitted up, in a sober manner; and, at certain times, this _Tencheday_, who is thought to be the devil, appears unto her, and having carnallyknown her, leaves with her at his departure certain scales, like untothe scales of fishes. Whatever questions she is desired by the _bonzes_, or priests of the _Fotoqui_, to ask, _Tencheday_ resolves. Everymonth a fresh virgin is provided for the temple, but Mr Adams did not knowwhat became of the former. [21] [Footnote 21: The editor of Astley's Collection, vol. I. P. 487, note b. Very gravely informs his readers what they certainly are aware of, thatthe gallant must have been one of the _bonzes_, or priests. --E. ] We arrived at _Jedo_ on the 14th September. This city is much largerthan _Surunga_, and much better and more sumptuously built, and made avery glorious appearance to us on our approach; all the ridge-tiles andcorner-tiles of the roofs being richly gilded and varnished, as also thedoor-posts of the houses. They have no glass in their windows, but havelarge windows of board, opening in leaves, and well adorned withpaintings, as in Holland. In the chief street of the town there is agreat _cawsay_ all through from end to end, underneath which flows ariver, or large stream of water; and at every fifty paces there is awell-head, or pit, substantially built of free-stone, having bucketswith which the inhabitants draw water, both for their ordinary uses andin case of fire. This street is as broad as any of our best streets inEngland. On the 15th I gave notice of my arrival to _Sadda-dona_, the secretaryof the young king, or son of the emperor, requesting him to inform theking. I had access to the king on the 17th, and delivered to him thepresents sent by our king, as also some from myself, as is the custom ofthe country. The king holds his court in the castle of Jedo, which ismuch stronger and more sumptuous than that of Surunga; and the king wasbesides better guarded and attended than his father the emperor. _Saddadona_, his secretary, is father to _Codskedona_ the emperor'ssecretary, his years and experience fitting him to have the governmentand direction of the king or prince successor, who appeared to us to beabout forty-two years of age. My entertainment and access to the king here at Jedo was much like thatformerly mentioned with the emperor his father at Surunga. He acceptedvery kindly the letters and presents from our king, bidding me welcome, and desiring me to rest and refresh myself, and that his letters andpresents in return should be made ready with all speed. On the 19th Idelivered the presents to _Saddadona_. This day, thirty-two men beingcommitted prisoners to a certain house, for not paying their debts, andbeing in the stocks within the same, it took fire in the night by somecasualty, and they were all burnt to death. Towards evening, the kingof Jedo sent me two suits of varnished armour, as a present to our king;and sent likewise for myself a _tatch_ and a _waggadash_, theformer being a long sword which is only worn in Japan by soldiers of thehighest rank, and the latter being a singular weapon resembling a Welshhook. I was informed that the distance from Jedo to the norther-mostpart of Japan, was estimated at twenty-two days journey on horseback. I left Jedo on the 21st September by boat, and came to _Oringgaw_, [22]a town upon the sea-side, where is an excellent harbour, in which shipsmay ride with as much safety as in the river Thames, and the passagefrom which by sea to Jedo is very safe and good; so that it would bemuch better for our ships to sail to this port than to Firando, asOringgaw is on the main island of Japan or _Niphon_, and is onlyfourteen or fifteen leagues from Jedo, the capital and greatest city ofthe empire. Its only inconvenience is, that it is not so well suppliedwith flesh and other victuals as Firando, but is in all other respectsmuch preferable. From thence we proceeded on the 29th to Surunga, wherewe remained in waiting for the letters and presents from the emperor. Onthe 8th of October I received the emperor's letter, of which atranslation is subjoined, and I then also received the privileges oftrade, formerly quoted, the original of which I left with Mr Cocks. [23] [Footnote 22: No such place as Oringgaw is to be found in modern maps ofJapan. Jedo is situated at the head of a deep gulf of the same name, inthe south-east corner of Japan. About the distance indicated in thetext, there is a town and bay named _Odavara_, on the western side ofthe gulf, and in the direct way back to Surunga, which may possibly bethe _Oringgaw_ of the text. --E. ] [Footnote 23: The characters have by some been thought to be those ofChina, but I compared them with Chinese books, and they seemed to mequite different, yet not _letters_ to compound words by spelling, asours, but _words_ expressed in their several characters, such as areused by the _Chinais_ and as the brevity manifesteth. I take them to becharacters peculiar to Japan. --_Purch. _ In a marginal reference in the plate given by Purchas, the lines aresaid to read downwards, beginning at the right hand. It may possibly beso: But they appear _letters_, or literal characters, to _compound wordsby spelling_, and to be read like those used in Europe, from left toright horizontally. In a future portion of our work, the subject of theJapanese language and writing will be farther elucidated; when, webelieve, it will appear that they have two modes of writing, one by_verbal_ or _ideal_ characters like the Chinese, and the other by_literal_ signs like all the rest of the world. --E. ] _Letter from the Emperor of Japan to the King of Great Britain_. Your majesty's kind letter, sent me by your servant Captain Saris, whois the first of your subjects that I have known to arrive in any part ofmy dominions, I heartily embrace, being not a little glad to understandof your great wisdom and power, as having three plentiful and mightykingdoms under your powerful command. I acknowledge your majesty's greatbounty, in sending me so undeserved a present of many rare things, suchas my land affordeth not, neither have I ever before seen: Which Ireceive, not as from a stranger, but as from your majesty, whom I esteemas myself, desiring the continuance of friendship with your highness:And that it may consist with your good pleasure to send your subjects toany part or port of my dominions, where they shall be most heartilywelcome, applauding much their worthiness in the admirable knowledge ofnavigation, as having with much facility discovered a country so remote, not being amazed by the distance of so mighty a gulf, nor the greatnessof such infinite clouds and storms, from prosecuting the honourableenterprises of discovery and merchandising, in which they shall find meto encourage them as they desire. By your said subject, I return to yourmajesty a small token of my love, desiring you to accept the same asfrom one who much rejoices in your friendship. And, whereas yourmajesty's subjects have desired certain privileges for trade and thesettlement of a factory in my dominions, I have not only granted whatthey desired, but have confirmed the same to them under my broad seal, for the better establishment thereof. Given from my castle of _Surunga_, this fourth day of the ninth month, in the eighteenth year of our reign, according to our computation; resting your majesty's friend, the highestcommander in the kingdom of Japan. Subscribed Minna Muttono_[24]. _Yei. Ye. Yeas_. [Footnote 24: In the copy of the privileges, Purchas gives this name_Mottono_ while the editor of Astley's Collection has altered it to_Monttono_. In the privileges formerly inserted, the date is made in the_nineteenth_ month, perhaps an error of the press in the Pilgrims, whichwe have therefore corrected to _ninth_. --E. ] At my return to Surunga, I found a Spanish ambassador from thePhilippine islands, who had only been once introduced to the emperor, and delivered his presents, being certain Chinese damasks, and five jarsof European sweet wine, and could not obtain any farther access to theemperor. The purpose of his embassy was, to require that such Portugueseand Spaniards as were then in Japan, not authorised by the king ofSpain, might be delivered up to him, that he might carry them to thePhilippines. This the emperor refused, saying his country was free, andnone should be forced out of it: But, if the ambassador could persuadeany to go with him, they should not be detained. The cause of theambassador making this request was on account of the great want of mento defend the Molucca islands against the Dutch, who were then makinggreat preparations for the entire conquest of these islands. After theambassador had waited for an answer till the time limited by hiscommission was expired, and receiving none, he went away muchdissatisfied: And when at the sea side, an answer was returned, asmentioned above, together with a slender present of five Japanese gowns, and two _cattans_ or swords. About a month before I came to Surunga, being displeased with theChristians, the emperor issued a proclamation commanding that theyshould all remove immediately, and carry their churches to Nangasaki, amaritime town about eight leagues from Firando, and that no Christianchurch should be permitted, neither any mass be sung, within ten leaguesof his court, on pain of death. Some time after, twenty-seven natives, men of good fashion, being assembled in an hospital or ChristianLeper-house, where they had mass performed, and this coming to theknowledge of the emperor, they were all commanded to be shut up in ahouse for a night, and to be led to execution next day. That sameevening, another man was committed to the same house for debt, who athis coming was a heathen and quite ignorant of Christ or his holyreligion; but, next morning, when the officer called at the door for theChristians to come forth for execution, and those who renounced it toremain behind, this man had been so instructed during the night by theothers, that he came resolutely forth along with the rest, and wascrucified with them. We departed from Surunga on the 9th of October, and during our journeytowards _Miaco_ we had for the most part much rain, by which the riverswere greatly swelled, and we were forced to stop by the way, so that itwas the 16th of October before we got there. _Miaco_ is the largest cityin Japan, depending mostly upon trade, and having the chief _Fotoqui_or temple of the whole empire, which is all built of freestone, and isas long as the western end of St Paul's in London from the choir; beingalso as high, arched in the roof and borne upon pillars as that is. Many_bonzes_ are here in attendance for their maintenance, as priests areamong the papists. They have here an altar, on which the votaries offerrice and small money, called _cundrijus_, twenty of which are equal toan English shilling, which offerings are applied to the use of thebonzes. Near this altar is an idol, called _Mannada_, much resemblingthat of _Dabis_ formerly mentioned, and like it made of copper, but muchhigher, as it reaches up to the arched roof. This _Fotoqui_ was begun tobe built by _Taicosama_, and has since been finished by his son, havingbeen ended only while we were there. According to report, there wereburied within its enclosure the ears and noses of 3000 Coreans, who weremassacred at one time; and upon their grave a mount is raised, having apyramid on its summit, the mount being grown over with grass, and veryneatly kept. The horse that Taicosama last rode upon is kept near this_Fotoqui_, having never been ridden since, and his hoofs have grownextraordinarily long by age. This _Fotoqui_ stands on the top of a high hill, and on either side, asyou ascend the hill, there are fifty pillars of freestone, at ten paceseach from the other, having a lantern on the top of each, which are alllighted up with oil every night. There are many other Fotoquis in thiscity. In Miaco the Portuguese jesuits have a very stately college, inwhich there are several native Japanese jesuits, who preach, and havethe New Testament printed in the Japanese language. Many of the nativechildren are bred up in this college, where they are instructed in theChristian religion, according to the doctrines of the Romish church; andthere are not less than five or six thousand natives professingChristianity in this city. The tradesmen and artificers of all kinds inthis city are all distributed by themselves, every trade and occupationhaving its own particular streets, and not mingled together as with us. We remained some time in Miaco, waiting for the emperor's present, whichwas at length delivered, being ten _beobs_, or large pictures, for beinghung up in a chamber. The 20th of October we departed from Miaco, and came that night to_Fushimi_. [25] We arrived about noon of the next day at Osaka, where thecommon people behaved very rudely to us, some calling after us _Tosin!Tosin!_ that is, Chinese, while others called us _Coré! Coré!_ orCoreans, and flung stones at us; even the greatest people of the cityanimating and setting on the rabble to abuse us. We here found thegalley waiting for us which had brought us from Firando, having waitedfor us all the time of our absence at the expence of king _Foyne_. Weembarked in this galley on the 24th of October, and arrived at Firandoon the 6th November, where we were kindly welcomed by old _Foyne_. During the time of my absence, our people had sold very little goods, asaccording to the customs of Japan no stranger can offer goods for salewithout the express permission of the emperor. Besides, as our chiefestcommodity intended for this country was broad cloth, which had latterlybeen sold there at the rate of forty Spanish dollars the _matte_, whichis two yards and a quarter as formerly mentioned, and as the natives sawthat we were not much in the habit of wearing it ourselves, they weremore backward in buying it than they used to be. They said to us, "Youcommend your cloth to us, while you yourselves wear little of it; yourbetter sort of people wearing silken garments, while the meanest areclothed in fustians, &c. " Wherefore, that good counsel, though late, maycome to some good purpose, I wish that our nation would be more inclinedto use this our native manufacture of our own country, by which we maybetter encourage and allure others to its use and expenditure. [Footnote 25: Fusimo, a town about ten miles from Miaco, on a river thatruns into the head of the bay of Osaka. --E. ] §8. _Occurrences at Firando, during the Absence of Captain Saris_. [26] The 7th August, 1613, all things being in readiness, our general CaptainSaris departed from Firando in company with Mr Adams, for the court ofthe emperor of Japan, taking along with him Mr Tempest Peacock, MrRichard Wickham, Edward Saris, Walter Carwarden, Diego Fernandos, JohnWilliams a tailor, John Head a cook, Edward Bartan the surgeon's mate, John Japan _Jurebasso_, [27] Richard Dale coxswain, and Anthony Ferry asailor; having a cavalier or gentleman belonging to king Foyne as theirprotector, with two of his servants, and two native servants belongingto Mr Adams. They embarked in a barge or galley belonging to the king, which rowed twenty oars of a side, and we fired thirteen pieces ofordnance at their departure. The old king sent 100 _tayes_ of Japanesemoney to our general before his departure, for his expenditure on theway, which I placed to account, by our general's order, as money lent. [Footnote 26: This subdivision is taken from observations written byRichard Cockes, Cape merchant, or chief factor at Firando. Theseobservations are a separate article in the Pilgrims of Purchas, vol. I. Pp. 395--405, and in Astley's Collection, vol. I. Pp. 509--517; butare inserted in this place as calculated to render this first account ofthe English trade in Japan a complete and unbroken narrative. --E. ] [Footnote 27: John Japan seems a fabricated name; perhaps a JapaneseChristian named John, and the addition of _Jurebasso_ may signify thathe acted as interpreter. --E. ] Next day, I went to wait upon the two kings, as from our general, tothank them for having so well provided for his journey, which they tookin good part. I suspect the old king had notice that some of our men hadbehaved ill last night; as he desired me to remind the master to lookwell to the people on board, and that I should look carefully to thebehaviour of those on shore, that all things might go on as well in theabsence of the general as when he was present, otherwise the shame wouldbe ours, but the dishonour his. On the 9th, a Japanese boy named Juan, who spoke good Spanish, came and offered to serve me for nine or tenyears, and even to go with me to England if I pleased, asking no wagesbut what I was pleased to give. I took him into my service, and that therather, because I found Miguel, the _jurebasso_ left with me by MrAdams, was somewhat stubborn, and loved to run about at his pleasure, leaving me often without any person who could speak a word of theJapanese language. This Juan is a Christian, most of his kindreddwelling at Nangasaki, only one living here at Firando, who came alongwith him and passed his word for his honesty and fidelity. Juan hadserved a Spaniard at Manilla for three years, where he had acquired theSpanish language. I engaged him, and bought for him two Japanesegarments, which cost me fourteen _mas_. The 13th I shewed our commodities to some merchants of _Maioco_, [Miaco]but they bought nothing, and seemed chiefly to desire to have gunpowder. This day _Semidono_ went to visit our ship, accompanied by severalstranger gentlemen, and came afterwards to see our English house, whereI gave them the best entertainment in my power. The 19th at night beganthe great feast of the pagans, when they banquet and make merry allnight by candle-light at the graves of their deceased kindred, whomthey invite to partake. [28] It lasts three nights and the intermediatedays; when, by command of the king, every house must new gravel thestreet before its door, and hang out candles all night. I was not slackin obeying this order, and I was informed that a poor man was put todeath and his house shut up, for neglecting to comply with the order. Onthis occasion, the China captain furnished me with two very decent paperlanthorns. Being informed that the kings intended to ride about thestreets, and to make me a visit, I provided a banquet for them, andwaited till after midnight, but they came not. The 20th, 21st, and 22d, I sent presents to both the kings, being informed that such was thecustom of the country, sending them wine and confections; as likewise to_Nobesane_ the young king's brother; to _Semidono_, the old king'sgovernor, and to _Unagense_, which were all very thankfully accepted. Some _cavalliers_, or Japanese gentlemen, came to visit me during thefestival, to whom I gave the best entertainment I could procure. [Footnote 28: This pagan feast is a kind of Candlemas orAllsouls. --_Purchas_. ] The 23d we made an end of landing our gunpowder, being in allninety-nine barrels, of which I advised our general by letter, requesting him to reserve a sufficiency for the ship, in case he sold itto the emperor. We landed several other things, which the master thoughthad best be sent ashore, as our men began to filch and steal, that theymight go to taverns and brothels. This day Mr Melsham the purser and Idined with Semidono, who used us kindly. The master and Mr Eaton werelikewise invited, but did not go. The great festival ended this day, when three troops of dancers went about the town, with flags or banners, their music being drums and _pans_, [29] to the sound of which theydanced at the doors of all the great men, as also at their pagodas andat the sepulchres. [Footnote 29: Probably _gongs_, which very much resemble a brassfrying-pan. --E. ] The 24th at night, all the streets were hung with candles, as the youngking and his brother, with _Semidono, Nabesone_, and many others, wentin masquerade to dance at the house of the old king. The young king andhis brother were on horseback, having canopies carried over them, allthe rest being a-foot, and they were accompanied by drums and _kettles_, as the before-mentioned dancers, _Nabesone_ playing on a fife. I wasinformed they meant to visit our house on their return, wherefore Iprovided a banquet and sat up for them till after midnight; but theyreturned in disorder, I think owing to some discontent, and none of thementered our house. Captain _Brower_ likewise passed our door, but wouldnot look at us, and we made as little account of him. The 27th we landedthree pieces of ordnance, having three landed formerly, all whole_culverins_ of iron. The old king came down to the shore while our menwere about this job, and seeing only twenty men, offered seventy or a100 Japanese to help them; but our people landed them all very quicklyin his sight, at which he expressed much astonishment, saying that anhundred of his men could not have done it so soon. He was so muchpleased with the activity of our men on this occasion, that he sent fora barrel of wine and some fish, which he gave among them as a reward fortheir labouring so lustily. The 28th, I received two letters from our general, dated the 19th and20th of the month, as also two others from Mr Peacock and Mr Wickham, which were brought me by the governor of _Shimonoseke_. [30] Thisgovernor did not land at Firando, but delivered these letters on boardour ship to the master, proceeding directly for Nangasaki, and promisingto return hither shortly. I also carried a letter for the old king_Foyne_, which was brought by the same governor, being accompanied onthe occasion by Mr Melsham and _Hernando_. Foyne at this visit made apresent of a _cattan_ or Japanese sword to Mr Melsham, and another witha Spanish dagger to Hernando, giving likewise both to them and meseveral bunches of garlic. He also gave us leave to dry our gunpowder onthe top of the fortress, offering some of his own people to help ours, if we had need of them. This day I brought on shore to our housetwenty-two bars of lead, together with 125 culverin shot, round andlangridge. When we were about to sit down to supper, the old king cameto visit us, and being very merry he sat down to supper with us, andtook such fare as we had in good part. [Footnote 30: Simonosequi is a town on the north side of the straitsbetween the island of Kiusiua and the north-western end of Niphon. --E. ] The 1st September, the old king and all his nobles made a masquerade, and went next night to visit the young king his grandson, accompanied bymusic, as formerly mentioned, all the streets being hung with lanterns. As I was told he meant to visit our house on his return, I made readyfor him and waited till after midnight; but he passed by with all hiscompany without coming in. I reckoned he had more than 3000 persons inhis train, for which, as I think, he passed by, not wishing to troubleus with so great a multitude. On the 2d _Semidono_ and others who wereappointed by the king, measured all the houses in the street, ours amongthe rest; which I understood was for the purpose of a general taxation, to be levied by appointment of the emperor, for the construction offortresses. I entertained them to their satisfaction. The 4th we hadnews that the queen of Spain was dead, and that the king was a suitorfor the princess Elizabeth of England. The 6th, a nobleman came to visitour English house, and brought me a present of two great bottles of wineand a basket of pears. I entertained him as well as I could, and he wentaway contented. We had much rain in the morning of the 7th September, accompanied bywind, which increased in force all day, varying between the east andsouth. In the night between the 7th and 8th, the wind rose to a_tuffoon_ or storm of such extreme violence as I had never witnessed, neither had the like been experienced in this country during the memoryof man. It overturned above an hundred houses in Firando, and unroofedmany others, among which was the house of old king Foyne. An extensivewall surrounding the house of the young king was blown down, and theboughs and branches of trees were broken off and tossed about withwonderful violence. The sea raged with such fury, that it undermined agreat wharf or quay at the Dutch factory, broke down the stone wall, carried away the landing stairs, sunk and broke to pieces two barksbelonging to the Dutch, and forty or fifty other barks, then in theroads, were broken and sunk. At our house, the newly built wall of ourkitchen was broken down by the sea, which likewise flowed into and threwdown our oven. The tiles likewise were blown off from the roofs of ourhouse and kitchen, both of which were partly unroofed. Our house rockedas if shaken by an earthquake, and we spent the night in extreme fear, either of being buried under the ruins of our factory, or of perishingalong with it by fire; for all night long, the barbarous unruly commonpeople ran up and down the streets with lighted firebrands, while thewind carried large pieces of burning wood quite over the tops of thehouses, as it whirled up the burning timbers of the several housespreviously thrown down, hurling fire through the air in great flakes, very fearful to behold, and threatening an entire conflagration of thetown; and I verily believe, if it had not been for the extreme quantityof rain, contrary to the usual nature of tuffoons, that the whole townhad been consumed. This terrible wind and prodigious rain wereaccompanied the whole night by incessant flashes of lightning andtremendous peals of thunder. Our ship rode out the gale in the roads, having out five cables and anchors, of which one old cable gave way, but, thanks be to God, no other injury was sustained, except that ourlong boat and skiff both broke adrift, but were both afterwardsrecovered. We afterwards learnt that this tuffoon did more damage atNangasaki than here at Firando; for it destroyed above twenty Chinesejunks, together with the Spanish ship which brought the ambassador fromManilla. On the 12th, two merchants from Miaco came to our English house, to whomI shewed all our commodities. They laid aside two pieces of broad cloth, one black and the other _stammel_, the best they could find, for whichthey offered seven _tayes_ the yard. They also offered for out _Priaman_gold eleven tayes of silver for one of gold. But they went away withoutconcluding any bargain. This day, one of our men named Francis Williams, being drunk ashore, struck one of the servants of king Foyne with acudgel, although the man had given him no offence, and had not evenspoken to him. The Japanese came to our house making great complaints, and was very angry, not without cause, and told me he would complain tohis king of the bad usage he had received. He had three or four othersalong with him, who had seen him abused, and who said the aggressor wasjust gone off to the ship. I gave them fair words, desiring them to goon board and find out the man who had committed the offence, and theyshould be sure of having him punished, and for that purpose I sentMiguel, our _jurebasso_, on board along with them. He did so, andpointed out Williams as the culprit, who stoutly denied the accusationwith many oaths, but the affair was too notorious, and the masterordered him to be seized to the capstan in presence of the complainants, upon which even they entreated for his pardon, knowing that he wasdrunk. But the fellow was so unruly, that he took up an iron crow tostrike the Japanese in the master's presence, and even abused the masterin the grossest terms. [31] [Footnote 31: Of many misdemeanours, I permit some to pass the press, that the cause of so many deaths in the Indies might be seen, rather tobe imputed to their own misconduct, than the intemperature of theclimate, and for a caveat to others, who may send or be sent into_ethnicke_ regions: Yet do I conceal the most and worst. --_Purch. _] Learning, on the 13th, that old king Foyne was sick, I sent ourjurebasso Miguel to visit him, carrying as a present a great bottle ofour general's sweet wine, and two boxes of conserves, comfits, andsugar-bread. Miguel was likewise directed to offer my best service, andto say that I was sorry for his sickness, and would have waited on himmyself, but that I supposed company was not agreeable to a sick man. Foyne accepted my present in very good part, returning many thanks, anddesiring me to ask for any thing we were in need of, either for the useof the ship or our factory, which he would take care we should beprovided with. The master came to the factory on the 14th early in the morning, tellingme that most of the ship's company had lain ashore all night withoutleave, although the ship was aground, and there had been a heavy windall night. He wished therefore, that I would allow our jurebasso, Miguel, to accompany him in seeking them out. He went accordinglyaccompanied by Miguel and Mr Melsham our purser, and found several ofthe men drinking and domineering, among whom he bestowed a few blows, ordering them aboard. Two of the men, named Lambert and Colphax, thoughordered aboard, remained ashore all day, notwithstanding the great needof hands in the ship, where it had been necessary to hire severalJapanese to assist. Lambert and Colphax being drunk, went out into thefields and fought, on which occasion Lambert was hurt in the arm, andremained drunk ashore all night; as did Boles and Christopher Evans, whohad done so for two or three nights before, and had a violent quarrelabout a girl. On the 17th, being informed that _Bastian_, the keeper of the brothelfrequented by our men, had threatened to kill me and such as came alongwith me, if I came any more to his house to seek for our men, I went andcomplained to the young king, the old one being sick. At my request, heissued a proclamation, that no Japanese should admit our people intotheir houses after day-light, under severe penalties; and that it shouldbe lawful for me, or any other in my company, to enter any of the nativehouses in search of our men, not only without molestation or hinderance, but that the native inhabitants should aid and assist me; and if thedoors were not opened at my desire, I was authorised to break them open. A soldier was sent to inform _Bastian_ to be careful not to molest ordisturb me, as he might expect to be the first that should pay for it. This gave much offence to our people, insomuch that some of them sworethey would have drink in the fields if they were not suffered to have itin the town, for drink they would. The 26th, _Novasco-dono_ came to visit me at the factory, bringing me apresent of two bottles of wine, seven loaves of fresh bread, and a dishof flying-fish. While he was with me, the old king came past our door, where he stopt, saying he had met two men in the street whom he thoughtstrangers, and not belonging to us; he therefore desired that Swintonand our jurebasso might go with one of his attendants to see who theywere. They turned out to be John Lambert and Jacob Charke, who weredrinking water at a door in the street through which the king had gone. I was glad the king looked so narrowly after them, as it caused our mento be more careful of their proceedings. Mr William Pauling, our master's mate, who had been long ill of aconsumption, died at the English house upon the 27th of September, ofwhich circumstance I apprised the king, requesting permission to buryhim among the Christians, which was granted. We accordingly put the bodyin a winding-sheet, and coffined it up, waiting to carry it to the gravenext morning. Our master, and several others of the ship's company, cameashore in the morning to attend the funeral, when we were given tounderstand that the body must be transported by water as far as theDutch house, because the _bonzes_, or priests, would not suffer us topass with the corpse through the street before their pagoda, or idoltemple. Accordingly the master sent for the skiff, in which the coffinwas transported by water to the place appointed, while we went there byland, and carried it thence to the burial-place; the purser walkingbefore, and all the rest following after the coffin, which was coveredby a Holland sheet, above which was a silk quilt. We were attended by avast number of the natives, both young and old, curious to see ourmanner of burial. After the corpse was interred, we all returned to thefactory, where we had a collation, and then our people returned to theship. I had almost forgotten to remark, that we had much ado to get anynative to dig the grave in which a Christian was to be buried, neitherwould they permit the body to be conveyed by water in any of theirboats. At this time the king commanded that all the streets in Firando shouldbe cleaned, and that gutters should be made on each side to convey thewater from them, all the streets to be new gravelled, and thewater-channels to be covered with flat stones. This work was all done inone day, every one performing so much of it as was in front of his ownhouse, and it was admirable to see the diligence every person used onthis occasion. Our house was not the last in having this task performed, as our landlord, the Chinese captain, set a sufficient number of men todo the work. The 30th, some other merchants of Miaco came to look at our commodities, who offered twelve tayes the fathom for our best _stammel_, or redcloth; but they went away without making any bargain. At this time wehad very heavy winds, both by day and night, so that we were in fear ofanother tuffoon, on which account all the fishers hauled their boatsashore, and every one endeavoured to secure the roofings of theirhouses. A week before this, a _bose_, bonze or conjurer, had predictedto the king that this tempest was to come. About this time our surgeon, being in his cups, came into a house where a _bose_ was conjuring for awoman who wanted to know if her husband or friends would return fromsea. So when the _bose_ was done, the surgeon gave him three-pence toconjure again, and to tell him when our general would return to Firando. In the end, the _bose_ told him that the general would return withineighteen days, pretending that he heard a voice answer from behind awall, both when he conjured for the woman, and now when he conjured forthe surgeon. On the 2d of October, the master sent me word that some of the men hadrun away with the skiff. These were John Bowles, John Saris, JohnTottie, Christopher Evans, Clement Locke, Jasper Malconty, and James theDutchman. While in the way to the king to get boats to send after them, our Dutch _jurebasso_ came running after me, and told me our people wereon the other side making merry at a tippling-house. On this informationI returned to the English house to get a boat for the master to go andlook them out, but they proved to be three others, William Marinell, Simeon Colphax, and John Dench, who had hired a boat and gone to anotherisland, not being allowed to walk by night in Firando. By this mistakeour deserters had the more time to get away. This night, about eleven, the old king's house, on the other side of the water, took fire, andwas burnt to the ground in about an hour. I never saw a more vehementfire for the time it lasted, and it is thought his loss is very great. The old king is said to have set it on fire himself, by going about inthe night with lighted canes, some sparks from which had fallen amongthe mats and set them on fire. I went next day to visit the old king, giving him to understand, bymeans of his governor, that I was extremely sorry for the misfortunethat had befallen him, and would have come in person to give all theassistance in my power, but was doubtful if my presence would have beenacceptable, being a stranger; and begged leave to assure him, that heshould find me ready at all times, even with the hazard of my life, todo him every service in my power. He gave me many thanks for my goodwill, saying, that the loss he had sustained was as nothing in hisestimation. On my return to our house, I was met by the young king goingto visit his grandfather. Before noon, we had word that our runawayswere upon a desert island about two leagues from Firando, of which Igave notice to both kings, requesting their aid and council how we mightbest bring them back. They answered, that they would fetch them backdead or alive, yet would be loth to kill them, lest we might want handsto navigate the ship back to England. I returned many thanks for thecare they had of us, yet sent them word we still had a sufficiency ofhonest men to carry our ship to England, even although we should losethese knaves. In fine, the king fitted out two boats full of soldiers togo after them, with positive orders to bring them back dead or alive, which I made known to our master, who wished much to go along with them, and did so accordingly. 9. _Continuation of Occurrences at Firando, during the Absence of theGeneral_. On the 4th of October, a report was current in Firando that the _Devil_had revealed to the _bose_, [bonzes] or conjurers, that the town was tobe burned to ashes that night, on which criers went about the streetsthe whole night, making so much noise that I could hardly get any rest, giving warning to all the inhabitants to extinguish their fires. But thedevil turned out a liar, for no such thing happened. The 5th, old king_Foyne-same_ came to our house, and was entertained to the best of ourability, when he told me our runaway seamen could not escape beingtaken, as he had sent two other armed boats after them, besides the twoformerly mentioned. While I was talking with him, there came a gentlemanfrom the emperor's court with a letter, and told me that our generalwould be back to Firando in eight or ten days, as he had received hisdispatches from the emperor before this gentleman left the court. Atthis time king Foyne told me that _Bon-diu_, the king or governor ofNangasaki, who is brother to the empress, was to be at Firando next day, and that it would be proper for our ship to fire off three or fourpieces of cannon as he passed. He told me likewise, that the king orgovernor of a town called _Seam_, was then in Firando. The master of our ship, Mr James Foster, returned from Nangasaki on the7th, bringing our skiff with him, but all the deserters had gotsanctuary in that town, so that he had not been able to see or speakwith any of them. I was informed that Miguel, our jurebasso, whom I hadsent along with the master as linguist, had dealt fraudulently both withthe master and me, for several Japanese told me that he had spoken toour people and advised them to absent themselves. Knowing this, andbeing doubtful of ever recovering our people unless _Bondiu_ wereextraordinarily dealt with, I resolved to give that personage a presentto secure him in our interest. In the afternoon, as he was passing onfoot along the street in which was our house, along with the young kingwho gave him the post of honour, attended by about five hundredfollowers, I went out into the street and saluted them. Bon-diu stoppedat our door and thanked me for the salute given him in passing our ship. I requested he would excuse me if I had hitherto neglected any part ofmy duty towards him, which was owing to my small acquaintance with thecountry and its customs, but that I meant to wait upon him either at hislodgings or aboard his junk, before he left Firando. He answered, that Ishould be heartily welcome, and remained so long in conversation, thatit was quite dark before he got to his lodgings. At this time I carriedthe present to him, which he accepted in good part, offering to do ournation all the good in his power at court, whither he was now bound, orto serve us all he could any where else. Of his own accord, he began nowto speak about the deserters, asking me if they should all be pardonedfor his sake, if he brought them back to us? I answered, that the powerof pardon belonged to our general, not to me, and that I had no doubtthey might easily get free, except one or two of the chiefs in this andother disorders, who richly deserved punishment. He then said that hewished them all pardoned, without any exception: to which I answered, that I was sure our general would most willingly do any thing desired byhis highness, or the two kings of Firando. In conclusion, he said, if Iwould give it under my hand on the faith of a Christian, that all shouldbe pardoned for this time, and that I would procure the general toconfirm this at his return, he would then send to Nangasaki for thedeserters, and deliver them into my custody, otherwise he would notmeddle in the matter, lest he might occasion any of their deaths. Ianswered, I was contented with any thing his highness was pleased tocommand, and so gave him the desired writing under my hand, conditioningthat they were all to be sent back. I then returned to our house afterwhich the Dutch waited upon him with their present, but we were beforehand with them. On the 8th _Semidono_ passed our house, and told me that king _Bon-diu_had a brother along with him, to whom it would be proper that we shouldgive a present, but not so large as that given to Bon-diu. On this, advising with the other gentlemen, I laid out a present for him, and ongoing to deliver it, I found the Dutch before me with theirs, CaptainBrower going with it himself. He accepted it very kindly, promising hisinterest and assistance to our nation, both at court and any where else. He came soon afterwards to our house, accompanied by many gentlemen, when they looked over all our commodities, yet went away without makingany purchases. On this occasion he gave me a small _cattan_, and I gavehim two glass bottles, two gally-pots, and about half a _cattee_ ofpicked cloves, which he said he wanted for medicinal purposes. Ilikewise gave him and his followers a collation, with which they allseemed contented. Soon afterwards, _Bon-diu_ sent a gentleman to me, desiring to have mywritten promise for pardon to our deserters, to which I consented, afterconsulting with the other gentlemen. If I had not done this, wecertainly had never got them back, and the Spaniards would have sentthem to Manilla or the Moluccas. Immediately after this, I got noticethat _Bon-diu_ and his brother meant to visit our ship, wherefore I sentsome banqueting stuff aboard, and went myself to meet them, when theywere entertained as we best could. Bon-diu gave two _cattans_, and wesaluted them with seven guns at their departure. The brother returnedsoon after, and requested to have one of the little monkeys for hisbrother's children; so I bought one for five dollars from ourmaster-gunner, and sent it to _Bon-diu_. He being ready to go on shore, desired to have me along with him in his boat, which I complied with, and he was saluted with three guns at his departure, which, as I learntafterwards, was much esteemed by both brothers. When ashore, he insistedto accompany me to our factory, much against my inclination, as I wasagain forced to give him a collation in Mr Adamses chamber, after whichhe and his companions went away seemingly satisfied. Late at night, oldking Foyne sent a man to me to enquire the particulars of the presents Ihad given to both brothers, all of which he set down in writing, but Icould never know the reason of this. I forgot to mention that Bon-diu, just before going aboard our ship, went to bathe in a new warm-bath atthe Dutch factory. The 9th Bon-diu sent one of his men to give me thanksfor the kind entertainment he had on board, and sent me by the messengertwo barrels of Miaco wine. Soon after, his brother sent me a similarmessage and present. They were both very earnest to have aperspective-glass, wherefore I sent them an old one belonging to MrEaton; but it was soon after returned with thanks, as not suiting them. On the 10th, two sons of another governor of Nangasaki who dwells in thetown, came to see our house, both of them being Christians. Aftershewing them our commodities, I gave them a collation, accompanied withmusic, Mr Hownsell and the carpenter happening both by chance to be atthe factory. While we were at table, old king Foyne came in upon usquite unexpectedly, and sat down to partake. I then desired ourjurebasso to request the speedy sending back of our runaways, which theyall promised, provided they should be pardoned, as I had formerlypromised, and which promise I now renewed. Old Foyne desired that Iwould send him next day a piece of English beef; and another of pork, sodden with onions. I accordingly sent our jurebasso next day with thebeef and pork, together with a bottle of wine, and six loaves of whitebread, all of which he very kindly accepted. He had at table with himhis grandson the young king, _Nabison_, his brother, and _Semidono_, hiskinsman. On the 12th I went to visit both kings, and found the old one asleep, but spoke with his governor, after which I went to the young king, whoreceived me. [32] He gave me thanks for the kind entertainment I hadgiven the strangers, which he said his grandfather and he took in asgood part as if done to themselves. Towards night, Foyne sent to saythat he understood the strangers, who were now departed, had taken awayvarious commodities from me, paying only as they thought goodthemselves, and not the prices I required. I answered, that they hadcertainly done so, but I knew not whether it were the custom of thecountry, being given to understand that they were in use to do so atNangasaki both with the Chinese and Portuguese, and that in reality whatthey had taken from me was not worth the speaking of. I was answered, that although this was done at Nangasaki with the Chinese, who wereforbidden to trade at Japan, they had not authority to do so with thosestrangers who had the privilege of trade, more especially here atFirando, where these people had no authority. I sent back my humblethanks to the king for the care he used to see justice done both tostrangers and natives, saying, I would wait upon his highness myself toinform him of the whole truth. Captain Brower sent me word that they hadtaken various commodities from him, paying him just as they pleased; healso sent an empty bottle, desiring to have it filled with Spanish wine, as he had invited certain strangers, and had none of his own. [Footnote 32: It was now a great festival among the pagans, which beganon this day, said to be like the Lent of the papists. --_Purch. _] I heard three or four guns or chambers discharged on the 13th, which Isupposed had been done at the Dutch house, in honour of the king; but Iafterwards learnt that they were shot by a Chinese junk which waspassing for Nangasaki. Shortly after, the old king sent for me to cometo dinner at the Dutch house, and to bring Mr Eaton with me, and abottle of wine. [33] Mr Eaton had taken medicine, and could not go out, but I went. We had an excellent dinner, the dishes being dressed partlyin the Japanese fashion, and partly according to the Dutch way, but nogreat drinking. The old king sat at one table, accompanied by his eldestson and two brothers of the young king, as the young king had sent tosay he was not well. At the other table there sat, first, _Nabesone_, the old king's brother, then myself, next me _Semidono_, then the oldking's governor, and below him _Zanzebar's_ father-in-law, and variousother Japanese gentlemen on the other side of the table. Captain Browerdid not sit down, but carved at table, all his own people attending andserving on their knees. Captain Brower even gave drink to every one ofhis guests with his own hands, and upon his knees, which seemed verystrange to me. When they had dined, Foyne and all his nobles went away, and Captain Brower accompanied me to our house. I asked him why heserved these people on his knees, when he told me it was the custom ofthe country, even the king serving his guests on his knees when he madea feast, to do them the more honour. Before night the old king came tothe English house, and visited all its apartments. I gave him acollation, and after staying an hour, and taking one thing and another, he went his way. [Footnote 33: These things are mentioned to shew how poor Cockes wasimposed upon among them; as, taking advantage of his weak side, theyseem all to have wished to get from him all they could, without anydesign of serving him in return. --Astl. I. 518. B. ] On the 16th, learning that two Christians were arrived from Nangasaki, Iwent to visit them, and to enquire about our runaways. One was GeorgePeterson, a Dutchman, born in Flushing; the other was Daman Maryn, anative of Venice. They told me that our runaways had been conveyed awayin a small bark for _Macoro_, [34] and that they two had deserted in hopeof procuring a passage in our ship to return to their own countries;they said they were well known to Mr Adams, and were desirous to havegone immediately on board, being both seafaring men. The Dutchman hadserved three or four and twenty years with the Spaniards, and camemaster's mate in one of their ships from _Agua-pulca_ [Acapulco. ] forManilla in the Philippine islands. They had plenty of money, and wouldhave sent it to our ship or to our factory; but I told them that I durstnot presume to entertain them in the absence of our general, yet woulddo them all the service in my power at his return. I accordingly sentMiguel to inform the king that these two strangers were come to seek apassage in our ship, not being Spaniards nor subjects of Spain. The kingsent me back for answer, that they were welcome, if they were such asthey reported themselves; but, if Spaniards or Portuguese, he could notallow them to remain in Firando, as the Spanish ambassador had procuredan order from the emperor that all Spaniards should retire to Manilla. [Footnote 34: Called in the sequel Macow, or Macao, the Portuguesesettlement on the coast of China, at the mouth of the _Bocca-tigris_, orriver of Canton. --E] The two strangers came to me early on the 17th, requesting me toaccompany them to wait upon the king, to give them the bettercountenance, which I agreed to. On the way, they told me that ourfugitives had given out at Nangasaki that more of our people wouldfollow them, as none of any account would stay to navigate the shiphome, because their officers used them more like dogs than men. Theyalleged also, that twenty resolute Spaniards might easily get possessionof our ship in one or two small boats. The old king received us verykindly, and asked the strangers many questions about the wars in theMolucca islands between the Spaniards and Dutch. They said the Spaniardswere resolved to prosecute this war with much vigour, having prepared astrong force for that purpose. They also told the king that all ourfugitives had, as they believed, been secretly conveyed away fromNangasaki seven days before, in a _soma_ that went from thence for_Macow_. [35] The king would not believe them, saying it was impossiblesuch a man as Bon-diu, having given his word to restore them, should befound false to his promise. In the end, he agreed to allow these men toremain, and to go along with our ship, if our general pleased to takethem. So the poor men returned much contented to their lodgings, assuring me they would prove faithful to us, and that we need not wishany worse punishment to our fugitives than the bad treatment they wouldreceive from the Spaniards. [Footnote 35: Macow, or Macao, a town of the Portuguese near thecontinent of China. Miguel, the jurebasso, servant to Mr Adams, wassuspected of double-dealing in this affair of the fugitives: thecircumstances I omit. --_Purch. _] The 18th we had a total eclipse of the moon, which began about elevenp. M. The 19th, about the same hour, a fire began in Firando, near theyoung king's house, by which forty houses were burnt down; and, had notthe wind fallen calm, most of the town had been destroyed. Had not ourEnglishmen bestirred themselves lustily, many more houses had gone towreck, for the fire took hold three or four times on the opposite sideof the street to our house, which they as often extinguished, for whichthey were very much commended by the king and other principal people. Old Foyne came to our door on horseback, and advised us to put all ourthings into the _godown_, and daub up the door with wet clay, whichwould place them in safety. Captain Brower likewise, and some of hispeople, came very kindly to our house, offering to assist us either byland or water, if needful. It could not be known how this fire began, but there were reports among the Japanese that there would soon be astill greater fire, which had been predicted by the devil and hisconjurers. I pray God it may not be done purposely by some villainouspeople, on purpose to rob and steal what they can lay hold of during thetrouble and confusion. The 20th I went to visit Captain Brower at the Dutch house, to returnthanks for his friendly assistance the night before. Towards night, Hernando the Spaniard and Edward Markes returned from Nangasaki, wherethey could not procure sight of any of our fugitives, though they werestill at that place. A Portuguese or Spaniard at Nangasaki, in highauthority about sea affairs, told Markes we should never have our menback; but that if all the rest of our people would come, leaving theship empty, they would be well received, and would be still more welcomeif they brought the ship with them. The Japanese, who had been sent byking Foyne along with our people to look for our runaways, would notallow Markes to stir out of doors for a night and half a day after theirarrival at Nangasaki, he going abroad himself, and Hernando lodging at adifferent place, whence I suspect there was some fraudulentunderstanding between the Japanese and Hernando, and have now lost hopeof ever getting our men back. I blamed the jesuits, and the old kingagreed with me, and told me he would take care that no more of ourpeople should be carried to Nangasaki, except they stole the ship'sboats, as the others had done, of which I gave notice to Mr JamesFoster, our master. Foyne at this time issued an edict, strictlyforbidding any of the Japanese from carrying away any of our people, without previously making it known to him and me. The 23d I was informed of a great pagan festival to be celebrated thisday, both kings and all the nobles being to meet at a summer-houseerected before the great pagoda, to see a horse-race. I think there musthave been above 3000 people assembled together on this occasion. All thenobles went on horseback, each being accompanied by a retinue of slaves, some armed with pikes, some with fire-arms, and others with bows andarrows. The pikemen drew up on one side of the street, and the shot andarchers on the other, the middle being left open for the race. Rightbefore the summer-house, where the king and nobles were seated, was alarge round target of straw, hung against the wall, at which thearchers running at full career on horseback discharged their arrows. The street was so crowded, that neither the present we sent, nor weourselves, could get admission, so we passed along the street andreturned by another way to our house. Late at night, the brother ofZanzibar's wife came to our house, bringing me a present of a haunch ofvenison and a basket of oranges, being accompanied by Zanzibar himself. About ten at night, the Chinese captain, our landlord, came to inform usthat the king had ordered a tub of water to be kept ready on the top ofevery house, as the devil had given out that the town was to be burntdown that night: Yet the devil proved a liar: We got however a large tubon the top of our house, which held twenty buckets of water; and allnight long people ran about the streets calling out for every one tolook well to their fires, so that it was strange and fearful to hearthem. This report of burning the town was still current on the 24th, and everyone was making preparations to prevent it. I made ready fifteen buckets, which cost six _condrines_ each, which I filled with water and hung upin our yard, setting a large tub beside them full of water, besides thaton the house top. I gave orders likewise to get two ladders ready forcarrying water to the roof, and provided nine wine casks filled withtempered clay, ready for daubing up the doors of the _gadonge_, [godownor fire-proof warehouse, ] if need should require in consequence of aconflagration, from which dire necessity may God defend us. All nightlong, three or four men ran continually backwards and forwards in thestreets, calling out for every one to have a care of fire, and making sohorrible a noise, that it was both strange and fearful to hear them. On the 25th, the Chinese captain, our landlord, was taken sick, and sentfor a piece of pork, which I sent him, and immediately afterwards I wentto visit him, carrying a small bottle of Spanish wine. While I wasthere, Semidono and our guardian's father-in-law came likewise to visithim. The king sent me word, by Miguel, our jurebasso, that he had a badopinion of Hernando Ximenes our Spaniard, and that he meant to have runaway when lately at Nangasaki. But I knew this to be false, as he hadthen free liberty to go where he pleased, and did not run away. I hadanother complaint made against him, that he was a notorious gambler, andhad enticed several to play, from whom he won their money, which Ibelieve rather than the other accusation. I find by experience, that theJapanese are not friendly to the Spaniards and Portuguese, and love themat Nangasaki the worse, because they love them so well. [36] In the nightbetween the 24th and 25th, some evil-disposed persons endeavoured tohave set the town of Firando on fire in three several places, but it wassoon extinguished, and no harm done; but the incendiaries were notdiscovered, though doubtless owing to the conjurers and other basepeople, who expected an opportunity of making spoil when the town was onfire. [Footnote 36: This is quite obscure, and may perhaps allude to theefforts of the Jesuits at Nangasaki, to convert the Japanese to a newidol worship, under the name of Christianity. --E. ] The 26th of October, Mr Melsham being very sick, _Zanzibar_ came tovisit him, and urged him to use the physic of the country, bringing withhim a _bonze_, or doctor, to administer the cure. Mr Melsham was verydesirous to use it, but wished our surgeon to see it in the first place. So the bonze gave him two pills yesterday, two in the night, and twothis morning, together with certain seeds; but, for what I can see, these things did him no good. God restore his health! At this time, allour waste-cloths, pennants, brass sheaves, and other matters, were sentaboard, and our ship was put into order to receive our general, whosereturn was soon expected. Last night another house was set on fire bysome villains, but was soon extinguished with very little harm; yet ournightly criers of fire continue to make such horrible noises, that it isimpossible for any one to get rest. The Chinese captain still continuedsick, and sent to beg some spiced cakes and two wax-candles, which Isent him, as I had done before. Mr Melsham now grew weary of hisJapanese doctor and his prescriptions, and returned to our surgeon MrWarner, to the great displeasure of Zanzibar and the bonze. §10. _Conclusion of Observations by Mr Cockes_. Our Chinese landlord came to our house on the 30th October, to inform meof a general collection of provisions of all kinds, then making at everyhouse in Firando, to be sent to the two kings, in honour of a greatfeast they were to give next day, together with a comedy or play. By hisadvice, and after consulting with the other gentlemen of the factory, Idirected two bottles of Spanish wine, two roasted hens, a roasted pig, asmall quantity of rusk, and three boxes of confections and preserves tobe sent, as a contribution towards their feast. Before night the youngking sent one of his men to me, requesting me to furnish him with someEnglish apparel, for the better setting out their comedy, andparticularly to let him have a pair of red cloth breeches. I answered, that I had nonesuch, and knew not any of our people who had; but anyclothes I had that could gratify his highness were much at his service. At night the old king sent to invite me to be a spectator of theircomedy on the morrow, and to bring Mr Foster, our master, along with me. Next day, being the 31st, I sent our present, formerly mentioned, to thekings by our jurebasso before dinner, desiring their highnesses toexcuse the master and myself, and that we would wait upon them someother time, when they had not so much company. This however did notsatisfy them, and they insisted on our company, and that of Mr Eaton; sowe went and had a place appointed for us, where we sat at our ease andsaw every thing. The old king himself brought us a collation in sight ofall the people; Semidono afterwards did the like in the name of bothkings, and a third was brought us in the sequel by several of theirprincipal nobles or attendants. But that which we most noted was theirplay or comedy, in which the two kings, with their greatest nobles andprinces, were the actors. The subject was a representation of thevaliant deeds of their ancestors, from the commencement of their kingdomor commonwealth to the present time, which was mixed with much mirth toplease the common people. The audience was very numerous, as every housein the town of Firando, and every village, place, or hamlet in theirdominions brought a present, and all their subjects were spectators. Thekings themselves took especial care that every one, both high and low, should eat and drink before they departed. Their acting, music, singing, and poetry, were very harsh to our ears, yet the natives kept time toit, both with hands and feet. Their musical instruments were small drumsor tabors, wide at both ends and small in the middle, resembling anhour-glass, on one end of which they beat with one hand, while with theother they strained the cords which surround it, making it to sound softor loud at their pleasure, and tuning their voices to its sound, whileothers played on a fife or flute; but all was harsh and unpleasant toour ears. I never saw a play of which I took such notice, as it waswonderfully well represented, yet quite different from ours inChristendom, which are only dumb-shews, while this was as truth itself, and acted by the kings themselves, to preserve a continual remembranceof their affairs. On this occasion, the king did not invite the Dutch, which made ourbeing present seem the greater compliment. When I returned to our house, I found three or four of the Dutchmen there, one of whom was in aJapanese habit, and came from a place called _Cushma_, [37] which iswithin sight of Corea. I understood they had sold pepper there and othergoods, and suspect they have some secret trade thence with Corea, or arelikely soon to have, and I trust if they do well that we shall not miss, as Mr Adams was the man who put them upon this trade, and I have nodoubt he will be as diligent for the good of his own countrymen as hehas been for strangers. Hernando Ximenes was with Captain Brower whenthe two men came from Cushma, and asked them whence they came, at whichBrower was very angry, telling him he should have no account of thatmatter. [Footnote 37: Key-sima, an island considerably to the N. E. Of Firando, and nearly midway between Niphon and Corea, from which it may be aboutforty miles distant. --E. ] Towards night, I was informed that two Spaniards were arrived fromNangasaki, and were lodged with _Zanzibar_. They sent for our jurebassoto come to them, but I did not allow him, on which they and Zanzibarcame to our house. One of them was _Andres Bulgaryn_, a Genoese, who hadpassed Firando only a few days before, and the other _Benito de Palais_, pilot-major of the Spanish ship lately cast away on the coast of Japan, the same person who came here formerly from Nangasaki to visit CaptainAdams. They said they had come to visit their friends, me in the firstplace; and used many words of compliment, after which they entered intoconversation respecting our fugitives. They pretended that it was notthe fathers, as they called the jesuits, who kept our people from beingseen and spoken with, but the natives of Nangasaki, who they said werevery bad people. In fine, I shrewdly suspected these fellows of havingcome a-purpose to inveigle more of our people to desert, as the othersdid, wherefore I advised our master to have a watchful eye both to theship and boats, and to take special notice who kept company with ourmen, as it was best to doubt the worst, for the best will save itself. On the night of the 1st November, two houses were set a-fire on theother side of the water, which were soon extinguished, but the villainscould not be found out. This day I sent word to Mr Foster on board, tolook well to the ship and the boats, and to the behaviour of our people, as I strongly suspected the two Spaniards of being spies, come to enticeaway our men. I sent him word likewise, that I understood the Spaniardsmeant to invite him that day to dinner, but wished him to beware theydid not give him a _higo_. [38] He answered, that he had the same opinionof them I had, and should therefore be mainly on his guard. He came soonafter on shore, and the Spaniards came to our house, where by muchentreaty they prevailed on Mr Foster and Mr William Eaton to go withthem to dinner at Zanzibar's house, along with Hernando and the othertwo Spaniards. But these two Spaniards came to me, and desired me totell Mr Foster and those who went with him, to take heed they did noteat or drink of any thing they did not see tasted by others, as theywere not to be trusted, which I communicated to Mr Foster and Mr Eaton. Ximenes told me that Mr Adams had goods in his hands belonging to thepilot-major, who had come in the hope of finding Mr Adams here, andmeant to wait his return. He said they had likewise brought letters fromthe bishop and other fathers to the other two Spaniards, advising themto return to Nangasaki, but which I think they will not do. I this daysent our jurebasso to both kings and the other nobles, to give themthanks for the kind entertainment we had received the day before. [Footnote 38: From the sequel, this unexplained term seems to implytreachery. --E. ] The 2d, some villains set fire to a house in the fish street, which wassoon put out, and the incendiaries escaped. It is generally thoughtthese fires were raised by some base renegados who lurk about the town, and who came from Miaco: Yet, though much suspected, no proof hashitherto been brought against them. There has, however, been ordersgiven to construct gates and barriers in different parts of all thestreets, with watches at each, and no person to be allowed to go aboutin the night, unless he be found to have very urgent business. Anothervillain got this night into the house of a poor widow, meaning to haverobbed her; but on her making an outcry, he fled into the wood oppositeour house, where the Pagoda stands. [39] The wood was soon after besetall around by above 500 men, but the robber could not be found. Atnight, when we were going to bed, there was a sudden alarm given thatthere were thieves on the top of our house, endeavouring to set it onfire. Our ladders being ready, I and others went up immediately, butfound nobody, yet all the houses of our neighbours were peopled on thetop like ours on similar alarms. This was judged to be a false alarm, risen on purpose to see whether any one would be found in readiness. Atthis very time there was a house set on fire, a good way from our house, but the fire was soon quenched. The night before, three houses were seta-fire in different parts of the town, but the fires were allextinguished at the beginning, so that no hurt was done. At this time, an order was issued to give notice of all the inhabitants dwelling inevery house, whether strangers or others; and that all who were liableto suspicion should be banished from the dominions of the two kings ofFirando. Bars or gates were erected to shut up the passages at the endsof all the streets, and watches were appointed in different places, withorders not to go about crying and making a noise, as had been donehitherto without either form or fashion. Yet, notwithstanding theseprecautions, a villain set fire about ten o'clock this night to a housenear the Pagoda, opposite our house. He was noticed by the watch, whopursued him in all haste, but he escaped into the wood above the Pagoda. The wood was immediately beset by more than 500 armed men, and old kingFoyne came in person with many of his nobles to assist in the pursuit;yet the incendiary escaped, and I verily believe he ran about among therest, crying _stop thief_ as, well as the best. [Footnote 39: This word signifies either the idol, or the idol temple, or both. --_Purch. _] On the night of the 4th, fire was set to several houses, both in thetown and country round. An order was now given, to have secret watchesin various parts of the town every night, and that no person should goout during the night except upon important occasions, and then to have alight carried before them, that it might be seen who they were. If thisrule be duly enforced, our house-burners will be put to their wits end. I proposed these measures to the king and others above a week before, and now they are put in execution. On the 5th I received a letter from Domingo Francisco, the Spanishambassador, dated five days before from _Ximenaseque_, [Simonoseki, ] andanother from George the Portuguese. The ambassador went over land fromthat place to Nangasaki, and sent the letter by his servant, to whom Ishewed the commodities he enquired after, referring him for others tillthe return of our general, but gave him an answer, of which I kept acopy. The man chose two pieces of fine _Semian chowters_ and eightpieces of white _bastas_, paying seven _tayes_ each for the _chowters, _and two _tayes_ each for the _bastas_. A Spanish friar or Jesuit came inthe boat along with the ambassador's servant, and asked to see our ship, which the master allowed him at my request, and used him kindly; for theold saw has it, That it is sometimes good to hold a candle to the devil. This day Mr Eaton, Hernando, and I dined with Unagense, and were kindlyentertained. About ten o'clock of the 6th November, 1613, our general and all hisattendants arrived at Firando from the emperor's court, accompanied byMr Adams. Immediately after his arrival, he sent me, with John Japan, our jurebasso, to visit both the kings, and to thank them for theirkindness, for having so well accommodated him with a barge or galley, and for the care they had taken of the ship and every thing else duringhis absence. They took this message in good part, saying they would beglad to see our general at their houses. At this time certain merchantsof Miaco came from Nangasaki to our house to look at our commodities, and among the rest took liking to ten pieces of _cassedy nill_, forwhich they agreed to give three _tayes_ each. As had been done by othermerchants, I sent the goods to their lodging, expecting to receive themoney as usual; but they only sent me a paper, consigning me to receivepayment from _Semidono_, who was newly gone from Firando on a voyage, and was met by our general. I sent back word to the merchants that Imust either have payment or the goods returned, to which they answered, I should have neither one nor the other; and as the person with whomthey lodged refused to pass his word for payment, I was forced to applyto both the kings for justice; but I first sent word aboard our ship, ifthe boat of Miaco weighed anchor to go away, that they should send theskiff to make her stay, which they did, and made her come to anchoragain. In the mean time I went to the kings. The younger king said that_Semidono_ was able enough to pay me; but when I asked him if Semidonorefused to pay, whether he would, he answered no. While we were talkingabout the matter, the old king came in, and told me he would take orderthat I should be satisfied; so in the end the person with whom themerchants lodged passed his word for payment of the thirty _tayes_; yetthe orders of old _Foyne Same_ had come too late, if our skiff had notstopt the Miaco merchants. This day Captain Brower and all themerchants of the Dutch factory came to visit our general, and_Nobisone_ sent him a young porker as a present, with a message sayinghe would come to visit him in a day or two. §11. _Occurrences at Firando after the Return of Captain Saris_. [40] The 7th of November, 1613, I sent in the first place some presents tothe two kings of Firando, and afterwards went to visit them. On the 8th, Andrew Palmer, the ship's steward, and William Marnell, gunner's mate, having been ashore all night and quarrelled in their cups, went out thismorning into the fields and fought. Both are so grievously wounded, thatit is thought Palmer will hardly escape with his life, and that Marnellwill be lame of his hands for life. The 9th I went aboard ship early, and called the master and all the officers into my cabin, making knownto them how much I was grieved at the misconduct of some of them, particularly of Palmer and Marnell, who had gone ashore without leave, and had so sore wounded each other, that one was in danger of his life, and the other of being lamed for ever; and besides, that the survivorran a risk of being hanged if the other died, which would necessarilyoccasion me much vexation. I also said, I was informed that FrancisWilliams and Simon Colphax were in the boat going ashore to have fought, and that John Dench and John Winston had appointed to do the like. JohnDench confessed it was true, and that he had seen Palmer and Marnellfighting, and had parted them, otherwise one or both had died on thefield. I told them these matters were exceedingly distressing to me, andI trusted would now be remedied, otherwise the ship would be unmanned, to the overthrow of our voyage, and the vast injury of the honourablecompany which had entrusted us. After much contestation, they allengaged to amend what was amiss, and not to offend any more, which Ipray God may be the case. I told them also, that old king Foyne hadcomplained to me, threatening, if any more of them went ashore to fightand shed blood, contrary to the laws of Japan, he would order them to becut in pieces, as he was determined strangers should have no morelicence to infringe the laws than his own subjects. [Footnote 40: We here resume the narrative of Captain Saris. Purch. Pilgr. I. 378. The observations of Mr Cockes, contained in the threepreceding sub-sections, break off abruptly in the Pilgrims, asabove. --E. ] At my return ashore, old _Foyne Same_ came to visit me at the Englishhouse, and told me that the piece of _Poldavy_, and the sash I gave him, were consumed when his house was burnt down. This was in effect beggingto have two others, which I promised to give him. I likewise got him tosend some of his people aboard, along with John Japan, our jurebasso, tointimate to our men that if any of them went ashore to fight, he hadgiven strict orders to have them cut in pieces. This I did in hopes ofrestraining them in future from any more drunken combats. Towards night, Juan Comas, a Spaniard, came from Nangasaki, bringing two letters fromDomingo Francisco, one for me, and the other for Mr Cockes, togetherwith three baskets of sugar as a present to me, and a pot of conserves, with many no less sugared words of compliment in his letters, saying howsorry he was that our seven fugitives had gone away during his absence, excusing himself and the Jesuits, who he pretended had no hand in thematter, and pretending they had never spoken against us, calling usheretics. He said our men had gone from Nangasaki, three of them in aChinese or Japanese _soma_ for Manilla, and four in a Portuguese vessel. Yet I esteem all these as vain words to excuse themselves, and throw theblame on others; for the Spaniards and Portuguese mutually hate eachother and the Japanese, as these last do them. The 11th I visited _Nobesane_, who used me kindly, and would have had medine with him next day, but I excused myself on account of the press ofbusiness in which I was engaged, and the short time I had to stay. I metold king Foyne at his house, who requested to have two pieces of Englishsalt beef, and two of pork, sodden by our cook, with turnips, radishes, and onions, which I sent him. The 12th, the governors of the two kingscame to visit me at our factory, whence they went aboard the Clove, accompanied by Mr Cockes, to signify to our crew that they should bewareof coming ashore to fight and shed blood; as, by the law of Japan, thosewho went out to fight and drew weapons for that purpose, were adjudgedto death, and all who saw them were obliged to kill both offenders, onpain of ruining themselves and all their kindred if they neglectedputting the combatants to death. The 14th I sent Mr Cockes and our jurebasso to wait upon the kings, toentreat they would provide me twelve Japanese seamen who were fit forlabour, to assist me in navigating the ship to England, to whom I waswilling to give such wages as their highnesses might deem reasonable. The kings were then occupied in other affairs, so that my messengersspoke with their secretaries, who said they needed not to trouble thekings on that business, as they would provide me twelve fit persons; butthat there were several vagrant people about the town who would bewilling enough to go, yet were very unfit for my purpose, as they wouldonly consume victuals, and of whom the Dutch made use without making anyrequest on the matter, and it was not known what had become of these menor of the ship; but, as the matter was now referred to them, they wouldlook out for such as were fit for our purpose. The 18th, Foyne sent me word he would visit me, and meant to bring thedancing girls of the country along with him, which he did soon after, accompanied by three courtezans, and two or three men, who all dancedand made music after their fashion, though harsh to our ears. The 19th, the Chinese captain, and George Duras, a Portuguese, came to visit me, requesting me to send to _Semidono_ to procure pardon for two poorfellows who were like to lose their lives for bidding a poor knave fleewho had stolen a bit of lead not worth three halfpence; and though themalefactor was taken and executed, these men were in danger of the samepunishment, had I not sent Mr Cockes to _Semidono_ with my ring, todesire their pardon for my sake, which he engaged to procure, and did ineffect. The 20th, _Samedon_, king of _Crats_, [41] sent me word he meant to go onboard our ship, so I went there to meet him, and he came along with boththe kings of Firando, when we saluted them with five pieces of ordnance;and we afterwards fired three with bullets at a mark, at the request ofSamedon, who gave me two Japanese pikes, having _cattans_ or _sables_ ontheir ends. At their departure we again saluted them with seven guns, one being shotted and fired at the mark. The 22d I sent a present to theking of _Crats_, which was delivered to him at the house of _Tomesanes_the young king, where he was at breakfast. Samedon accepted it verykindly, sending me word by Mr Cockes that he was doubly obliged to mefor his kind entertainment aboard, and for now sending him so handsome apresent of such things as his country did not produce, all without anydesert on his part, and the only recompence in his power was, if everany of the English nation came into his dominions, he would give them ahearty welcome, and do them all the service in his power. [Footnote 41: This personage must have been governor of one of theprovinces, islands, or towns of Japan; but no place in that easternempire bears a name in modern geography which in the smallest degreeresembles Crats. --E] The 25th, the purser and Mr Hownsell came ashore, and told me thatAndrew Palmer, the steward, had died the night before, Thomas Warner, our surgeon, affirming that he owed his death to his own obstinacy, hiswound being curable if he would have been ruled. I desired that he mightbe buried on an island as secretly as possible, as we were about to getsome Japanese into our ship, who might be unwilling to embark if theyheard of any one having died. On the 28th a Japanese was put to death, who some said was a thief, and others an incendiary. He was led by theexecutioner to the place of punishment, a person going before himcarrying a board, on which the crime for which he was to be punished waswritten, and the same was exhibited on a paper flag carried over hishead. Two pikemen followed the culprit, having the points of their pikesclose to his back, ready to slay him instantly if he offered to resist. The ship being ready to depart, several of the natives complained thatthe ship's company owed them money, and desired to be paid. To preventgreater inconvenience, I listened to these people, and wrote to themaster to make enquiry aboard as to who were in debt, that I mightsatisfy their creditors, making deductions accordingly from their wages. On the 26th I assembled my mercantile council to consult about leaving afactory here in Firando, upon these considerations. 1. The encouragementwe had privately received at the Moluccas. 2. That the Dutch had alreadya factory here. 3. The large privileges now obtained from the emperor ofJapan. 4. The certain advice of English factories established at Siamand Patane. 5. The commodities remaining on hand appointed for theseparts, and the expected profit which farther experience might produce. It was therefore resolved to leave a factory here, consisting of eightEnglishmen, three Japanese _jurebassos_ or interpreters, and twoservants. They were directed, against the coming of the next ships, toexplore and discover the coasts of Corea, _Tushmay_, other parts ofJapan, and of the adjoining countries, and to see what good might bedone in any of them. The 5th of December, 1613, Mr Richard Cockes, captain and _Cape_merchant of the English factory now settled at Firando in Japan, tookhis leave of me aboard the Clove, together with his company, being eightEnglish and five others, as before mentioned. After their departure, wemustered the company remaining aboard, finding forty-six English, five_swarts_ or blacks, fifteen Japanese, and three passengers, in allsixty-nine persons. We had lost since our arrival in Japan tenEnglishmen; two by sickness, one slain in a duel, and seven who desertedto the Portuguese and Spaniards, while I was absent at the court of theemperor. The English whom we left in the factory were Mr Richard Cockes, William Adams, now entertained in the service of the company at ahundred pounds a year, Tempest Peacock, Richard Wickham, William Eaton, Walter Carwarden, Edward Saris, and William Nelson. §12. _Voyage from Japan to Bantam, and thence Home to England_. That same day, being the 5th December, we set sail with a stiffnortherly gale, steering S. By W. 1/2 a point westerly. By exactobservation on shore, we found the island of Firando to be in lat. 33°30' N. And the variation 2° 50' easterly. [42] We resolved to keep ourcourse for Bantam along the coast of China, for which purpose we broughtour starboard tacks aboard, and stood S. W. Edging over for China, thewind at N. N. E. A stiff gale and fair weather. The 7th it blew very hardat N. W. And we steered S. S. W. Encountering a great current which shootsout between the _island_ of Corea[43] and the main land of China, occasioning a very heavy sea. The 8th, being in lat. 29° 40' N. Westeered W. S. W, on purpose to make Cape _Sumbor_ on the coast of China. The sea was very rough, and the wind so strong that it blew our maincourse out of the bolt ropes. The 9th, in lat. 28° 23', we sounded andhad forty-nine to forty-five fathoms on an oozy bottom. The weather wasclear, yet we could not see land. The 11th we had ground in forty-nine, forty-three, thirty-eight, thirty-seven, and thirty fathoms, the waterbeing very green, and as yet no land to be seen. [Footnote 42: The town of Firando is in lat. 33° 6' N. And even the mostnorthern part of the island of that name only reaches to 33° 17'. Thetown is in long. 128° 42' E. From Greenwich. --E. ] [Footnote 43: Corea was long thought to be an island after the period ofthis voyage. Astl. I. 492. C. --It is now known to be an extensivepeninsula, to the east of China, having the Yellow sea interposed. --E. ] The 12th, in thirty-five fathoms, and reckoning ourselves near the coastof China, we had sight of at least 300 sail of junks, of twenty andthirty tons each and upwards, two of which passed us close to windwards, and though we used all fair means to prevail upon them to come aboard wecould not succeed, and seeing they were only fishing vessels we let thempass. Continuing our course we soon espied land, being two islandscalled the _Fishers islands_. [44] At noon our latitude was 25° 59' N. And we had ground at twenty to twenty-six fathoms. About seven p. M. While steering along the land, we came close by a rock, which by goodprovidence we had sight of by moonlight, as it lay right in our course. When not above twice our ship's length from this rock, we had thirtyfathoms water, on which we hauled off for one watch, to give the land awide birth, and resumed our course S. W. After midnight. The wind wasvery strong at N. E. And continually followed as the land trended. The13th, in lat. 24° 35' N. And variation 1° 30' easterly, having the windstrong at N. E. With fair weather, we steered S. W. Keeping about fiveleagues off the islands along the coast of China. The 15th we came amongmany fisher boats, but had so much wind that we could not speak any ofthem, but they made signs to us, as we thought to keep to the westwards. At noon our lat. Was 21° 40' N. And having the wind at N. N. E. A stiffgale, we steered W. N. W. Northerly, to make the land, and about two hoursafterwards had sight of it, although by our dead reckoning we oughtstill to have been fifty-six leagues from it. It is to be noted, thatthe islands along the coast of China are considerably more to thesouthward than as laid down in the charts. About three p. M. We werewithin about two leagues of an island called _Sancha_[45]. [Footnote 44: By the latitude indicated in the text, Captain Sarisappears to have fallen in with the coast of Fo-kien, and to have passedthrough between that province and the island of Formosa, withoutdiscovering the existence of that island. --E. ] [Footnote 45: Probably the island of Tchang-to-huen, to the S. W. Of thebay of Canton, the situation of which agrees with the latitude in thetext, and the sound of the two first syllables of which name has someaffinity with that given by Saris, evidently from Spanish or Portuguesecharts. At this part, of his voyage, Saris entirely misses to notice thelarge island of Hai-nan. --E. ] The 18th, in lat. 15° 43' N. We had sight of an island calledPulo-cotan, being high land, and is about twenty leagues, according toreport, from the shoal called _Plaxel_. In the morning of the 19th thecoast of Cambodia was on our starboard side, about two leagues off, along which we steered S. E. By E. Easterly, our latitude at noon being13° 31' N. Estimating the ship to be then athwart _Varella_. We havehitherto found the wind always _trade_ along shore, having gone _large_all the way from Firando, the wind always following us as the landtrended. The 20th at noon we were in latitude 10° 53', and threeglasses, or an hour and half after, we had sight of a small island, which we concluded to be that at the end of the shoal called_Pulo-citi_. We found the book of _Jan Huyghens van Linschoten_ verytrue, for by it we have directed our course ever since we left Firando. The 22d we had sight of _Pulo Condor_ about five leagues off, ourlatitude at noon being 8° 20' N. About four a. M. On the 25th we made the island of _Pulo Timon_, and twohours afterwards saw _Pulo Tinga_. The 28th at three p. M. We had oosyground at twenty fathoms, having divers long islands on our starboardand sundry small islands on our larboard, forming the straits ofChina-bata, which we found to be truly laid down in a chart made by aHollander called _Jan Janson Mole_, which he gave to Mr Hippon, who gaveit to the company. _Pulo Bata_, one of these islands, is low land, andis full of trees or bushes at the S. W. End. A little before noon on the 29th, we perceived the colour of the watera-head of the ship to change very much, by which observation we escapedan imminent danger. This shoal seemed of a triangular shape, the S. W. End being the sharpest, and is not far from the entrance into thestraits of _China-bata_. At noon our latitude was 4° 6' N. At eight p. M. We came to anchor in seven fathoms, the weather threatening to be foulin the night, the place very full of shoals, and our experience littleor nothing. Before our anchor took hold, we had six 1/4, five 1/2, six, and then seven fathoms, soft sandy ground. In the morning of the 30th we spoke the Darling, then bound forCoromandel, her company consisting of twenty-one English and nineblacks. By her we first learnt of the death of Sir Henry Middleton, theloss of the Trades-increase, and other incidents that had occurredduring our voyage to Japan. In the night of the 30th God mercifullydelivered us from imminent danger, as we passed under full sail close bya sunken ledge of rocks, the top of which was only just above waterwithin a stone's throw of our ship; and had not the noise of thebreakers awakened us, we had not cleared our ship. We instantly let goour anchor, being in a rapid current or tide-way, in seventeen fathomsupon oozy ground. When morning broke on the 31st we had sight of thehigh land of Sumatra, having an island a-stern, the ledge of rocks wehad passed on our starboard, and three small islands forming a triangleon our larboard bow. We were about eight leagues off the high land ofJava, but could not then get into the straits of Sunda, as the wind wasquite fallen. The 1st January, 1614, being quite calm, was mostly spent at anchor. The2d, having a little wind, we set sail, and about eight o'clock fell inwith the Expedition, homewards bound for England, laden with pepper, bywhich ship we wrote to our friends in England. The 3d we came to anchorin the road of Bantam, end to our great grief found no lading ready forus, for which neglect I justly blamed those I had left to provide thesame, while they excused themselves by alleging they did not expect usso soon back. I questioned _Kewee_, the principal Chinese merchant, whocame to visit me on board, as to the price of pepper. He answered, thatit was already known ashore I was homewards bound, and must necessarilyload pepper; and, as my merchants had not provided any before hand, Imight be assured it would rise. He said the price was then at twelvedollars for ten sacks, but he could not undertake to deliver anyquantity at that price. I offered him twelve dollars and a half the tensacks, but he held up so high, that we had no hope of dealing for thepresent. Of the ten persons left by us in the factory when we departedfor Japan, we found only five alive at our return, while we only lostone man between Firando and Bantam. I went ashore on the 4th to visit the governor of Bantam, to whom Ipresented two handsome _cattans_, or Japanese swords, and other articlesof value; and this day I bargained with _Kewee_ for 4000 sacks of pepperat thirteen dollars the ten sacks, bating in the weight 3 per cent anddirected the merchants to expedite the milling thereof as much aspossible. I employed the 5th in reducing the several English factoriesat Bantam under one government, settling them all in one house; also inregulating the expences of diet, that all might be frugally managed, toprevent extravagance in rack-houses abroad, or in hanger-on blacks athome, which had lately been the case. I directed also that there shouldbe fewer warehouses kept in the town, and that these might be betterregulated, and the goods stowed in a more orderly manner. Hitherto themultiplication of factories, having one for each voyage, had occasionedgreat expence, and had raised the price of pepper, as each outbid theother, for the particular account of their own several voyages, withgreat loss to the public. The 6th was employed in re-weighing the pepper received the day before, most of the sacks being found hard weight, and many to want a part ofwhat was allowed by the king's beam; wherefore I sent for the weigher, whom I used kindly, entreating him to take a little more care to amendthis fault, which he promised to do, and for his better encouragement Imade him a present to the value of five dollars. The 16th being Sunday, I staid aboard, and about 2 p. M. We observed the whole town to be onfire. I immediately sent our skiff ashore to assist the merchants inguarding our goods. The wind was so violent, that in a very short spaceof time the whole town was burnt down, except the English and Dutchfactories, which it pleased God of his mercy to preserve. Being ashore on the 20th, I procured two Chinese merchants, named_Lackmoy_ and _Lanching_, to translate the letter which the king ofFirando in Japan had given me to deliver to our king, James I. It waswritten in the Chinese character and language, which they translatedinto the Malay, and which in English was as follows: _To the King of Great Britain, &c. _ "Most mighty king, I cannotsufficiently express how acceptable your majesty's most loving letter, and bountiful present of many valuable things, sent me by your servantCaptain John Saris, has been to me; neither the great happiness I feelin the friendship of your majesty, for which I render you many thanks, desiring the continuance of your majesty's love and correspondence. I amheartily glad at the safe arrival of your subjects at my small island, after so long a voyage. They shall not lack my help and furtherance tothe utmost, for effecting their so worthy and laudable purposes, ofdiscovery and commerce, referring for the entertainment they havereceived to the report of your servant, by whom I send to your majestyan unworthy token of my gratitude; wishing your majesty long life. Givenfrom my residence of Firando, the sixth day of the tenth month. _Yourmajesty's loving friend, commander of this island of Firando in Japan, FOYNE SAM-MASAM. "_ My interpreters could not well pronounce his name, Lanching saying itwas _Foyne Foshin Sam_, while Lackmoy said it was written as above. Thiscomes to pass by reason of the Chinese characters, which, in propernames, borrow the characters of other words, of the same or nearestsound, and thereby occasion frequent mistakes. The 22d, such houses as had escaped in the former fire of the 16th, werenow burnt down; yet the English and Dutch houses escaped, for which wewere thankful to God. On the 26th, a Dutch ship of 1000 tons arrivedfrom Holland, called the Flushing. At the island of Mayo, the companymutinied against the captain, whom they would have murdered in hiscabin, had it not pleased God that a Scotsman revealed the plot when themutineers were already armed to carry it into effect, so that they weretaken between decks with their weapons in their hands. In this shipthere were several English and Scots soldiers. She did not remain atBantam, but sailed towards evening for Jacatra. The 27th, our lading being fully procured, and several of our companyfallen sick, I went ashore to hasten our merchants to get us ready forsailing. The 1st February, the Darling was forced back to Bantam; andorder was taken by mutual consultation for the proper care of her goods, and for her immediate departure for _Succadanea_ in the island ofBorneo, and thence to Patane and Siam. The 13th of February we got out from the straits of Sunda, in which thetide of flood sets twelve hours to the eastwards, and the ebb twelvehours to the westwards. On the 16th of May we anchored in the bay ofSaldanha, where we found the Concord of London, being the first ship setout by the united company. We now found the natives of this place verytreacherous, making us to understand by signs; that two of their peoplehad been forcibly carried off. They had sore wounded one of the peoplebelonging to the Concord; and while we were up in the land, theyassaulted the people who were left in charge of our skiff, carried awayour grapnel, and had spoiled the boat-keepers if they had not pushed offinto deep water. The 19th a Dutch ship arrived bound for Bantam, themaster being Cornelius van Harte. We remained here twenty-three days, where we thoroughly refreshed theship's company, and took away with us alive fourteen oxen and seventysheep, besides good store of fish and beef, which we _powdered_ there, finding it to take salt well, contrary to former reports. For ten daysafter leaving Saldanha, we had the wind N. W. And W. N. W. But after thatwe had a fine wind at S. W. So that we could hold our course N. W. On the27th September, thanks be to God, we arrived at Plymouth; where, for thespace of five or six weeks, we endured more tempestuous weather, andwere in greater danger of our lives, than during the whole voyagebesides. §13. _Intelligence concerning Yedzo, or Jesso, received from a Japaneseat Jedo, who had been twice there_. [46] Yedzo, or Jesso, is an island to the N. W. Of Japan, from which it is tenleagues distant. The natives are of white complexions, andwell-conditioned, but have their bodies covered all over with hair likemonkies. Their weapons are bows and poisoned arrows. The inhabitants ofthe south extremity of this country understand the use of weights andmeasures; but those who inhabit the inland country, at the distance ofthirty days journey, are ignorant of these things. They have much silverand gold-dust, in which they make payment to the Japanese for rice andother commodities; rice and cotton-cloth being of ready sale among them, as likewise iron and lead, which are carried there from Japan. Food andcloathing are the most vendible commodities among the natives of thatcountry, and sell to such advantage, that rice often yields a profit offour for one. [Footnote 46: This article is appended to the Voyage of Saris, in thePilgrims, vol. I. P. 384. --E. ] The town where the Japanese have their chief residence and mart inYetizo is called _Matchma_, [47] in which there are 500 households orfamilies of Japanese. They have likewise a fort here, called_Matchma-donna_. This town is the principal mart of Yedzo, to which thenatives resort to buy and sell, especially in September, when they makeprovision against winter. In March they bring down salmon and dried fishof sundry kinds, with other wares, for which the Japanese barter inpreference even to silver. The Japanese have no other settled residenceor place of trade except this at Matchma [48]. Farther northward inYedzo there are people of a low stature like dwarfs. [49] The othernatives of Yedzo are of good stature like the Japanese, and have noother cloathing but what is brought them from Japan. There is a violentcurrent in the straits between Yedzo and Japan, which comes from the seaof Corea, and sets E. N. E. The winds there are for the most part likethose usual in Japan; the northerly winds beginning in September, andending in March, when the southerly winds begin to blow. [Footnote 47: In modern maps, the southern peninsula of Yesso, or Yedso, is named _Matsaki_, apparently the same name with that in the text. --E. ] [Footnote 48: In our more modern maps, there are four other towns orresidences on the western coast of the peninsula of Matsaki, namedJemasina, Sirekosawa, Famomoli, and Aria. --E. ] [Footnote 49: The island of Kubito-sima, off the western coast of Yedzo, is called likewise in our maps, the Isle of Pigmies. --E. ] §14. _Note of Commodities vendible in Japan_. [50] Broad-cloths of all sorts, as black, yellow, and red, which cost inHolland eight or nine gilders the Flemish ell, two ells and threequarters, are worth in Japan, three, four, to five hundred. [51] Cloth ofa high wool is not in request, but such as is low shorn is mostvendible. Fine _bayes_ of the before-mentioned colours are saleable, ifwell cottoned, but not such as those of Portugal. Sayes, _rashes_, single and double bouratts, silk grograms, Turkey grograms; camblets, _Divo Gekepert, Weersetynen, Caniaut, Gewart twijne_;[52] velvets, musk, sold weight for weight of silver; India cloths of all sorts are inrequest; satins, taffetas, damasks, Holland linen from fifteen to twentystivers the Flemish ell, but not higher priced; diaper, damasks, and somuch the better if wrought with figures or branches; thread of allcolours; carpets, for tables; gilded leather, painted with figures andflowers, but the smallest are in best demand; painted pictures, theJapanese delighting in lascivious representations, and stories of warsby sea or land, the larger the better worth, sell for one, two, or threehundred. Quick-silver, the hundred cattees sell from three to fourhundred. [Footnote 50: This forms a part of the Appendix to the Voyage of Saris, Purch. Pilg. I. 394; where it is joined to the end of observations bythe same author on the trade of Bantam, formerly inserted in thisCollection under their proper date. --E. ] [Footnote 51: This account is very vaguely expressed; but in the titlein the Pilgrims, the sales are stated to be in _masses_ and_canderines_, each canderine being the tenth part of a masse. Theinformation contained in this short subdivision is hardly intelligible, yet is left, as it may possibly be of some use towards reviving thetrade of Japan, now that the Dutch are entirely deprived of theireastern possessions. --E. ] [Footnote 52: These articles, in italics, are unknown. ] The hundred cattees of vermilion are worth from three to six hundred. Paint for women's faces, the hundred cattees are worth twenty-eight. Cooper in plates, 125 Flemish pounds are worth from 90 to 100. Lead insmall bars, the 100 cattees from 60 to 88. Lead in sheets is in greaterrequest, the thinner the better, and 100 pounds Flemish sell for 80. Fine tin, in logs or bars, 120 pounds Flemish bring 350. Iron, twentyfive Dutch ounces worth four. Steel, the 100 cattees, worth from one totwo hundred. Tapestry. Civet, the cattee worth from 150 to 200. Chinaroot, the 100 cattees or pekul worth 40. China sewing gold, the paperworth three masse three. Powdered Chinese sugar, the 100 cattees orpekul worth forty to fifty. Sugar-candy, the pekul or 100 cattees, fromfifty to sixty. Velvets, of all colours, eight ells the piece, from 120to 130. Wrought velvets, from 180 to 200. Taffetas of all colours, andgood silk, worth, the piece, from twenty-four to thirty or forty. Satin, seven or eight ells long, the piece worth from 80 to 100. Figured satin, from 120 to 150. _Gazen_, of seven pikes or ells, from forty to fifty. Raw silk, the cattee of twelve pounds Flemish, from thirty to forty. Untwisted silk, the weight of twenty-eight pounds Flemish, from thirtyto forty. Twisted silk, from twenty-eight to forty. Drinking-glasses of all sorts, bottles, canns, cups, trenchers, plates, beer-glasses, salt-sellers, wine-glasses, beakers, gilt looking-glassesof large size, _Muscovy glass_, salt, writing-papers, table-books, paper-books, _lead to neal_ pots. Spanish soap is in much request, andsells for one masse the small cake. Amber beads, worth 140 to 160. Silkstockings, of all colours. Spanish leather, neats leather, and otherkinds of leather used for gloves, worth six, eight, or nine. Blue_candiques_ of China, from fifteen to twenty. Black _candiques_, fromten to fifteen. Wax for candles, 100 pounds Flemish worth from 200 to250. Honey, the pekul, worth sixty. _Samell_ of Cochin-China, the pekul, worth 180. Nutmegs, the pekul, twenty-five. Camphor of Borneo, or_barous, the pound hollans_, from 250 to 400. Sanders of _Solier_, thepekul, worth 100. Good and heavy Callomback wood, the pound, worth one, two, three, to five. Sapan, or red wood, the pekul, from twenty totwenty-six. Good and large elephants teeth, from 400, to 500, 600, 700, and even 800. Rhinoceros horns, the Javan cattee, worth thirty. Gildedharts-horns, the piece, worth 300, 400, 500. Roch allum in request, inso much that what cost only three gilders has sold for 100 gilders; butnot in demand by every one. The Chinese in Japan will commonly truck for silver, giving gold oftwenty-three carats, at the rate of from fifteen to twenty times itsweight in silver, according as silver is plenty or scarce. The following commodities are to be bought in Japan, and at the rateshere quoted. Very good hemp, 100 cattees, being 120 pounds of Holland, are worth from sixty-five to seventy. _Eye-colours_ for dying blue, almost as good as indigo, made up in round cakes, and packed 100 cakesin a fardel, worth fifty to sixty. Dye-stuff for white, turning to redcolour, made up in fardels of fifty _gautins malios_, worth five toeight. Very good white rice, cased, worth, the _fares_, eightthree-fifths. Rice of a worse sort, the bale, worth seven three-tenths. At Jedo, Osaka, and Miaco, there is the best dying of all sorts ofcolours, as red, black, and green; and for gliding gold and silver, isbetter than the Chinese varnish. Brimstone is in great abundance, andthe pekul may be bought for seven. Saltpetre is dearer in one place thananother, being worth one and a half. Cotton-wool, the pekul, may bebought for ten. §15. _Supplementary Notices of Occurrences in Japan, after the Departureof Captain Saris_. [53] "This subdivision consists entirely of letters from Japan, and conveyssome curious information respecting the transactions of the English inJapan, whence they have been long excluded. They are now perhaps of someinterest, beyond the mere gratification of curiosity, as, by the entireexpulsion of the Dutch from India, there seems a possibility of theBritish merchants in India being able to restore trade to that distantcountry. In the _Third_ PART of our Collection, various other relationsof Japan will be inserted. "--E. [Footnote 53: These are appended in the Pilgrims, vol. I. Pp. 406--413, to the observations of Mr. Richard Cocks, already given in conjunctionwith the voyage of Captain Saris. --E. ] No. I. _Letter from Mr Richard Cocks, dated Firando, 10th December, 1614_. [54] To this day, I have been unable to complete my old books of accounts, owing to the dispatching of our people, some to one place and some toanother, and owing to the rebuilding of our house, and afterwards buyinga junk, and repairing her. She is now ready to set sail for Siam, havingbeen at anchor these ten days, waiting for a fair wind to proceed on hervoyage, at _Couchi_, a league from Firando, where your ship rode at yourdeparture from hence. She is called the Sea-Adventure, of about 200 tonsburden, in which Mr Adams goes as master, with Mr Wickham and Mr EdwardSayers as merchants, in consequence of the death of Mr Peacock, slain inCochin-China, and the probability that Mr Carwarden has been cast awayin his return from thence, as we have no news of him or of the junk inwhich he sailed, as I have at large informed the worshipful company. [Footnote 54: This letter appears to have been written to CaptainSaris. --E. ] Since your departure from Japan, the emperor has banished all jesuits, priests, nuns, and friars, from the country, shipping them off for_Anacau_ [Macao] in China, or Manilla in the Philippine islands, and hascaused all their churches and monasteries to be pulled down or burnt. _Foyne Same_, the old king of Firando, is dead, and _Ushiandono_, hisgovernor, with two other servants, cut open their bellies to bear himcompany, their bodies being burned, and their ashes entombed along withhis. Wars are likely to ensue between _Ogusho Same_, the old emperor, and _Fidaia Same_, the young prince, son of _Tico Same_, who hasstrongly fortified himself in the castle of _Osaka_, having collected anarmy of 80, 000 or 100, 000 men, consisting of malcontents, runaways, andbanished people, who have repaired from all parts to his standard, andhe is said to have collected sufficient provisions for three years. Theold emperor has marched against him in person, with an army of 300, 000men, and is at the castle of _Fusima_. The advanced parties of the twoarmies have already had several skirmishes, and many have been slain onboth sides. The entire city of Osaka has been burned to the ground, excepting only the castle, so that Mr Eaton had to retire with his goodsto _Sakey_, [55] yet not without danger, as a part of that town haslikewise been burnt. So great a tempest or tuffoon has lately occurredat _Edoo_ [Jedo, ] as had never been before experienced at that place. The sea overflowed the whole city, obliging the people to take refuge onthe hills: and the prodigious inundation has defaced or thrown down allthe houses of the nobles, which you know were very beautiful andmagnificent. [Footnote 55: It has been formerly explained that _Sakey_ was a town onthe river Jodo, directly opposite to Osakey or Osaka, the river onlybeing interposed. --E. ] Let this suffice for Japanese news; and I now proceed to inform you ofour success in selling our goods. The emperor took all our ordnance, with most of our lead, and ten barrels of gunpowder, with two or threepieces of broad-cloth. Most of our other broad-cloths are sold, namely, black, hair-colour, and cinnamon-colour, at fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, and twelve tayes the _tattamy_; but they will not even look atVenice-reds and flame-colours, neither are _stammels_ in such request asformerly, but they enquire much for whites and yellows. As the Dutchsold most of their broad-cloths at low prices, we were forced to do solikewise. In regard to our Cambaya goods, they will not look at our _redZelas_, blue _byrams_, or _dutties_, being the principal part of what isnow left us; and only some white bastas sell at fourteen or fifteenmasses each. _Cassedys nill, alleias_, broad _pintados_, with spotted, striped, and checquered stuffs, are most in request, and sell at goodprofit. We have also sold nearly half of our Bantam pepper forsixty-five _masse_ the _pekull_, and all the rest had been gone beforenow, had it not been for the war. I am in great hope of procuring tradeinto China, through the means of Andrea, the China captain, and his twobrothers, who have undertaken the matter, and have no doubt of beingable to bring it to bear, for three ships to come yearly to a place near_Lanquin_, [56] to which we may go from hence in three or four days witha fair wind. Of this I have written at large to the worshipful company, and also to the lord-treasurer. [Footnote 56: As Nangasaki is uniformly named _Langasaque_ in this firstEnglish voyage to Japan, I am apt to suspect the _Lanquin_ of the textmay have been Nan-kin. --E. ] Some little sickness with which I have been afflicted is now gone, forwhich I thank God. Mr Easton, Mr Nealson, Mr Wickham, and Mr Sayer, haveall been very sick, but are all now well recovered, except Mr Eaton, whostill labours under flux and tertian ague. May God restore his health, for I cannot too much praise his diligence and pains in the affairs ofthe worshipful company. Jacob Speck, who was thought to have been castaway in a voyage from hence to the Moluccas, is now returned to Firandoin the command of a great ship called the Zelandia, together with asmall pinnace called the Jacatra. The cause of his being so long missingwas, that in going from hence by the eastward of the Philippines, theway we came, he was unable to fetch the Moluccas, owing to currents andcontrary winds, and was driven to the west of the island of Celebes, andso passed round it through the straits of Desalon, and back to theMoluccas. The Chinese complain much against the Hollanders for robbingand pilfering their junks, of which they are said to have taken andrifled seven. The emperor of Japan has taken some displeasure againstthe Hollanders, having refused a present they lately sent him, and wouldnot even speak to those who brought it. He did the same in regard to apresent sent by the Portuguese, which came in a great ship from Macao toNangasaki. You thought, when here, that if any other ship came fromEngland we might continue to sell our goods without sending anotherpresent to the emperor; but I now find that every ship which comes toJapan must send a present to the emperor, as an established custom. Ifind likewise that we cannot send away any junk from hence withoutprocuring the yearly licence from the emperor, as otherwise no Japanesemariner dare to leave the country, under pain of death. Our own shipsfrom England may, however, come in and go out again when they please, and no one to gainsay them. We have not as yet been able by any means to procure trade from _Tushma_into Corea; neither indeed have the inhabitants of Tushma any fartherprivilege than to frequent one small town or fortress, and must not onpain of death go beyond the walls of that place. Yet the king of Tushmais not subject to the emperor of Japan. [57] We have only been able tosell some pepper at Tushma, and no great quantity of that. The weightthere is much heavier than in Japan, but the price is proportionallyhigher. [Footnote 57: No place or island of any name resembling _Tushma_ is tobe found in our best maps. The name in the text probably refers to_Tausima_, called an some maps _Jasus_, an island about forty mileslong, about midway between Kiusiu and Corea. --E. ] I have been given to understand that there are no great cities in theinterior of Corea, between which inland country and the sea there areimmense bogs or morasses, so that no one can travel on horseback, andhardly even a-foot; and as a remedy against this, they have greatwaggons or carts upon broad flat wheels, which are moved by means ofsails like ships. Thus, by observing the monsoons or periodical winds, they transport their goods backwards and forwards, by means of thesesailing waggons. In that country they make damasks, sattins, taffaties, and other silk stuffs, as well as in China. It is said that _Fico Same_, otherwise called _Quabicondono_, the formeremperor of Japan, pretended to have conveyed a great army in thesesailing waggons, to make a sudden assault upon the emperor of China inhis great city of Pekin, where he ordinarily resides; but was preventedby a nobleman of Corea, who poisoned himself to poison the emperor andmany of the nobles of Japan. On which occasion, as is said, the Japaneselost, about twenty-two years ago, all that they had conquered in Corea. James Turner, the youth who used to play the fiddle, left a girl herewith child; and though I gave her two tayes in silver to bring up thechild; she killed it as soon as it was born, which is a common thing inthis country. The whistle and chain belonging to Mr Foster, the masterof the Clove, are found, and are under the charge of Mr Adams, who willbe accountable for them. I meant to have sent you a Japanese almanack bya former letter to the same effect as this, dated the 25th _ultimo_, andsent by the Sea Adventure by way of Siam, but forgot to do so; and whichI now send along with this letter. I pray you that this letter maysuffice for your brother, Mr George Saris, and the rest of my lovingfriends: And, with hearty commendations in general, I leave you all tothe holy protection of the Almighty; resting always your ever lovingfriend at command, RICHARD COCKS. _No. 2. Letter from Mr Richard Cocks, dated Firando, 10th December, 1614, to the Worshipful Thomas Wilson, Esq. At his House in theBritain-burse[58] in the Strand. _ [Footnote 58: Perhaps that now called Exeter Change. --E. ] My last to you was of the 1st December, 1613, from this island ofFirando in Japan, and sent by Captain John Saris in the ship Clove. Inthat letter, I advised you how unkindly the Hollanders dealt with us atthe Moluccas; since which time there has not occurred any matter ofmoment to communicate, except what I have detailed in another letter tomy good Lord Treasurer. It is given out here by the Hollanders, that ourEast India Company and that of Holland are likely to join into one; andif this prove true, it is thought it will be an easy matter to drive theSpaniards and Portuguese out of these eastern parts of the world, orelse to cut them off from all trade. You would hardly believe how muchthe Hollanders have already daunted the Portuguese and Spaniards inthese parts, especially in the Moluccas, where they daily encroach onthe Spaniards, who are unable to withstand them, and are even in fearthat they may shortly deprive them of the Philippine islands. ThePortuguese also are in great fear of being driven by them out of thetrade they now carry on from Ormus to Goa, and with Malacca and Macao inChina. There is one thing of which I cannot yet conceive the issue, and that isthe robbing and plundering the Chinese junks, which is daily done by theHollanders in these parts, the goods whereof must amount to great value, and suffice to fit out and maintain a great fleet, which is worthy ofconsideration. Should the emperor of Japan fall out with the Hollanders, and debar them from the trade of his dominions, which is not unlikely, the Hollanders will then make prize of the Japanese junks as well as ofthose of China; for their strength at sea in these parts is sufficientto do what they please, if only they had a place to retire to forrevictualling and refitting their ships; for they are of late grown sostout, that they mock at those who were formerly their masters andteachers. It is very certain that they have got possession of severalfortresses at the Moluccas and other parts; yet, to my certainknowledge, the natives in these parts are more inclined towards theSpaniards, although at the first they were glad of the arrival of theHollanders, having been disgusted by the intolerable pride of theSpaniards. But now they have time to reflect, that the Spaniards broughtthem abundance of money, and were liberal though proud; while the poorHollanders, who serve there both by sea and land, have such bare pay, that it can hardly supply clothes and food; and their commandersallege, that all the benefits derived from conquest or reprisals, belongto the states and the _Winthebbers_, as they call them. It is hard tojudge how all these things may end. Were it not for the misbehaviour of the Hollanders, I am of opinion thatwe should procure trade with China, as we only demand leave for threeships to come and go there, and merely to establish factors there totransact our business, without bringing any Jesuits or _padres_, whomthe Chinese cannot abide to hear of, because they came formerly in suchgreat numbers to inhabit the land, and were always begging and craving, to the great displeasure of the pagans. I am however in good hope ofsuccess, as our English nation has acquired a good fame and charactersince our arrival, which I am given to understand has come to the earsof the emperor of China, who has heard how we have been received by theemperor of Japan, having large privileges allowed us, and also that wehave at all times held the Castilians in defiance both by sea and land. I have been informed of these things by the Chinese who come hither, andthat the emperor and other great men of China delight to hear accountsof our nation. I had almost forgotten to mention, that some Chinamerchants lately asked me, if we were allowed to trade with China, whether the king of England would prevent the Hollanders from robbingand spoiling their junks? Which question was rather doubtful to me, yetI answered that his majesty would take measures to prevent theHollanders from injuring them. We have lately had news that a tuffon or tempest has done vast injury atJedo, a city of Japan as large as London, where the Japanese nobilityhave very beautiful houses, now mostly destroyed or greatly injured. Thewhole city was inundated, and the inhabitants forced to take shelter inthe hills; a thing never before heard of. The palace of the king, whichis a stately building in a new fortress, has had all its gilded tilescarried away by a whirlwind, so that none of them could be found. Thepagans attribute this calamity to some charms or conjurations of theJesuits, who were lately banished: but the Japanese converts to poperyascribe it to the vengeance of God, as a punishment for having banishedthese holy men. We have lately had a great disaster in Cochin-China, to which place wesent a quantity of goods and money, to the value of £730, as it cost inEngland, under the care of Mr Tempest Peacock and Mr Walter Carwarden, who went as merchants in a Japanese junk, carrying our king's lettersand a handsome present for the king of Cochin-China. They arrived at theport called _Quinham_, [59] delivered his majesty's letters and present, and were entertained with kind words and fair promises. The Hollanders, seeing that we adventured to that country, would needs do the same, andwere at first kindly entertained; but in the end, Mr Peacock and thechief Dutch merchant going ashore one day in the same boat, to receivepayment from the king for broad-cloth and other commodities they hadsold him, they were treacherously assailed on the water, their boatoverset, and both were killed in the water with harpoons, as if they hadbeen fishes, together with their interpreters and other attendants, whowere Japanese. Mr Carwarden being aboard our junk escaped sharing inthis massacre, and came away, but neither he nor the junk have ever beensince heard of, so that we fear he has been cast away. [Footnote 59: _Turon_ is the port of Cochin-China in the present time, and _Quinham_ is unknown in modern geography; perhaps the old name ofsome island or village at the port or bay of Turon. --E. ] It is commonly reported here, both among the Chinese and Japanese, thatthis was done by order of the king of Cochin-China in revenge againstthe Hollanders, who had burnt one of his towns, and had slaughtered hispeople most unmercifully. The origin of this quarrel was occasioned by alarge quantity of false dollars, sent to _Quinham_ by the Hollanderssome years ago, and put off in payment for silks and other Chinesegoods, to the great injury of the merchants of that country. When thefalsehood of the money was discovered, they laid hands upon the Dutchfactors, and are said to have put some of them to death. Upon this theDutch ships came upon the coast, and landed a body of men, who burnt atown, putting man, woman, and child to the sword. This, as reported, wasthe occasion of our present mischance, and of the slaughter of MrPeacock, because he was in company with the Hollanders. Along with thisletter, I send you a Japanese almanack, by which you will see the mannerof their printing, with their figures and characters. And so I leave youto the holy protection of the Almighty, resting always, &c. RICHARD COCKS. No. 3. _Letter from Edmond Sayer, dated Firando, 5th December, 1615. Buthaving no Address_. I received a letter from you by the hands of Captain Copendall of theHoriander, who arrived here on the 29th of August this year, by which Ilearnt your safe arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, homewards bound, andof the loss of some of your company; and I make no doubt that, long erenow, you are safe arrived in England, by the blessing of God. I sent youa letter, dated in November, 1614, by the Dutch ship called the OldZealand, in which I informed you of the death of Mr Peacock and WalterCarwarden, both betrayed in Cochin-China, to our great grief, besidesthe loss of goods to the company. The last year, Mr Wickham, Mr Adams, and I, when bound for Siam in ajunk we had bought, and meeting with great storms, our vessel sprung aleak, and we were fain to bear up for the _Leukes_[60] islands, where wehad to remain so long, before we could stop our leaks, that we lost themonsoon, and had to return here. We have fitted her out again this year, and are now ready to sail again for Siam. My greatest hope in theseparts is, that we shall be able to establish trade with China, of whichwe seem to have a fair prospect through the efforts of the China captainand his brothers; and I make no doubt that we shall have a factory thereere long. [Footnote 60: The Liqueo islands are here obviously meant, a group tothe south of the south-western extremity of Japan, in 28° N. And long. 129° 30' W. From Greenwich; such being the latitude and longitude of thecentre of the great Liqueo, the principal island of the group. --E. ] This last summer we have had great troubles, in consequence of warbetween the emperor and _Fidaia Same_, and we do not certainly knowwhether the latter be slain or fled; but the emperor gained the victory, with a vast loss of men on both sides. [61] Having no other news towrite, I commit you to the protection of the Almighty, and am, &c. EDMOND SAYER. [Footnote 61: In the text of the Pilgrims, this loss is estimated at400, 000, and in a marginal note at 40, 000, both in words at length; forwhich reason the number is omitted in the text. --E. ] No. 4. _Letter, with no address, from Edmond Sayer, dated Firando, 4thDecember, 1616. _ Worshipful Sir, --My duty always remembered. Having a favourableopportunity, I could not omit to trouble you with a few lines. I am butnewly arrived here in Firando from a difficult and tedious voyage toSiam, to which country we went in a junk belonging to the righthonourable company, in which Mr Adams was master, and myself factor. Having bought there more goods than our own junk could carry, wefreighted another junk for Japan, in which Mr Benjamin Fry, the chief inthe factory at Siam, thought it proper for me to embark, for the safetyof the goods. The year being far spent, we were from the 1st June to the17th September in our voyage between Siam and _Shachmar_, during whichwe experienced many storms and much foul weather, and lost twenty of ourmen by sickness and want of fresh water. The great cause of our tediousand unfortunate voyage was in our not having a good pilot. The one wehad was a Chinese, who knew nothing of navigation; for, when out ofsight of land, he knew not where he was, nor what course to steer. Besides he fell sick, and was unable to creep out of his cabin, so thatI was obliged to do my best to navigate our junk; which, with what smallskill I possessed, and by the aid of God, I brought safe to _Shachmar_, where we arrived on the 17th of September, having then only five menable to stand on their legs. In consequence, I arrived so late atFirando that I could not go this year to Siam. But Mr William Eaton hasgone there in the company's junk, having two English pilots, named. Robert and John Surges. --I am, &c. EDMOND SAYER. _No. 5. Letter from Richard Cocks to Captain John Saris, dated Firando, 15th February, 1617. [62]_ [Footnote 62: Perhaps the date of this letter, according to moderncomputation, ought to have been 1618, as in those days the year did notbegin till Lady-day, the 25th March. --E. ] My last letter to you was dated 5th January, 1616, and sent by way ofBantam in the ship Thomas, which went from hence that year along withanother small ship called the Advice. In that letter I wrote you atlarge of all things that had then occurred, and mentioned havingreceived two of your letters from London; one dated 4th November, 1614, and the other 15th August, 1615. The Advice has since returned toJapan, and arrived at Firando on the 2d of August last, and by her I hada letter from the honourable company, dated 30th January, 1616. You will perhaps have heard that Captain Barkeley, while on hisdeath-bed, narrowly escaped losing 6000 dollars, paid out for custom onpepper; for, if he had died before it was found out, perhaps some otherman might have taken credit for paying that sum. It is a common saying, that it is easy for those who live at Bantam to grow rich, as _no mandies _without an heir_. We have been again this year before the emperorof Japan, but could not procure our privileges to be enlarged, havingstill only leave to carry on trade at Firando and Nangasaki, and ourships to come only to Firando. Mr Edmond Sayer went last year to Cochin-China with a cargo amounting toabout 1800 tayes, in goods and money; and when ready to cone away, wasdefrauded of 650 tayes, by a Chinese and others, of whom he had boughtsilk for the worshipful company. He had weighed out the money, waitingto receive the silk, and the money lay in the room where he sat; butsome of the thievish people made a hole through the cane-wall of theroom, and stole away the money unperceived. I am sorry for thismischance; but Mr Sayer is in hopes to recover it this year, as he lefta person to follow out the suit, and goes back himself in a Chinesejunk, with 2000 tayes in silver to purchase silk. He is to beaccompanied by one Robert Hawley, as his assistant and successor, incase be should die, and Mr William Adams goes pilot, in place of theChinese. God send them a prosperous voyage, and that they may recoverthe lost money. Our own junk, the Sea Adventure, made another voyagelast year to Siam, Mr William Eaton being merchant; and has gone backagain this year. God send them a prosperous voyage. Last year, the Hollanders sent a fleet of ships from the Moluccas toManilla, to fight the Spanish fleet: But the Spaniards kept safe in portfor five or six months, so that the Hollanders concluded they durst notcome out at all, and therefore separated to look out for Chinese junks, of which some say they took and plundered twenty-five, while others saythirty-five. It is certain that they took great riches, and all underthe assumed name of Englishmen. At length the Spanish fleet put to sea, and set upon five or six of the Dutch ships, the admiral of which wasburnt and sank, together with two other ships, the rest escaping. TheSpaniards then separated their fleet, to seek out the remaining Dutchships. The Spanish vice-admiral fell in with two Dutch ships one morningand fought them both all day; but was at length constrained to run hisship ashore and set her on fire, that she might not be taken by theHollanders. These two Dutch ships, and one that was in the former fight, came afterwards to Firando, together with two other large Dutch shipsfrom Bantam, as big as the Clove, intending to have intercepted theMacao ship, which they narrowly missed. Thus five great Holland shipscame this year to Firando, the smallest of them being as large as theClove. One of these, called the Red Lion, which was she that rode besideus at the Moluccas, was cast away in a storm at Firando, together with aChinese junk they brought in as a prize. All the goods were recovered, but were all wet. The emperor allows them to make good prize of all theytake. The Black Lion, one of their ships, of 900 tons burden, was sent awayfor Bantam, fully laden with raw silk and other rich Chinesecommodities. Another, called the Flushing, of 700 or 800 tons, is gonefor the Moluccas, fully laden with provisions and money. The Sun, a shipof 600 or 700 tons, with a galliass of above 400 tons, are left to scourthe coast of China, to make what booty they can, and to return nextmonsoon. The galliass has sailed already, but the Sun waits for theMacao ship departing from Nangasaki, that she may endeavour to take her. The Macao ship had actually sailed, but seeing the galliass, shereturned to Nangasaki, and will, as I think, hardly venture to sail thisyear. As I said before, the Dutch have always robbed the Chinese underthe name of Englishmen, which has greatly injured our endeavours toprocure trade in that country; so that we have been obliged to sendpeople to give notice to the Chinese governors, that they wereHollanders who have taken and plundered their junks, and not Englishmen. In fine, I have advised the worshipful company at large of every thingof moment, which I doubt not will be communicated to you. I send youhere inclosed a copy of my last year's letter; and so, committing you toGod, I rest your loving friend at command, RICHARD COCKS. No. 6. _Extract of a Letter from Richard Cocks, without Date orAddress_. There came two friars in that ship as ambassadors from the viceroy ofNew Spain, with a present for the emperor; but he would neither receivethe present, nor speak with them that brought it, even sending Mr Adamsto order them to quit his dominions, as he had formerly banished all menof their cloth, and continued still in the same mind. It is said that_Fidaia Same_ had promised to receive the jesuits again into Japan, ifhe had got the victory and been settled in the empire. Had this takeneffect, we and the Hollanders had doubtless been turned out of Japan, sothat it is better as it is. Last year, when we fitted out our junk, we employed a Spaniard, calledDamian Marina, the same person who thought to have gone with you incompany with George Peterson. This Damian was a good helmsman, and wastherefore employed by us, and another Spaniard, named Juan de Lievana, went with them as passenger. The junk however lost her voyage, and theyreturned to Nangasaki, where the carrak of Macao soon afterwardsarrived. Understanding that these two Spaniards had gone in our vessel, the Portuguese arrested them and put them in irons in their ship, condemning them to death as traitors to their king and country, forserving their English enemies. I took their defence in hand, andprocured an order from the emperor to set them at liberty, to the greatdispleasure of the Spaniards and Portuguese; and these two men are goingpassengers to Bantam in the Hosiander. We have had great troubles in Japan, in consequence of the wars, bytransporting our goods from place to place, to save them. Mr Adams isgone again in the junk for Siam, accompanied only by Mr Edmond Sayer. MrNealson is very sick; but Mr Wickham and Mr Eaton are both well. I longto hear from you, and I pray you to deliver the inclosed to my brother. Yours, most assured at command, RICHARD COCKS. No. 7. _Letter from Richard Cocks, without Address, dated Firando, 10thMarch, 1620_. [63] [Footnote 63: In the Pilgrims, the date of this letter is made 1610, evidently by error of the press; and, as observed of No. 5, the realdate, according to modern computation, ought to be 1621. Theintroductory paragraph is a note by Purchas, distinguished by invertedcommas, retained as a curious specimen of his mode of writing. --E. ] "Hollanders abuses of the English in those parts, are here publishedfor knowledge of these eastern affairs and occurrents, as it is meet ina history. But neither were these national, but personal crimes, anddone in time and place of pretended hostility; and now, I hope, satisfaction is or shall be made. Neighbourhood of region, religion, andcustoms, are easily violated by drink, covetousness, and pride, thethree furies that raised these combustions. This history hath relatedthe worth of many worthy Hollanders: If it yields a close-stool forWestarwood, as excrements rather than true Dutch, or a grain-tub orswill-tub for some brave brewers and bores, that embrued with noblerblood than themselves, prefer their brutish passions to God's glory, religion, and public peace let it be no imputation to the nation, whichI love and honour, but to such baser spirits as have [like scorbuticalhumours in these long voyages, and their longer peace and want of wontedemployments, ] been bred as diseases to their, and infections to ourbodies. My intent is to present others with their acts, and myself withprayers, that all may be amended. "--_Purchas_. * * * * * It is now almost three years since I wrote your worship any letter. Thepurpose of this is to inform you of the unlooked for and unrulyproceedings of the Hollanders against our English nation, in all theseparts of the world, not sparing us even in this empire of Japan, contrary to the large privileges granted to us by the emperor, that theJapanese should not meddle with or molest us. But these Hollanders, having this year seven ships great and small in this port of Firando, have, with sound of trumpet, proclaimed open war against our Englishnation, both by sea and land, threatening to take our ships and goods, and to kill our persons, as their mortal enemies. This was done by oneAdam Westarwood, their admiral or lord-commander, as they call him, andwas openly proclaimed aboard all their ships. They have even come tobrave us before our own doors, picking quarrels with us, and forciblyentering our house, thinking to have cut all our throats, yet onlywounded two persons; and, had it not been for the assistance of theJapanese our neighbours, who took our parts, they had assuredly slain usall, as there were an hundred Hollanders to one Englishman. Notcontented with this, they took our boat when going about our business, in which was one Englishman, whom they carried prisoner to their house, threatening to put him to death; and indeed he was in imminent danger, among a crowd of drunken fellows, who threatened to stab him with theirknives. This young man was Richard King, son to Captain King ofPlymouth. Besides this, as two of our barks were passing their ships, within the town and harbour of Firando, they pointed a cannon at them, which missed fire, yet shot at them with muskets, which missed theEnglishmen and killed a Japanese. For all this there is no justiceexecuted against them by the king of Firando, though he has received thecommands of the emperor to that effect. Yon will also please to understand, that two of these ships which theyhave brought to Firando are English ships, taken by them from Englishmenin the Indies. They also took two other ships from us, which were ridingat anchor in the road of Patania, where we have a factory, and had notthe least suspicion of any such event. In this unwarrantable affair, they killed Captain John Jordaine, [64] our chief president for the rightworshipful company in the Indies. Several others were then slain, andthe Hollanders carried the ships and goods away; but six of themariners, which were in these captured English ships, escaped from themhere at Firando, and came to our house. The Hollanders sent to me, demanding to have these men given up to them. But I answered, that Imust first see their commission, that I might know by what authoritythey presumed to take our ships and goods, and to slay our men, thefaithful subjects of his majesty. Upon this, they went to the _Tono_, orking of Firando, desiring to have their _English slaves_, [65] as theywere pleased to call our men, delivered up to them. But they were told, that they must first demand of the emperor, and whatever he ordainedshould be obeyed; but that, in the meantime, he did not consider theEnglish to be their slaves. This was the grand occasion on which theygrounded their quarrel against us, and meant to have killed us all. ButI trust in God and his majesty, by the solicitations of our righthonourable and right worshipful employers, that his majesty will notsuffer his true and loyal subjects to lose their lives, ships, and goodsby this thievish and unthankful rabble, who are assembled in these partsof the world, and who make a daily practice to rob and steal from all, whether friends or foes: And I trust that you will become a solicitor inthis so just cause, against so inveterate an enemy. [Footnote 64: This Captain Jordaine is said to have been treacherouslyslain in the time of a treaty--_Purch. _] [Footnote 65: And who was the happy instrument of their own delivery, from what they accounted slavery, but the English nation?--_Purch. _] This Adam Westarwood, their lord-commander, set my life to sale;offering fifty dollars to any one that would kill me, and thirty dollarsfor every other Englishman that they could slay: But hitherto God hathpreserved me and the rest in this place; for though they have woundedtwo or three of our men, none have died. This villainous proceeding[66]of their lord-commander was secretly told me by some of their ownpeople, who advised me and the rest of us to take heed to our safety. They also informed me of the noble parentage of this theirlord-commander Westarwood, telling me that his father is a close-stoolmaker at Amsterdam, or thereabouts; and that the best of their captainsare the sons of shoemakers, carpenters, or brewers. God bless theirhonourable and worshipful generation! I would say, God bless me fromthem. To make an end of this matter, I went up this year to theemperor's court at Meaco, to complain of the abuses offered to us in hisdominions, contrary to the privileges his majesty had granted us. I hadvery good words, and fair promises made me that we should have justice, and that the _tono_ or king of Firando should be ordered to see itperformed: But as yet nothing has been done, though I have many timesmade earnest suit on the subject. [Footnote 66: Unchristian, uncivil, inhumane, immane, devilishimpiety. --_Purch. _] While I was at the court, and in the emperor's palace at Meaco, therewere several Spaniards and Portuguese there to pay their obeisance tothe emperor, as is their custom every year on the arrival of theirships. There was also a Hollander at the court, who had lived almosttwenty years in Japan, and speaks the Japanese language very fluently. In my hearing, and that of others, this fellow began highly to extoltheir king of Holland, pretending that he was the greatest king inChristendom, and held all the others under his command. He littlethought that we understood what he said; but I was not slack in tellinghim, that he need not be so loud, for they had no king in Holland, beingonly governed by a count, or rather that they governed him. Nay, if theyhad any king at all in whom they could boast, it certainly was the kingof England, who had hitherto been their protector, and without whose aidthey had never been able to brag of their States. This retort made theSpaniards and Portuguese laugh heartily at the poor Hollander, and madehim shut his mouth. And now for the news of this country. The emperor is great enemy to thename of Christians, especially to the Japanese who have embraced thefaith; so that all such as are found are put to death. While at Meaco, Isaw fifty-five martyred at one time, because they would not forsake thefaith, and among them were some children of five or six years old, whowere burnt in the arms of their mothers, calling on Jesus to receivetheir souls. Also, in the town of Nangasaki, sixteen others weremartyred for the same cause, of whom five were burnt, and the restbeheaded and cut in pieces, and their remains put into sacks and castinto the sea in thirty fathoms deep: Yet the priests got them up again, and kept their remains secretly as relics. There are many others inprison, both here and in other places, who look hourly to be ordered forexecution, as very few of them revert to paganism. Last year, aboutChristmas, the emperor deposed one of the greatest princes in all Japan, called _Frushma-tay_, lord of sixty or seventy _mangocas_, and banishedhim to a corner in the north of Japan, where he has a very small portionin comparison with what was taken from him, and he had the choice ofthis or of cutting open his own belly. It was thought that this wouldhave occasioned great troubles in Japan, for all the subjects of_Frushma-tay_ were up in arms, and meant to hold out to the utmostextremity, having fortified the city of _Frushma_, and laid inprovisions for a long time. But the _tay_ and his son, being then at theemperor's court, were commanded to write to their vassals, ordering themto lay down their arms and submit to the emperor, or otherwise to cutopen their own bellies. Life being sweet, they all submitted, and thosewere pardoned who had taken up arms for their _tay_. The emperor hasgiven their dominions, which were two kingdoms, to two of his ownkinsmen; and this year the emperor has ordered the castle belonging toFrushma to be pulled down, being a very beautiful and gallant fortress, in which I saw him this year, and far larger than the city of Rochester. All the stones are ordered to be conveyed to Osaka, where the ruinedcastle, formerly built by _Fico-Same_, and pulled down by _Ogosha-Same_, is ordered to be rebuilt three times larger than before; for whichpurpose all the _tonos_ or kings have each their several tasks appointedthem; to be executed at their several charges, not without muchgrumbling: For they had got leave, after so many years attendance atcourt, to return to their own residences, and were now sent for againall of a sadden to court, which angreth them not a little: "But go theymust, will they nill they, on pain of belly-cutting. " At this time there runs a secret rumour, that _Fidaia Same_ is alive, and in the house of the _Dairo_[67] at Meaco; but I think it has beenreported several times before this that he was living in other places, but proved untrue. There are some rich merchants here that belong toMeaco, who are much alarmed by this report, lest, if true, the emperormay burn Meaco; and who are therefore in haste to get home. Were Fidaiaactually alive it might tend to overthrow the emperor's power, for, though a great politician, he is not a martial man: But be this as itmay, things can hardly be worse for us. I advised you in my last of thedestruction of all the Christian churches in Japan; yet there were someremnants left at Nangasaki till this year, and in particular themonastery of Misericiordia was untouched, as were all the church-yardsand burying-places; but now, by order of the emperor, all is destroyed, all the graves and sepulchres of the Christians opened, and the bones ofthe dead taken out by their parents and kindred, to be buried elsewherein the fields. Streets have been built on the scites of these churches, monasteries, and burying-grounds, except in some places, where pagodashave been erected by command of the emperor, who has sent heathenpriests to occupy them, thinking utterly to root out Christianity fromJapan. There were certain places near Nangasaki where several jesuitfathers and other Christians were martyred, in the reign of _OgoshaSame_, and where their parents and friends had planted evergreen-trees, and erected altars near each tree, where many hundreds went daily to saytheir prayers; but now, by command of the emperor, all these trees arecut down, the altars destroyed, and the ground all levelled, it beinghis firm resolution utterly to root out the remembrance of all mattersconnected with Christianity. [Footnote 67: The Dairo was formerly the sovereign of Japan, uniting thesupreme civil and spiritual power, committing the military affairs to akind of generalissimo, who usurped supreme authority, and reduced theDairo to be a kind of sovereign pontiff or chief-priest. --E. ] In the months of November and December, 1618, there were two comets seenall over Japan. The first, rising in the east, was like a great fierybeam, rent to the southwards, and vanished away in about the space of amonth. The other rose also in the east, like a great blazing star, andwent northwards, vanishing quite away within a month near theconstellation of Ursa-Major or Charles-waine. The wizards of Japan haveprognosticated great events to arise from these comets, but hithertonothing material has occurred, excepting the deposition of_Frushma-tay_, already related. I am almost ashamed to write you the news which the Spaniards andPortuguese report, though some of them have shewn me letters affirmingit to be true, of a bloody cross having been seen in the air in England;and that an English preacher, speaking irreverently of it from thepulpit, was struck dumb: On which miracle, as they term it the king ofEngland sent to the pope, to have some cardinals and learned men broughtto England, as intending that all the people of England should becomeRoman catholics. I pray you pardon me for writing of such nonsense, which I do that you may laugh; yet I assure you there are many Spaniardsand Portuguese here who firmly believe it. I know not what more to writeyou at this time: But I hope to come to England in the next shippingthat comes here; and I trust in God that I may find your worship in goodhealth. RICHARD COCKS. SECTION XVI. _Ninth Voyage of the East India Company, in 1612, by Captain EdmundMarlow_. [68] We sailed from the Downs on the 10th February, 1612, in the good shipJames, and crossed the equator on the 11th April. [69] The 27th of thatmonth, at noon, we were in latitude, by observation, 19° 40' S. And inlongitude, from the Lizard, 11° 24' W. We this day saw an islandfourteen leagues from us in the S. E. Which I formerly saw when I sailedwith Sir Edward Michelburne. It is round like Corvo, and rises rugged, having a small peaked hill at its east end. Its lat. Is 23° 30' S. Andlong. 10° 30' W. From the Lizard; and there is another island or two insight, seven or eight leagues E. N. E. From this. [70] [Footnote 68: Purch. Pilg. I. 440. --The relation of this voyage in thePilgrims is said to have been written by Mr John _Davy_, the master ofthe ship: Probably the same John _Davis_, or _Davies_, formerlymentioned as having frequently sailed as master to India in these earlyvoyages, and from whose pen Purchas published a _Rutter_, or brief bookof instructions for sailing to India. On the present occasion, thisvoyage has been considerably abbreviated, especially in the nauticalremarks, which are now in a great degree obsolete and useless, and havebeen already sufficiently enlarged upon in the former voyages toIndia. --E. ] [Footnote 69: From some indistinct notices, in the commencement of thisvoyage, the Dragon and Hosiander appear to have belonged to the _tenth_voyage of the East India Company, and the Solomon to the _eleventh_voyage; and that these three ships sailed from England at the same timewith the James, which belonged to the _ninth_ voyage. --E. ] [Footnote 70: This seemeth the island of Martin Vaz. --_Purch. _ Theisland of Trinidad, or Martin Vaz, is only in lat. 20° 15' S. And long. 29° 32' W. From Greenwich. --E. ] We saw the island of St Lawrence on the 29th June, and anchored in fivefathoms water in the bay of St Augustine on the 28th at night. Next daywe weighed, and brought the ship to anchor in the river, one anchorbeing in thirty-five and the other in ten fathoms. A ship may ride herein shallower water at either side, the deep channel being narrow. Inthis anchorage no sea can distress a ship, being protected by the landand shoals, so that it may well be called a harbour, from its safety. Weremained here twenty days, and sailed for Bantam on the 18th of July. In the morning of the 24th September we saw the islands of Nintam, inlat. 1° 30' S. [71] The sound between the two great islands is eighteenleagues from Priaman, and eleven leagues from the shoals before _Ticoo_, which must be carefully avoided during the night, by laying two or threeor four leagues off till day-light. When you see three hummocks thatresemble three islands, take care always to have a person stationed onthe outer end of the boltsprit to give warning of any spots in your way, as there are coral beds, which may be easily seen and avoided. Thecourse from this sound for Ticoo or Priaman is E. N. E. To these shoals. In passing this sound, keep your lead always going, and come no nearerthe large southern island than the depth of sixteen fathoms, as thereare shoals towards the east side, and a breach or ledge also off thenorthern island, on the larboard going in for Priaman. When nearing theshoals of Ticoo, set the three hummocks on the main, which look likeislands, as all the land near them is very low; and when you have thesehummocks N. E. By E. Then are you near the shoals, and when the hummocksare N. N. E. You are past the shoals. But great care is necessaryeverywhere, as it is all bad ground hereabout, till past the high landof _Manancabo_, which is in lat 4° 30' S. Or thereby. [Footnote 71: Pulo Mintao is probably here meant, which is to the southof the line, but touches it at its northern extremity. The sound in thetext, is probably that between Pulo Botoa and Pulo Mintao. --E. ] We came to anchor in the road of Priaman on the 26th September, wherewe found the Thomas, and remained fourteen days to refresh our sick men, when the Hector and our ship sailed for Bantam, where we arrived incompany with the Janus and Hector on the 23d October. The 4th Novemberwe weighed from the road of Bantam, intending to proceed by the straitsof Sunda for Coromandel; but the winds and currents were so strongagainst us, that we were forced back into the straits of Sunda to refitour ship, which was much weather-beaten. The 11th December, we anchoredagain at Pulo Panian, and went to work to trim our ship and take inballast. Being ballasted, watered, and refitted, we sailed again on the10th January, 1613, for the straits of Malacca. But, being too late inthe monsoon, and both wind and current against us, we got no fartherthan seventy leagues from Bantam by the first of March, with much toilto the men. Wherefore we concluded to take in wood and water, and toreturn for Bantam by the outside of Sumatra. Having again sailed for Coromandel, we were at noon of the 5th June, 1613, in lat. 12° N. And long. 23° W. From the salt hills, having beencarried by the currents 4° 30', or ninety leagues out of our reckoning. Whoever sails from Bantam, either up or down, will find such uncertainreckoning that he may well miss his destined port, unless he looks wellto the variation of the needle, which will help materially in ten orfifteen leagues, and indeed there is no other way of dealing with thesecurrents. We now got sight of the land, which is so very low that thepagodas or pagan churches are first descried. With the aid of the lead, you may sail boldly on this coast of Coromandel in fifteen fathoms bynight, and ten by day; but a steady man must always be kept at the leadon such occasions, as the sea shoals suddenly; for after thirteenfathoms, it will suddenly fall off to shoal water, being like a well orsteep bank, and the ground ooze. The course along the coast is N. By E. To Pullicate, and so to Masulipatam. The 6th June we anchored at noon in the road of Pullicate, in eightfathoms on sand. There is a middle ground, having only five fathoms, andwithin that another, having six, seven, and eight. The marks for theroad where we anchored, are the round hill by the other hill, W. By N. And the Dutch fort S. W. By W. The latitude is 13° 30' N. And thevariation 18° 10'. Departing from Pullicate roads on the night of the7th, we were on the 8th in lat. 14° 40' at noon, having sailedtwenty-three leagues since last night, our depth of water beingtwenty-three to twenty-fire fathoms, and our course N. By E. But thelead is our sure guide on this coast, under God. The 9th at noon we werein lat. 15° 30', having the land in sight, but not the high land of_Petapoli_ [Putapilly]. During the last twenty-four hours, we sailedseventeen leagues north, in fifteen and sixteen fathoms. The high landnow in sight is known by a pagoda or pagan temple, and is five leaguesfrom the high land of Putapilly, in the road of which place we anchoredon the 10th in five fathoms on sand, this new high land bearing from usN. N. W. The platform of palm trees upon the island E. N. E. By E. And thebar N. W. By N. The whole sea coast is low land. The latitude here is 15°52'. Having established a factory, in which we left Mr George Chanseyand our purser as merchants, with other seven men to assist in takingcare of our goods, we sailed from Putapilly on the forenoon of the 19th. We anchored in the road of Masulipatam on the 21st, where we found aship belonging to Holland. We remained here for six months, until the6th January, 1614, and then set sail for Putapilly, where we arrived onthe 19th of that month, and remained there, taking in the merchants andtheir goods till the 7th February, when we sailed for Bantam. We arrivedthere on the 20th April, and on the 10th June set sail for Patane. Bynoon of that day, being in lat. 5° 44' S. We had sight of the islandsnine leagues from Bantam, our course, after getting clear of the road, being N. N. E. In five, six, seven, eight, twelve, fourteen, and so totwenty-four fathoms. At six in the morning of the 11th, we were closebeside the two islands that are north from Bantam near Sumatra, in lat. 5° S. And in twenty fathoms; this being the surest course both going toand from Bantam, but it is necessary to keep a good look-out for thesand-banks which are even with the water. The 12th, being involved in astrong adverse current, we were forced to anchor in a quarter less fourfathoms, in sight of a reef, twelve leagues short of Lucapara, andforty-eight from Bantam. The 14th, we came in with the island of Banda and the main of Sumatra, and went through between them in five 1/2 fathoms. In this passage it isproper to keep nearer the Sumatra shore, though the water is deeper onthe Banda side of the strait; as that side is rocky, while the sidetowards Sumatra is oozy. The 16th we came to Palimbangan point; and the17th at noon, being in lat, 1° 10' S. We anchored in nine fathoms, onaccount of it falling calm with a strong current, the isle of Pulo Tinobeing to seawards. The 30th, we anchored in the road of Patane in three1/2 fathoms. On the 1st August we sailed to Sangora to trim our ship, being a good place for that purpose under shelter of two islands hard bythe main, and fourteen or fifteen leagues from Patane. We anchored inSangora road, under the eastermost of the two islands, on the 4th; andhaving put our ship into good trim, we came away on the 9th September, and returned to Patane next day. We remained there a month taking inthe goods of the Globe, to carry them to Bantam, for which place wesailed on the 9th October, and arrived at Bantam on the 9th November. Wecontinued there till the 27th January, 1615, to load our ship, and toget all things in readiness for our voyage home to England. The 29th we set sail from Bantam, homewards bound; and when some hundredleagues from thence, our captain, Mr Edmund Marlow, died. He was anexcellent man, and well skilled in the mathematics and the art ofnavigation. The first place at which we anchored was Saldanha bay, wherewe arrived on the 29th April, 1615, and next day our consort the Globecame in. Having well refreshed and refitted our ships, we set sail fromthence on the 17th May, and arrived at St Helena on the 3d June. Sailingfrom thence along with our consort, on the 7th of that month, we arrivedin England on the 3d of August, giving praise to God for our safety. SECTION XVII. _Tenth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1612, written by MrThomas Best, chief Commander_. [72] From the full tide of this voyage, in the Pilgrims, we learn that therewere two ships employed in this _tenth_ voyage, named the Dragon and theHosiander, in which were about 380 persons; and these were accompaniedby two other ships, the James and the Solomon, which belonged to othervoyages, each voyage being then a separate adventure, and conducted by aseparate subscription stock, as formerly explained in the introductionto the present chapter. We learn from other parts of the Pilgrims, thatthe James belonged to the _ninth_ voyage, related immediately beforethis, and the Solomon to the _eleventh_, to be afterwards narrated. --E. [Footnote 72: Purch. Pilgr. I. 456. ] §1. _Observations during the Voyage from England to Surat_. We sailed from Gravesend on the 1st of February, 1612. At noon on the22d March we made the latitude 15° 20' N. And at two p. M. Were abreastof Mayo, one of the Cape Verd islands, being S. W. By S. About twelveleagues from Bonavista. To the N. And N. N. W. Of Mayo the ground is allfoul, and due N. Of the high hummocks a great ledge of rocks runs outfrom the land for five or six miles, a mile without which ledge thereare twenty fathoms water. On the west side of the island, you may borrowin twelve or fifteen fathoms, till you come into the road, where weanchored in twenty-four fathoms. On the morning of the 28th March, we came close by an island in lat. 23°30', and long. From the meridian of Mayo, 1° 50' E. We did not land uponthis island, but came within two or three miles of it, and in my opinionthere is hardly any anchorage to be found. It may probably produce somerefreshment, as it certainly has wood, which we saw, and it may havewater, as we observed a fair plain spot and very green on its southernpart; but we could find no ground within two or three miles of itscoast. E. N. E. Some seven or eight leagues from this, there is anotherisland; and E. By S. Or E. S. E. From the first island, about four or fiveleagues, there are two or three white rocks. [73] [Footnote 73: In the text it is not said if the latitude be N. Or S. YetS. Is probably meant. No island is however to be found in the indicatedsituation. In the _eleventh_ voyage, an island is said to have beendiscovered in lat. 19° 34'S. Certainly known to have been Trinidad, Santa Maria d'Agosto, or Martin Vaz, of which hereafter. --E. ] We remained twenty-one days in Saldanha road, and bought for thethree[74] ships thirty-nine beeves and 115 sheep, which we paid for witha little brass cut out of two or three old kettles. We got the sheep forsmall pieces of thin brass, worth about a penny or three halfpence each;and the beeves in the same manner for about the value of twelve-pencea-piece. This is an excellent place of refreshment, as besides aboundingin beef and mutton, there is plenty of good fish, all kinds of fowls, and great store of fat deer, though we could not kill any of these. Ithas likewise excellent streams of fresh water, and a most healthfulclimate. We landed eighty or ninety sick, who were lodged in tents, andthey all recovered their health in eighteen days, save one who died. From the 7th to the 28th June, when we set sail from Saldanha bay, wehad continual fine weather, the sun being very warm, and the airpleasant and wholesome. [Footnote 74: One of the ships appears to have been separated from thefleet, but it does not appear which. --E. ] We sailed from Saldanha road on the 28th June, and were 100 leagues tothe east of _Cabo das Aguilhas_ before we found any current, but it wasthen strong. The 31st July at noon, we found the latitude 17° 8' S. Ourlongitude being 20° 47' E. And at four p. M. We saw the island of _Juande Nova_, distant four leagues E. S. E. [75] Its size, and I think we sawit all, is about three or four miles long, all very low and rising fromthe sea like rocks. Off the west end we saw breakers, yet could not getground with a line of 150 fathoms, sounding from our boat. The latitudeof this island, observed with great accuracy, is 17°, [76] and it seemswell laid down in our charts, both in regard to latitude and longitude. It is a most sure sign of being near this island, when many sea fowl areseen, and we accordingly saw there ranch fowl, some white, having theirwings tipped only with black, and others all black. [Footnote 75: St Juan de Nova is in lat. 17° 50' S. And long. 45° 30'E. From Greenwich--E. ] [Footnote 76: In lat. 17° S. And long. 60° E. Is an island or bankcalled Nazareth, Corados, or Garajos, a long way however from St Juan deNova. --E. ] The 3d August, in lat 13° 35' by observation, and longitude 22° 30' fromthe Cape, we saw _Mal-Ilha_, one of the Comoros, about twelve leaguesoff, having on the east part of it a very fair sugar-loaf hill. [77] Atthe same time with this island, we had sight of that named Comoro, bearing N. N. W. By W. Being high land. At six a. M. Of the 4th we wereclose in with _Mal-Ilha_, and standing in for some place in which toanchor, while some eight or nine miles from the shore, we saw the groundunder the ship in not less than eight or ten fathoms. The Hosiander, twomiles nearer the land, had four or five fathoms, and her boat was inthree fathoms. We then sent both our boats to sound, which kept shoalingon a bank in eight, ten, and twelve fathoms, and off it only half acable's length had no ground with 100 fathoms. At the north end ofMal-Ilha there is a fair big high island, about five or six miles incircuit. [78] A bank or ledge of rocks extends all along the west side ofMal-Ilha, continuing to the small high island; and from this littleisland to Mal-Ilha may be some eight or nine miles, all full of rocks, two of them of good height. Being at the north end of this ledge, andthe little island bearing S. E. You may steer in with the land, keepingthe island fair aboard; and within the rocks or broken ground andMal-Ilha there is a bay with good anchorage. To the eastwards, on comingin from the ledge of rocks, there is a great shoal, the outermost end ofwhich is N. E. Or N. E. By E. From the small island five or six miles, andno ground between that we could find with forty or fifty fathoms line. In fine, all the north side of Mal-Ilha is very dangerous, but theabove-mentioned channel is quite safe. I would have come to anchor here, as there is a town about a mile east from the before-mentioned bay, thepeople being very good, and having abundance of refreshments, as beeves, goats, hens, lemons, cocoa-nuts in great plenty, and excellent water, but could not get in, owing to the wind being directly south. [Footnote 77: Mohilla, the Mal-ilha of the text, is in lat. 16° 44° S. And long. 44° E. From Greenwich. Its difference of long. From the Capeof Good Hope is 23° 45' E. Thus, in every instance hitherto, theobservations of lat. And long. By Captain Best, at least as printed byPurchas, are grossly erroneous. --E. ] [Footnote 78: This description seems rather to refer to the island ofMayotto, about thirty leagues E. Of S. From Mohilla; the small island tothe north, or N. By W. Being called Saddle Isle. --E. ] Two of my men had belonged to a Dutch fleet, that year when theyassaulted Mosambique, on which occasion they put in here, and recoveredthe healths of 400 or 500 men in five weeks. Yet it is well namedMal-Ilha, or the bad island, for it is the most dangerous of any place Iever saw. It is next to Comoro, from which it is distant some twelve orfourteen leagues S. S. E. At dawn on the 1st September we got sight of land to the eastwards, fouror five leagues distant, my reckoning being then eighty or ninetyleagues short, owing, I suppose, to some current setting east from thecoast of Melinda; neither from the latitude of Socotoro to Damaun couldwe see the sun, to know our variation. The 3d at seven a. M. We spoke twocountry boats, which informed us that the town, church, and castle insight was Damaun. From these boats I got two men, who engaged to carrythe Dragon to the bar of Surat, promising not to bring us into less thanseven fathoms. On the 5th a Surat boat came on board with _Jaddow_ thebroker, who had served Captain William Hawkins three years, and SirHenry Middleton all the time he was here. There were likewise in thisboat the brother of the customer of Surat, and three or four others. Allthese remained with us till the 7th, when we came to anchor at the barof Surat, in eight 1/4 fathoms at high water, and six 1/2 at neap tides. At spring tides, however, I have found the tide to rise in the offingthree fathoms, and even three 1/2. The latitude of our anchorage was 21°10' N. And the variation 16° 20' or 16° 27'. [79] On the 11th, _ThomasKerridge_ came aboard, with a certificate or licence under the seals ofthe justice and governor of Surat, for our quiet and peaceable trade andintercourse, and with kind entreaties to come ashore, where we should beheartily welcomed by the people. They also brought off a letter ornarrative, written by Sir, Henry Middleton, which had been left incharge of the _Moccadam_ of Swally. On the same day, I again sent MrKerridge ashore, accompanied by Hugh Gettins. [Footnote 79: Sorat bar is in lat. 21° 2' N. And long. 72° 50' E. FromGreenwich--E. ] §2. _Transactions with the Subjects of the Mogul, Fights with thePortuguese, Settlement of a Factory, and Departure for Acheen_. On the 13th September, 1612, sixteen sail of Portuguese frigates, orbarks, put into the river of Surat. The 22d, we determined in council tosend a dispatch to the king at Agra, signifying our arrival, and torequire his explicit answer, whether he would permit us to trade andsettle a factory; and if refused, that we would quit his country. The30th, I got notice that Mr Canning, our purser, and William Chambers, had been arrested ashore; wherefore I caused a ship of Guzerat to anchorclose beside me, determining to detain her till I should see how matterswent ashore. We also stopped a bark laden with rice from Bassare, belonging to the Portuguese, out of which we took twelve or fourteenquintals of rice, for which we paid at the rate of thirteen-pence thequintal. When I had taken possession of the Guzerat ship, I wrote to thechiefs of Surat, requiring them to send me all my men, together with thevalue of the goods I had landed; on which I should deliver up their shipand people, allowing them till the 5th of October to give me an answer;at which time, if I had not a satisfactory answer, I declared mydetermination to dispose of the ship and her goods at my pleasure. Therewere some 400 or 450 men aboard that ship, ten of the chiefest amongwhom I brought into my ship, to serve as hostages. On the 6th October, _Medi Joffer_ came aboard my ship, accompanied byfour chiefs and many others, bringing me a great present, and came toestablish trade with us, and to solicit the release of the Guzerat ship. On the 10th I left the bar of Surat, and came to Swally roads, where Ianchored in eight fathoms at high water. This road-stead is ten ortwelve miles north from the bar of Surat. The 17th, the governor of_Aamadavar_ [Ahmedabad] came to the water side. I landed on the 19th, having four principal persons sent aboard my ship, as pledges for mysafety. On the 21st I concluded upon articles of agreement with thegovernor and merchants, of which the tenor follows: "Articles agreed upon, and sealed, by the governor of Ahmedabad, thegovernor of Surat, and four principal merchants; and to be confirmed bythe firmaun and seal of the Great Mogul, within forty days from the dateand sealing hereof, or else to be void; for the settlement of trade andfactories in the cities of Surat, Cambaya, Ahmedabad, Goga, or in anyother part or parts of the dominions of the Great Mogul in this country. Witnessed by their hands and seals, the 21st of October, 1612. " 1. All that concerns Sir Henry Middleton is to be remitted, acquitted, and cleared to us; so that they shall never make seizure, stoppage, orstay of our goods, wares, or commodities, as satisfaction for the same. 2. They shall procure at their own proper cost, from the King or GreatMogul, his grant and confirmation of all the articles of this agreement, under the great seal of his government, and shall deliver the same tous, for our security and certainty of perpetual amity, commerce, anddealing, within forty days from the date and sealing hereof. 3. It shall be lawful for the king of England to keep his ambassadorcontinually at the court of the Great Mogul, during all the time of thispeace and trade, there to accommodate and conclude upon all such greatand weighty matters as may in any respect tend to disturb or break thesaid peace. 4. At all times, on the arrival of any of our ships in the road ofSwally, proclamation shall be made in the city of Surat, during threesuccessive days, that all the people of the country shall be free tocome down to the shore, and there to have free trade, dealing, andcommerce with us. 5. That all English commodities shall pay custom, according to thevalue or price they bear, at the time of entry at the custom-house, after the rate of three 1/2 per cent. Ad valorem. 6. All petty and pedlar ware to be free from duty, that does not exceedthe value of ten dollars. 7. The English are to have ten _manu_ carried from the water side toSurat for a _manuda_, [80] and at the same rate back; and are to befurnished with carts on application to the _moccadam_ of Swally forsending to Surat, and at that place by a broker with carts downwards tothe sea side at Swally. [Footnote 80: This unexplained rate of carriage was probably ten_manuda_ for one _mahinoodic_. --E. ] 8. If any of our people die in the country, neither the king, thegovernor, nor any inferior officer should pretend any title or claim toany thing that had belonged to the deceased, neither should demand anyfees, taxes, or customs, upon the same. 9. In case all the men left in these parts should die before the returnof any of our ships, then some officer appointed for the purpose shallmake a true inventory and schedule of all monies, goods, jewels, provisions, apparel, or other things, belonging to our nation, and shallsafely preserve and keep the same, to be delivered over to the general, captain, or merchants of the first English ships that arrive afterwards, from whom a regular receipt and discharge shall be given for the same. 10. That they shall guarantee all our men and goods on land, redeemingall of both or either that may happen to be taken on the land by thePortuguese; delivering both to us again free of all charges, or in lieuthereof the full value of our said goods and men, and that withoutdelay. 11. Insomuch as there are rebels and disobedient subjects in allkingdoms, so there may be some pirates and sea-rovers of our nation, whomay happen to come into these parts to rob or steal. In that case, thetrade and factory belonging to the English shall not be held responsibleor liable to make restitution for goods so taken; but we shall aid thesubjects of the Great Mogul, to the best of our power who may happen tobe thus aggrieved, by application to our king for justice against theaggressors, and for procuring restitution. 12. That all victuals and provisions, required during the stay of ourships in the roads of Surat and Swally, shall be free of custom, provided they do not exceed the value of 1000 dollars. 13. That in all questions of wrongs and injuries offered to us and toour nation, we shall receive speedy justice from the judges and othersin authority, according to the nature of our complaints and the wrongsdone to us, and shall not be put off by delays, or vexed by exorbitantcharges or loss of time. On the 24th October, I landed the present intended for the Great Mogul, which I brought to the tent of the governor of Ahmedabad, who took amemorandum of all the particulars, as also a copy of our king's letterto their sovereign. After which, as before agreed upon with thegovernor, I sent them back aboard ship: For I had told him, unless hisking would confirm the articles agreed upon, and likewise write our kinga letter, that I would neither deliver the present nor our king'sletter; for, if these things were refused, then was their king an enemynot a friend, and I had neither present nor letter for the enemy of ourking. At this time, however, I delivered our present to the governor, and another to his son. The 14th November, a great fleet of frigates or barks, consisting ofsome 240 sail, came in sight. I thought they had come to attack us, butthey were a _caffila_ of merchantmen bound for Cambaya; as there comesevery year a similar fleet from Goa, Chaul, and other places to thesouthwards, for Cambaya, whence they bring the greatest part of theloading which is carried by the caracks and galleons to Portugal. The 27th I received notice from Mr Canning and Edward Christian, whowere both ashore, that four galleons were fitted out from Goa, and werecoming to attack us, having been in full readiness, and at anchor on thebar of Goa on the 14th November. The Portuguese fleet came in sight ofus on the 28th; and on the 29th drew near us with the tide of flood. Attwo in the afternoon I got under weigh, and by four was about twocables length from their vice-admiral, fearing to go nearer lest I mighthave got my ship aground. I then opened a fire upon him, both with greatguns and small arms, and in an hour had peppered him well with somefifty-six great shot. From him we received one small ball, either from aminnion or saker, into our mizen-mast, and with another he sunk ourlong-boat, which we recovered, but lost many things out of it. The 30th at day-light, I set sail and steered among the midst of thePortuguese fleet, bestirring ourselves manfully, and drove three oftheir four ships aground on the bar of Surat; after which I anchoredabout nine a. M. This morning the Hosiander did good service, comingthrough also among the enemy's ships, and anchored beside me. At thetide of flood, the three ships that were aground floated. We thenweighed and made sail towards them, they remaining at anchor. On gettingup to them, we spent upon three of them 150 great shot, and the morningafter some fifty more. At night, we gave the admiral a salute from ourfour stern guns as a farewell; in return for which he fired one of hisbow guns, a whole or demi-culverine, the shot from which came even withthe top of our forecastle, went through our _Davie_, killed WilliamBurrel, and carried off the arm of another of our men. The Hosiander[81]spent the whole of this day in firing against one of the ships that wasaground, and received many shots from the enemy, one of which killedRichard Barker the boatswain. [Footnote 81: Nathaniel Salmon of Leigh was master of theHosiander. --_Purch. _] Night coming on, we anchored some six miles from the Portuguese ships;and at nine p. M. They sent a frigate down towards us, which came drivingright _athwart halse_ of the Hosiander, and being discovered by theirgood watch, was speedily saluted by shot. The first shot made them hoistsail, the second went through their sails, and, they immediately madeoff. [82] Their intention certainly was to have set our ships on fire, ifthey had found us off our guard. [83] [Footnote 82: This frigate was sunk by the shot, as I was assured by MrSalmon the actor, and eighty of her men were taken up drowned. --_Purch. _] [Footnote 83: On this occasion the Portuguese had four great galleonsand some twenty-six frigates, or armed barks. In these fights they lostall their _quondam_ credit, and 160 men, or as others say 500; and theEnglish settled trade at Surat in spite of all their efforts. --_Purch. _] We remained at anchor all the first December, the Portuguese not comingto us nor we to them; though they might easily have come to us withoutdanger from the sands, but not so we to them. This day I called acouncil, and it was concluded to go down to the south, that we mighthave a broader channel, hoping that the galleons would follow us. Weaccordingly went down some six or seven leagues on the 2d, but they didnot follow us; wherefore on the 3d we stood up again, and anchoredfairly in sight of them. We weighed again on the morning of the 4th, andstood away before them, they following: But in the afternoon they gaveus over, and hauled in with the land, and at night we directed ourcourse for Diu. At night of the 5th, we anchored in fourteen fathomsnear the shore, four or five leagues eastwards of Diu. The 9th we came to _Madafaldebar_[84] which is ten or eleven leagues E. By N. From Diu, the coast between being very fair, and having no unseendangers. The depth near Diu is fifteen or sixteen fathoms, halfway to_Madafaldebar_ twelve fathoms, then ten and nine, but not less; and innine fathoms we anchored in a fine sandy bay, on the west side of whichis a river coming from a considerable distance inland. This place issome five or six miles west from the isles of _Mortie_[85] The 15th weset sail to explore the bay of _Mohar_, [86] having been reported by someof the people who had belonged to the Ascension to be a good place forwintering in, or waiting the return of the monsoon for sailing to thesouthwards. We accordingly anchored that night in the bay, which is nineor ten leagues E. N. E. From Madafaldebar, finding the coast andnavigation perfectly good, with ten fathoms all the way, and no dangerbut what is seen. I sent my boat ashore, and got twenty excellent sheepfor three shillings each, the best we had seen in the whole voyage. Wefound the ruins of a great town at this place, but very few inhabitants. [Footnote 84: From the indications in the text, this must be _Jaffrabat_on the coast of Guzerat, about thirty-one miles E. By N. From Diu. Thename used in the text must be taken from the native language, while thatof modern geography is the Persian, Mogul, or Arabic name of theplace. --E. ] [Footnote 85: Called _Searbett_ in Arrowsmith's excellent map ofHindostan, eight miles E. N. E. From Jaffrabat. --E. ] [Footnote 86: Called on the margin of the Pilgrims, _Moha, Mona_, or_Mea_; and which from the context appears to be a bay immediately westfrom _Wagnagur_. --E. ] There happened to be an army encamped in the neighbourhood of thisplace, and on the 17th, the general sent four men to me, requesting aconference. I landed on the 21st, and had much conversation with thegeneral, who greatly desired to have two pieces of ordnance from us, making many fair promises of favour to our nation, and even presented mewith a horse and furniture and two Agra girdles or sashes; but I refusedhim, having none to spare, and needing all we had for our defence. Ipresented him in return with two vests of stammel cloth, two firelocks, two bottles of brandy, and a knife. The 22d, we saw the four galleons coming towards us, and at nine p. M. They anchored within shot of where we lay. At sun-rise next morning weweighed and bore down upon them, and continued to fight them tillbetween ten and eleven a. M. When they all four weighed and stood awaybefore the wind. We followed them two or three hours, but they sailedmuch better large than we, so that we again came to anchor, and theylikewise anchored about two leagues from us. In this days fight, Iexpended 133 great shot, and about 700 small. At sunrise of the 24th weagain weighed and bore down upon the galleons, and began to fight themat eight a. M. Continuing till noon, having this day expended 250 greatshot, and 1000 small. By this time both sides were weary, and we allstood to sea, steering S. By E. The galleons followed us till two orthree p. M. When they put about and come to anchor. I now took account ofour warlike ammunition, and found more than half our shot expended, thestore of the Hosiander being in a similar situation. We had nowdischarged against the enemy 625 great shot, and 3000 small. Being about four or five leagues from the land, we met with a sand, onwhich there was only two or two 1/2 fathoms, laying S. S. E. Or thereaboutfrom _Mosa_. I went over it in nine fathoms, at which time the two highhills over _Gogo_ were nearly N. From us. Upon this sand the Ascensionwas cast away. Between the main and this sand, the channel is nine andten fathoms, and the shoaling is rather fast. We continued steering S. With the tide of ebb, and anchored in eight fathoms, finding the tide toset E. N. E. And W. S. W. By the compass. At midnight of the 24th weweighed, standing S. S. E. And at two p. M. Of the 25th we anchored inseventeen fathoms at high water, full in sight of Damaun, which boreE. S. E. In the afternoon of the 26th we anchored off the bar of Surat. The 27th we went to Swally road, when Thomas Kerridge and EdwardChristian came aboard. On the 6th of January, 1613, the _Firmaun_ from the Great Mogul, inconfirmation of peace and settlement of a factory for trade, came toSwally as a private letter; wherefore I refused to receive it, lest itmight be a counterfeit, requiring that the chief men of Surat shouldcome down and deliver it to me, with the proper ceremonials. Accordingly, on the 11th, the sabandar, his father-in-law Medigoffar, and several others, came to Swally, and delivered the Firmaun to me inform, making great professions of respect for our nation in the name oftheir king. The 14th we landed all our cloth, with 310 elephants teeth, and all our quicksilver. This day likewise the Portuguese galleons camewithin three or four miles of us. The 16th, I landed Anthony Starkey, with orders to travel over land for England, carrying letters to givenotice of our good success. [87] [Footnote 87: Mr Starkey and his Indian companion or guide were poisonedon the way by two friars. --Purch. ] The 17th, having received all my goods from Surat, I set sail at night, leaving these coasts. The 18th we passed the four galleons, which allweighed and followed us for two or three hours; but we finally separatedwithout exchanging shots. The 19th, when abreast of Basseen, we stoptthree Malabar barks, which had nothing in them, and from one of which wetook a boat. The 20th at night we were abreast of Chaul, both town andcastle being full in sight. In the afternoon of the 21st we were abreastof Dabul, where we boarded three junks belonging to Calicut, laden withcocoanuts. The 22d in the morning, the Hosiander sent her boat aboardtwo junks, and at noon we were at the rocks, which are ten or elevenleagues N. Of Goa, and six or eight miles from the main. Two or three ofthese rocks are higher than the hull of a large ship. At six p. M. Wewere abreast of Goa, which is easily known by the island at the month ofthe river, on which island there is a castle. All the way from Damann toGoa, the coast trends nearly N. And S. With a slight inclination to N. W. And S. E. The whole being very fair and without danger, having fairshoaling and sixteen or seventeen fathoms some three or four leagues offshore, with good-anchorage every where. The 24th we saw a fleet of sixty or eighty frigates or barks bound tothe southwards, being in lat. 13° 00' 30". The high land by the sea nowleft us, and the shore became very low, yet with fair shoaling ofsixteen and seventeen fathoms some three or four leagues off. In theafternoon we went into a bay, where all the before-mentioned frigateswere at anchor, together with three or four gallies. We brought out aship with us, whence all the Portuguese fled in their boats, and as twofrigates lay close aboard of her, they had carried away every thingvaluable. Next day we examined our prize, and found nothing in herexcept rice and coarse sugar, with which we amply supplied both ships;and having taken out her masts, and what firing she could afford, wescuttled and sunk her, taking out likewise all her people, being twentyor twenty-five Moors. The 26th we met a boat belonging to the Maldivesladen with cocoa-nuts and bound for Cananor, into which I put all thepeople of the prize, except eight, whom I kept to assist in labour, oneof them being a pilot for this coast. The 27th we were a little past Calicut, abreast of Paniany, our lat. Atnoon being 10° 30' N. In the morning of the 28th, we saw Cochin, whichis known by the towers and castle, being in lat 9° 40' N. Or thereby. All the way from Goa to Cochin we never had above twenty fathoms, though, sometimes four or five leagues from the land; and when onlythree, four, or six miles off, the depths were from ten to twelvefathoms. From lat 11° 30' N. To Cochin, the land was all very low by thewater side; but up the country it was very high all along. Four or fiveleagues to the north of Cochin, there is a high land within the country, somewhat like a table mountain, yet rounded on the top, having long highmountains to the north of this hill. All this day, the 28th, we sailedwithin six or eight miles of the land, in nine, ten, and twelve fathoms. We anchored on the 30th in fifteen fathoms, about twenty-six leagues tothe north of Cape Comorin right over against a little village, whencepresently came off six or eight canoes with water and all kinds ofprovisions; the name of this place is _Beringar_, which our marinersusually call Bring-John, being in the kingdom of Travancor. The 1stFebruary, the king sent me a message, offering to load my ship withpepper and cinnamon, if I would remain and trade with him. The 5th wewere abreast of Cape Comorin, where we had a fresh gale of wind at E. ByN. Which split our fore-top-sail and main bonnet, yet a canoe with eightmen came off to us three or four leagues from the land. We were heretroubled with calms and great heat, and many of our men fell sick, ofwhich number I was one. On the 8th we were forced back to the roads of_Beringar_. This place has good refreshments for ships, and the peopleare very harmless, and not friends to the Portuguese. From this place toCape Comorin, all the inhabitants of the sea coast are Christians, andhave a Portuguese priest or friar residing among them. It is to beremarked, that the whole coast, even from Damaun to Cape Comorin, isfree from danger, and there is fair shoaling all the way from Cochin tothat cape, having sixteen, eighteen, and twenty fathoms close to theland, and no ground five or six leagues off, after you come withintwenty-five or thirty leagues of the Cape. The variation at Damaun was16° 30'; halfway to the Cape about 15°, and 14° at the cape, thelatitude of which is 7° 30' N. [_exactly_ 7° 57']. In the afternoon we were fair off the Cape, and found much wind atE. S. E. Giving small hope of being able to go eastwards till the end ofthe monsoon, which our Indians reported would be about the end of April. So I bore up, and came to anchor, four or five leagues within the Cape, in twenty fathoms close by two rocks. About two miles right off thesetwo rocks is a sunken rock, which is very dangerous, especially ifsailing in twenty fathoms, but by keeping in twenty-four fathoms alldanger is avoided. We remained here nine days, when we again made sail. In the morning of the 28th we had sight of Ceylon, some eight or nineleagues E. S. E. Being in lat. 7° N. At 4 p. M. We were close in with thatisland, in thirteen, fifteen, and sixteen fathoms. The 1st of March, at6 p. M. We were abreast of Columbo, the lat. Of which is about 6° 30' N. [7° 2']; having twenty-four and twenty-five fathoms three leagues off. The 12th we stood in with the land, and anchored in twenty-four fathoms, the wind being S. E. And S. I sent my boat ashore four leagues to thenorth of _Punta de Galle_, and after some time a woman came to talk withone of our Indians who was in the boat. She said we could have noprovisions: but by our desire she went to tell the men. Afterwards twomen came to us, who flatly refused to let us have any thing, allegingthat our nation had captured one of their boats; but it was theHollanders not the English. The 14th, in the morning, the southern pointof Ceylon, called _Tanadare_ [Dondra], bore E. S. E. Of us, some fiveleagues off. This point is in lat. 5° 30' [5° 54' N. ], and is about tenor twelve leagues E. S. E. From Punta de Galle. The 17th we were near oneof the sands mentioned by Linschoten, being two leagues from the land. We had twenty-five fathoms water, and on the land, right opposite thissand, is a high rock like a great tower. The land here trends E. N. E. [88] [Footnote 88: Owing probably to careless abbreviation by Purchas, thissolitary notice is all that is given of the voyage between Dondra-headin Ceylon and Acheen, in the north-west end of Sumatra, to which theobservation in the text seems to refer. --E. ] §3. _Occurrences at Acheen, in Sumatra_. At noon of the 12th April, 1613, we came to anchor in the road ofAcheen, in twelve fathoms, but ships may ride in ten or even eightfathoms; the best place in which to ride being to the eastward of thecastle, and off the river mouth. I landed the merchants on the 13th; butthe king did not come to town till the 15th, when he sent me his _chop_or licence to land, which was brought by an eunuch, accompanied by the_Xabander_ and six or eight more, to whom I gave 120 _mam_. I landedalong with them, and two hours afterwards the king sent me a present ofsome provisions, I having sent him on my landing a present of _twopieces_;[89] the custom being to make the king some small present onlanding, in return for which he sends several dishes of meat. [Footnote 89: These _pieces_, so often mentioned in the early voyages, were probably fowling-pieces, or European fire-arms. --E. ] On the 17th, the king sent an elephant, with a golden bason, for ourking's letter, which I accompanied to court, attended by forty of ourmen, who were all admitted into the king's presence. After manycompliments, the king returned me our king's letter, that I might readit to him; and accordingly the substance of it was explained in thenative language, with the contents of which he was well pleased. Aftersome time, the king told me that he would shew me some of hisdiversions, and accordingly caused his elephants to fight before us. When six of them had fought for some time, he caused four buffaloes tobe brought, which made a very excellent and fierce fight; such beingtheir fierceness that sixty or eighty men could hardly part them, fastening ropes to their hind-legs to draw them asunder. After these, some ten or twelve rams were produced, which fought very bravely. Whenit was so dark that we could hardly see, these sports were discontinued, and the king presented me with a banquet of at least 500 dishes, andsuch abundance of hot drinks as might have sufficed to make an armydrunk. Between nine and ten at night, he gave me leave to depart, sending two elephants to carry me home; but as they had no coverings Idid not ride either of them. On the 18th, I went again to court by appointment of the king, when webegan to treat concerning the articles formerly granted by hisgrandfather to Mr James Lancaster; but when we came to that in which allgoods were to be brought in and carried out free from customs, we brokeoff without concluding any thing. The 19th the ambassador of Siam cameto visit me, and told me, that about thirty months before, threeEnglishmen had waited upon his king, who gave them kind entertainment, being rejoiced at receiving letters from the king of England. He alsosaid that his king would be much pleased if our ships came to his ports, telling me what great quantities of Portugal cloth, for so he called ourEnglish cloth, would sell in his country. According to his opinion, thecolours most saleable in his country are, _stammel_ and other reds, yellows, and other light, gay, and pleasing colours, such as thosealready in most request at Surat. He also told me, that his king hadmade a conquest of the whole kingdom of Pegu, as that he is now the mostpowerful sovereign in the east, except the emperor of China, havingtwenty-six tributary kings under his government and authority, and isable to equip for war 6000 elephants. Their coin is all of silver, goldbeing less esteemed, and of less proportional value than with us. Thatcountry produces great abundance of pepper and raw silk; and he said theHollanders have factories at Patane, an excellent port, where they arecalled English. Siam likewise, according to him, is a good port, andnearer the court than Patane: Those who go to the city in which the kingresides land always at the port of Siam, whence the royal residence istwenty days journey by land. I requested from the ambassador to give mea letter to his sovereign, and letters also to the governors of themaritime towns in Siam, in favour of the English nation, when we shouldcome upon these coasts, which he promised me. And, lastly, in token offriendship we exchanged coins; I giving him some of our English coin, and receiving from him the coins of Siam. I had often, after this firstinterview, friendly intercourse with this ambassador. I went to court on the 20th, butt had no opportunity to speak with theking; whereupon I sent to the king's deputy, or chief minister, andcomplained of having been dishonoured, and of having been abused by the_shahbander_. He promised me speedy redress, and that he should informthe king without delay, which indeed he did that same day. On the dayfollowing, the king sent two officers of his court to me, to intimatethat I might repair freely to his court at all times, passing the gatewithout hindrance or waiting for his _criss_. He also removed theshahbander of whom I had complained, and appointed a gentleman, who hadformerly been his vice-ambassador to Holland, to attend upon me at alltimes to court, or any where else, at my pleasure. The 24th I went tocourt, and had access to the king, who satisfied me in all things, andpromised to ratify and renew all the articles formerly agreed uponbetween his predecessor and Mr James Lancaster. After many compliments, he gave me leave; and presently after my return, he sent me an elephantto attend upon me, and to carry me at all times to any place I pleased. This is a sign of the highest honour and esteem, as no person may havean elephant, or ride upon one, but those whom the king is pleased tohonour with that privilege. The 2d of May, the king invited me to his fountain to swim, and I wasthere accordingly along with him, the place being some five or six milesfrom the city; and he even sent me two elephants, one to ride upon, andthe other to carry my provision. Having washed and bathed in the water, the king made me partake of a very splendid banquet, in which there wastoo much arrak, the whole being eaten and drank us we sat in the water;and at this entertainment all his nobles and officers were present. Ourbanquet continued from one till towards five in the evening, when theking allowed me to depart. Half an hour afterwards, all the strangerswere permitted to go away, and presently afterwards he came awayhimself. On the 14th, some Portuguese came to Acheen on an embassy from thegovernor of Malacca to the king; and as the wind was scant, they landedthree leagues to the east of Acheen road. I immediately sent theHosiander, of which I appointed Edward Christian captain, to go insearch of the bark from Malacca, which was brought to me on the 17th:But the king sent me two messengers, desiring me to release her and herpeople and cargo; which I refused, till I had examined the bark and hercontents; saying, however, that in honour and respect for his majesty, Ishould then do whatever he was pleased to desire. Afterwards, I wasinformed by Mr Christian, that there were only four or five bales ofgoods in the bark, and that nothing she contained had been meddled with. Being satisfied of this I went ashore, and found my merchants were atthe court. They returned presently, saying, that the king was greatlydispleased at the capture of the Portuguese bark in his port, protestingby his god that he would make us all prisoners, if she were notreleased. Having notice that I was ashore, the king presently sent forme; and, as I was on my way to the court, I met with a gentleman fromthe king, who desired me in his name to release the bark; but I told himI must first see and speak to the king. I was then brought into theking's presence, and, after much discourse with him, I gave him thebark and all her contents; with which he was so much pleased, that hegave me the title of _Arancaia Puto_, signifying the _honourable whiteman_, requiring all his nobles to call me by that name. In farther proofof his satisfaction with my conduct on this occasion, he sold me all hisbenzoin at my own price, being twenty _tailes_ the bahar, though thenselling commonly at thirty-four and thirty-five tailes. He at the sametime expressed his esteem and affection for me in the strongest terms, desiring me to ask from him whatever I thought proper. I only requestedhis letters of recommendation and favour for Priaman, which he mostreadily promised; and, at my taking leave, he both made me eat somemangoes, of which he was then eating, and gave me some home with me. On the 27th, _Malim Cairy_ came to Acheen, by whom I received lettersfrom our merchants at Surat, as also a copy of the _firmaun_, sent themfrom Agra, bearing date the 25th January, in the seventh year of thethen reigning Great Mogul, by which everything was confirmed that hadbeen agreed upon between the governor of Ahmedabad and me. The 17th ofJune, a Dutch merchant came to Acheen from Masulipatam, who had beeneight months on his way, from whom we learnt the death of Mr AnthonyHippon at Patane, and of Mr Brown, master of the Globe, who died atMasulipatam, where our people had met with evil usage. The 24th Ireceived of the king his present for the king of England, consisting ofa _criss_ or dagger, a _hasega_, four pieces of fine Calicut lawn, andeight camphire dishes. [90] [Footnote 90: In the translation of the letter accompanying thesepresents, to be noticed hereafter, they are thus described:--"A crisswrought with gold, the hilt being of beaten gold, with a ring of stones;an Assagaya of Swasse, half gold half copper; eight porcelain dishessmall and great, _of camfire one piece of souring stuff_; three piecesof callico lawns. "--The passage in Italics is inexplicable, either inthe words of the letter, or in the description in the text. --E. ] The 3d of July, the fleet of armed vessels belonging to Acheen arrived, being only twenty days from the coast of Johor, at which place they hadcaptured the factory of the Hollanders, making prize of all their goods, and had brought away some twenty or twenty-four Dutchmen as prisoners. The 7th, I received the king's letter for Priaman, together with a_chop_ or licence for my departure; and on the 12th, taking my leave ofAcheen, I embarked. In the morning of the 13th I set sail. It is to benoted, that, from the 12th April to the middle of June, we had much rainhere at Acheen, seldom two fair days following, and accompanied, by muchwind in sudden gusts. From the 15th June to the 12th July, we hadviolent gales of wind, always at S. W. Or W. S. W. Or W. §4. _Trade at Tecoo and Passaman, with the Voyage to Bantam, and thenceHome to England_. Leaving Acheen, as said before, on the 13th July, 1613, we came in sightof _Priaman_ on the 3d of August, it being then nine or ten leagues off, N. E. By E. And clearly known by two great high hills, making a great_swamp_ or saddle between them. We saw also the high land of _Tecoo_, which is not more than half the height of that of Priaman, and risessomewhat flat. At the same time likewise we saw the high land of_Passaman_, some seven or eight leagues north of Tecoo, mid-way betweenTecoo and Priaman, which mountain is very high, and resembles Aetna inSicily. [91] In the afternoon of the 7th we came to Tecoo, and anchoredto the eastward of the three islands in seven fathoms, the southmostisle bearing W. S. W. The middle isle W. N. W. And the northern isle N. 1/2E. Our anchorage being a mile from them. [Footnote 91: Perhaps this observed similarity with Aetna is meant toindicate that this hill also is a volcano. --E. ] I sent ashore my merchants on the 19th, and landed myself in theafternoon. Next day, by advice of our council, the Hosiander was sent toPriaman, with the letter of the king of Acheen. She sailed from Tecoo onthe 12th, and came back on the 18th, when she was dispatched to Bantam. The 25th there came a junk from Bantam, the owners of which wereChinese. They confirmed to me the reported death of Sir Henry Middleton, with the loss of most of the men belonging to the Trades-increase, inconsequence of her main-mast breaking, while heaving her down forcareening her bottom. She was now returned from Pulo-Pannian to Bantam, and they said that three hundred Chinese had died while employed at workupon her. The 28th a boat I had sent to Passaman returned, having been wellentertained at that place, and brought with them the _Scrivano_ to dealwith me, with whom accordingly I concluded a bargain. The 29th, thegovernor of Tecoo sent for me to come ashore, when I went to wait uponhim. He was in council, with all the chiefs of the district, and, aftera long discussion, we agreed on the following price of pepper. In thefirst place, we were to pay eighteen dollars the bahar; then there was8d. The bahar for lastage or weighing, 30d. For _canikens_, and 35 d. For _seilars_: Besides all which they bargained for presents to sixteenchiefs or great men. On the 30th, Henry Long came from Passaman, andinformed me that Mr Oliver had fallen sick, and that several others ofour men had died there; upon which I sent my pinnace to bring back MrOliver and all others who survived, and to discontinue our factory atthat place. The 21st October, the Hosiander returned from Bantam, bringing meletters from the English merchants at that place; saying that they had17, 000 bags of pepper ready, all of which I might have, or any part ofit I thought proper, if I chose to come for it, at thirteen dollars the_timbane_. On this, and several other considerations, I held amercantile council, in which it was agreed that the Hosiander should beleft at _Tecoo_ for the sale of our Surat goods, all of which wereaccordingly put on board her for that purpose, and I departed in theDragon for Bantam from the road of Tecoo on the 30th October. I remainedin this road of Tecoo eleven weeks, in which time I bought 115 or 120tons of pepper, and buried twenty-five of our men. All of these eitherdied, or contracted their mortal illnesses at Passaman, not at Tecoo;and surely, if we had not attempted to trade at Passaman, all, or atleast most of these, might have now been living. Wherefore, I earnestlyadvise all of our nation to avoid sending any of their ships or men toPassaman, for the air there is so contagious, and the water sounwholesome, that it is impossible for our people to live at that place. I set sail from Tecoo on the 30th October, and arrived in the road ofBantam on the 11th November, where I anchored in a quarter less fourfathoms, [3-3/4 fathoms. ] Next day I convened our English merchants onboard my ship, and agreed on the price of pepper at thirteen dollars the_bahar_, which is 600 pounds of our weight. Having concluded my businessat this place, I set sail for Saldanha bay; where I bought for a smallquantity of copper, worth perhaps between three and four pounds, 494sheep, 4 beeves, and 9 calves. We sailed again from that place on the4th March, 1614; and on the day of our departure, the natives brought usmore live-stock than we knew how to dispose of; but we brought awayalive, eighty sheep, two beeves, and one calf. The 24th of March we saw St Helena, eight or nine leagues to the W. N. W. Its latitude, by my estimation, being 16° S. And its long, from the Capeof Good Hope, 22° W. At three p. M. We anchored in the road of thatisland, right over-against the Chappel. While at St Helena, finding theroad from the Chappel [church valley], to where the lemon-trees grow, amost wicked way, insomuch that it was a complete day's work to go andcome, I sent my boats to the westward, in hopes of finding a nearer andeasier way to bring down hogs and goats. In this search, my people founda fair valley; some three or four miles to the S. W. Which leads directlyto the lemon-trees, and is the largest and finest valley in the island, after that at the Chappel, and is either the next, or the next save one, from the valley of the Chappel. At this valley, which is some three orfour miles from that of the Chappel, and is from it the fourth valley orswamp one way, and from the point to the westward the second, so that itcannot be missed, it is much better and easier for getting provisions orwater, and the water is better and clearer. The road or anchorage is allof one even ground and depth, so that it is much better riding here thanat any other part of the island; and from this place, a person may go upto the lemon-trees and back again in three hours. We here got somethirty hogs and pigs, and twelve or fourteen hundred lemons; but if wehad laid ourselves out for the purpose, I dare say we might have got 200hogs, besides many goats. Continuing our voyage home, we got sight of the Lizard point on the 4thJune, 1614, our estimated longitude from the Cape of Good Hope beingthen 27° 20', besides two degrees carried by the currents; so that thedifference of longitude, between the Cape and the Lizard, is 29° 20', orvery nearly. Though we had then only left the Cape of Good Hope threemonths before, and were only two months and nine days from St Helena, more than half our company was now laid up by the scurvy, of which twohad died. Yet we had plenty of victuals, as beef, bread, wine, rice, oil, vinegar, and sugar, as much as every one chose. All our men havetaken their sickness since we fell in with Flores and Corvo; since whichwe have had very cold weather, especially in two great storms, one fromthe N. And N. N. E. And the other at N. W. So that it seemeth the suddencoming out of long heat into the cold is a great cause of scurvy. Allthe way from the Cape of Good Hope to the Azores, I had not one mansick. The 15th of June, 1614, we came into the river Thames, by the blessingof God, it being that day six months on which we departed from Bantam inJava. SECTION XVIII. _Observations made during the foregoing Voyage, by Mr Copland, Chaplain, Mr Robert Boner, Master, and Mr Nicholas Whittington, Merchant_. [92] [Footnote 92: Purch. Pilgr. I. 466. On this occasion, only such noticesas illustrate the preceding voyage are extracted. --E. ] §1. _Notes extracted from the Journal of Mr Copland, Chaplain of theVoyage_. The bay of Saldhana, and all about the Cape of Good Hope, is healthful, and so fruitful that it might well be accounted a terrestrial paradise. It agrees well with our English constitutions; for, though we had ninetyor an hundred sick when we got there, they were all as well in twentydays as when we left England, except one. It was then June, and we hadsnow on the hills, though the weather below was warmish. The country ismixed, consisting of mountains, plains, meadows, streams, and woodswhich seem as if artificially planted on purpose, they are so orderly;and it has abundance of free-stone for building. It has also plenty offish and wild-fowl, as geese, ducks, and partridges, with antelopes, deer, and other animals. The people were very loving, though at firstafraid of us, because the Dutch, who resort hither to make train-oil, had used them unkindly, having stolen and killed their cattle; butafterwards, and especially on our return, they were more frank and kind. They are of middle size, well limbed, nimble and active; and are fond ofdancing, which they do in just measure, but entirely naked. Their dressconsists of a cloak of sheep or seals-skin to their middle, the hairside inwards, with a cap of the same, and a small skin like that of arat hanging before their privities. Some had a sole, or kind of sandal, tied to their feet. Their necks were adorned with greasy tripes, whichthey would sometimes pull off and eat raw; and when we threw away theguts of beasts and sheep we bought from them, they would eat them halfraw and all bloody, in a most beastly and disgusting manner. They hadbracelets about their arms of copper or ivory, and were decorated withmany ostrich feathers and shells. The women were habited like the men, and were at first very shy; but when here on our return voyage, theybecame quite familiar, even lifting their rat-skins: But they are veryloathsome objects, their breasts hanging down to their waists. The hairboth of the men and women is short and frizzled. With these peoplecopper serves as gold, and iron for silver. Their dwellings are smalltents, removable, at pleasure; and their language is full of a strange_clicking_ sound, made by doubling their tongues in their throats. Thereis a high hill, called the _Table Mountain_, which covers all theadjoining territory for an hundred miles. The natives, who are quiteblack, behaved to us very peaceably, but seemed to have no religion, yettheir skins were slashed or cut, like the priests of Baal; and oneseemed to act as chief, as he settled the prices for the whole. Some ofour people went a considerable way into the country, and discovered manybays and rivers. When at Surat, the Guzerats took some of our sea-coal to send to theirsovereign, the Great Mogul, as a curiosity. At this place there cameagainst us a Portuguese squadron of four galleons, attended bytwenty-five or twenty-six armed barks or frigates, commanded by anadmiral named Nuno de Accunna, and having all red colours displayed, intoken of defiance. When advised by the sabander to keep between us andthe shore, he proudly answered, That he scorned to spend a week'sprovisions on his men in hindering us from trade, as he was able toforce us to yield to his superior force in an hour. After three fights, they sent one of their frigates against us, manned with six or sevenscore of their best men, intending to set us on fire, but they were allsunk. _Medhaphrabad_, [93] formerly a fine walled city, has been entirelyruined in the wars of the Moguls. It has still a strong castle, held bya refractory chief of the Rajapoots, and was besieged by the nabob, having fifty or sixty thousand men in his camp. The nabob dwelt in amagnificent tent, covered above with cloth of gold, and spread belowwith Turkey carpets, having declared he would not desist from the siegetill he had won the castle. He sent a horse, and two vests wrought withsilk and gold, to our general Captain Best, with four vests for fourothers. On the 23d and 24th of December, we fought again with thePortuguese, in view of the whole army of the Moguls, and forced them tocut their cables and flee from us, being better sailing vessels thanours. [Footnote 93: Called Madafaldebar in the preceding section, and theresupposed to be the place now named Jaffrabat, on the coast ofGuzerat. --E. ] I rode from Swally to Surat in a coach drawn by oxen, which areordinarily used in this country for draught, though they have plenty ofexcellent and handsome horses. On the way I was quite delighted to seeat the same time the goodliest spring and harvest combined I had everseen any where, often in two adjoining fields, one as green as a finemeadow, and the other waving yellow like gold, and ready to cut down;their grain being wheat and rice, of which they make excellent bread. All along the road there were many goodly villages, full of trees whichyield a liquor called _toddy_, or palm-wine, which is sweet andpleasant, like new wine, being strengthening and fattening. They havegrapes also, yet only make wine from the dried raisins. In Surat thereare many fair houses built of stone and brick, having flat roofs, andgoodly gardens, abounding in pomegranates, pomecitrons, lemons, melons, and figs, which are to be had at all times of the year, the gardensbeing continually refreshed with curious springs and fountains of freshwater. The people are tali, neat, and well-clothed in long robes ofwhite callico or silk, and are very grave and judicious in theirbehaviour. The sabander assured us that we had slain 350 of thePortuguese; but we heard afterwards, that above 500 were killed ormaimed. Our general sent letters for England by land, but the messengerand his Indian attendant were poisoned by two friars. A second letterwas entrusted to a mariner, which reached its destination. We anchored in the road of Acheen on the 12th April, 1613, where we werekindly received by the king. On the 2d of May, all the strangers then atAcheen were invited to a banquet at a place six miles from the town, andon this occasion two elephants were sent for our general. To this placeall the dishes were brought by water by boys, who swam with one hand, while each carried a dish in--the other; and the drink was brought inthe same manner. When the guests had satisfied themselves with tastingany of the dishes, which indeed they must of all, the remainder wasthrown into the river. In this feast there were at least 500 dishesserved, all well dressed. It continued from one o'clock till five; butour general, who was wearied with sitting so long in the water besidethe king, was dismissed an hour before the other guests. The captain orchief merchant of the Dutch factory, either by taking too much strongdrink, or from sitting too long in the cold water, caught an illness ofwhich he died soon after. The 2d June we were entertained by a fight of four elephants with a wildtyger, which was tied to a stake; yet did he fasten on the legs andtrunks of the elephants, making them to roar and bleed extremely. Thisday, as we were told, one eye of a nobleman was plucked out by commandof the king, for having looked at one of the king's women, while bathingin the river. Another gentleman, wearing a sash, had his head cut round, because it was too large. Some he is said to throw into boiling oil, some to be sawn in pieces, others to have their legs cut off, or spittedalive, or empaled on stakes. The 25th of June, the king of Acheen sentour general a letter for the king of England, most beautifully writtenand painted, of which the following is a translation of thepreamble. [94] [Footnote 94: Being merely complimentary, it has not been deemednecessary to give any more of this letter than the hyperbolical titlesassumed by the petty Mallay rajah. --E. ] _PEDUCKA SIRIE, Sultan, King of kings renowned in war, sole king ofSumatra, more famous than his ancestors, feared in his dominions, andhonoured in all the neighbouring countries. In whom is the true image ofa king, reigning by the true rules of government, formed as it were ofthe most pure metal, and adorned by the must splendid colours. Whoseseat is most high and complete; whence floweth, as a river of finecrystal, the pure and undefiled stream of bounty and justice. Whosepresence is like the most pure gold: King of Priaman, and of themountain of gold: Lord of nine sorts of precious stones: King of twoUmbrellas of beaten gold; who sitteth upon golden carpets; the furnitureof whose horses, and his _own armour, are of pure gold; the teeth of hiselephants being likewise of gold, and every thing belonging to them. Hislances half gold half silver; his small shot of the same; a saddle alsofor an elephant of the same; a tent of silver; and all his seals halfgold half silver. His bathing-vessels of pure gold; his sepulchre alsoentire gold, those of his predecessors being only half gold half silver. All the services of his table of pure gold; &c. This great king sendeth this letter of salutation to James, king ofGreat Britain, &c. _ This king of Acheen is a gallant-looking warrior, of middle size, andfull of spirit. His country is populous, and he is powerful both by seaand land. He has many elephants, of which we saw 150 or 180 at one time. His gallies are well armed with brass ordnance, such as demi-cannons, culverins, sackers, minions, &c. His buildings are stately and spacious, though not strong; and his court or palace at Acheen is very pleasant, having a goodly branch of the main river surrounding and pervading it, which he cut and brought in from the distance of six miles in twentydays, while we were there. At taking leave, he desired our general tooffer his compliments to the king of England, and to entreat that twowhite women might be sent him: "For, " said he, "if I have a son by oneof them, I will make him king of Priaman, Passaman, and the whole peppercoast; so that you shall not need to come any more to me, but may applyto your own English king for that commodity. " §2. _Notes concerning the Voyage, extracted from the Journal of MrRobert Boner, who was Master of the Dragon_. The regular trade-wind is seldom met with till two or three degreessouth of the equator. Tornados are sure to be encountered in two orthree degrees north of the line, and sometimes even four degrees. It isnecessary to use the utmost diligence in getting well to the south, asin that consists the difference between a good and bad voyage, and thehealth of the men depend greatly on that circumstance. In passing theline, it is proper so to direct the course from the island of Mayo as tocross between the longitudes of _seven_ and _nine_ degrees _west_ of theLizard, if possible. At all events be careful not to come within _six_degrees, for fear of the calms on the coast of Guinea, and not beyond_ten_ degrees west from the Lizard if possible, to avoid the W. N. W. Stream which sets along the coast of Brazil to the West Indies; and incrossing the line, in 7°, 8°, or 9° west of the Lizard, you shall notfear the flats of Brazil: For the general wind in these longitudes is atE. S. E. Or S. E. So that you may commonly make a S. S. W. Course, so as tokeep the ship full that she may go speedily through; for there is muchloss of time in hauling the ship too close by the wind, and it is farbetter therefore to give her a fathom of the sheet. In making for the bay of Saldanha [_Table bay, _] keep between thelatitudes of 33° 50' and 34° 20' of S. Lat. So as to be sure of comingnot much wide of the bay. If, on seeing the land, it appear high, youare then to the S. W. Of the bay: if low sand-hills, you are then to thenorthward of the bay. In falling in with, the high land to thesouthward, which is between the Cape of Good Hope and the bay, the landtrends N. N. W. And S. S. E. Seven leagues from the Cape, and then trendsaway N. E. And S. W. Towards the point of the Sugar-loaf, some fourleagues. From this point of the _Sugar-loaf_ lieth _Penguin_ island; butkeep fair by the point, as two miles from Penguin island there are twoshoals. From the point to the island there are some seven or eight milesN. And S. And so, borrowing on that point, in eight or nine fathoms, steer a course S. E. And E. S. E. Till you bring the _Table_ S. S. W. And the_Sugar-loaf_ S. W. By W. When you may anchor in 6 or 6 1/2 fathoms as youplease; and then will the point of land by the _Sugar-loaf_ bear W. N. W. Some two leagues off, and _Penguin_ island N. N. W. Some three leaguesdistant. The latitude of the point going into the bay of Saldanha[_Table bay, _] is 34° 5' S. [95] On coming in there is nothing to fear, though the air be thick, as the land is bold within a cable's length ofthe shore. [Footnote 95: Only 33° 54'--E. ] In my opinion, the current near Cape _Aguillas_ sets to the southwardnot above fifty or sixty leagues from the land: Wherefore, in going tothe eastwards, it is right to have sixty leagues from land, so that youmay miss that current. For 90 or 100 leagues beyond Cape _Aguillas_, theland trends E. By N. And not E. N. E. As in the charts. In my opinion the gulf of Cambaya is the worst place in all India forworms; wherefore ships going to Surat ought to use every precautionagainst injury from them. At Acheen our general was denominated_Arancaya Pattee_ by the king, who showed him extraordinary favour, sending for him to be present at all sports and pastimes; and all ourmen were very kindly used by the people at this place, more so than anystrangers who had ever been there before. §3. _Extracts from a Treatise, written by Mr Nicholas Whittington, whowas left as Factor in the Mogul Country by Captain Best, containing someof his Travels and Adventures_. The sheep at the Cape of Good Hope are covered with hair instead ofwool. The beeves are large, but mostly lean. The natives of thatsouthern extremity of Africa are negroes, having woolly heads, flatnoses, and straight well-made bodies. The men have only one testicle, the other being cut out when very young. [96] Their apparel consists of askin hung from their shoulders, reaching to their waist, and two smallrat-skins, one before and the other behind, and all the rest of theirbody naked, except a kind of skin or leather-cap on their heads, andsoles tied to their feet, considerably longer and broader than the foot. Their arms are very scanty, consisting of bows and arrows of very littleforce, and lances or darts very artificially made, in the use of whichthey are very expert, and even with them kill many fish. They are in useto wear the guts of sheep and oxen hanging from their necks, smellingmost abominably, which they eat when hungry, and would scramble for ourgarbage like so many dogs, devouring it quite raw and foul. [Footnote 96: Captain Saris told me that some have two; but these are ofthe baser sort and slaves, as he was told by one of these marked by thisnote of gentility. --_Purch. _] At Surat, although Sir Henry Middleton had taken their ships in the RedSea, they promised to deal fairly with us, considering that otherwisethey might burn their ships and give over all trade by sea, as _MillJaffed_, one of the chief merchants of Surat, acknowledged to us. Whileat Surat, every one of us that remained any time ashore was afflictedwith the flux, of which Mr Aldworth was ill for forty days. The customhere is, that all strangers make presents on visiting any persons ofcondition, and they give other presents in return. Finding it impossible to have any trade at Surat, as the Portuguesecraft infested the mouth of the river, our general removed with theships to Swally roads, whence we might go and come by land withoutdanger, between that place and Surat. Mr Canning had been made prisonerby the Portuguese, but the viceroy ordered him to be set ashore atSurat, saying, "Let him go and help his countrymen to fight, for weshall take their ships and all of them together. " He was accordinglyliberated, and came to us at Swally. The purser had likewise been nearlytaken; but he escaped and got on board. The 3d October, _Seikh Shuffe_, governor of _Amadavar_, [Ahmedabad], the chief city of Guzerat, came toSurat and thence to Swally, where he entered into articles of agreementfor trade and friendship. The 29th of October, four Portuguese galleons and a whole fleet offrigates, or armed grabs, hove in sight. Our general went immediately tomeet them in the Dragon, and fired not one shot till he came betweentheir admiral and vice-admiral, when he gave each of them a broadsideand a volley of small arms, which made them come no nearer for that day. The other two galleons were not as yet come up, and our consort theHosiander could not get clear of her anchors, so that she did not fire ashot that day. In the evening both sides came to anchor in the sight ofeach other. Next morning the fight was renewed, and this day theHosiander bravely redeemed her yesterday's inactivity. The Dragon drovethree of them aground, and the Hosiander so _danced the hay_ about them, that they durst never show a man above hatches. They got afloat in theafternoon with the tide of flood, and renewed the fight till evening, and then anchored till next day. Next day, as the Dragon drew muchwater, and the bay was shallow, we removed to the other side of the bayat _Mendafrobay_, [Jaffrabat], where _Sardar Khan_, a great nobleman ofthe Moguls, was then besieging a castle of the _Rajaputs_, who, beforethe Mogul conquest, were the nobles of that country, and were nowsubsisting by robbery. He presented our general with a horse andfurniture, which he afterwards gave to the governor of Gogo, a poor townto the west of Surat. After ten days stay, the Portuguese having refreshed, came hither toattack us. Sardar Khan advised our general to flee; but in four hours wedrove them out of sight, in presence of thousands of the country people. After the razing of this castle, Sardar Khan reported this gallantaction to the Great Mogul, who much admired it, as he thought none werelike the Portuguese at sea. We returned to Swally on the 27th December, having only lost three men in action, and one had his arm shot off:while the Portuguese acknowledged to have lost 160, though report saidtheir loss exceeded 300 men. The 13th January, 1613, I was appointed factor for the worshipfulcompany, and bound under a penalty of four hundred pounds. Our shipsdeparted on the 18th, the galleons not offering to disturb them: and atthis time Anthony Starkey was ordered for England. Mr Canning wasseventy days in going from Surat to Agra, during which journey heencountered many troubles, having been attacked by the way, and shot inthe belly with an arrow, while another Englishman in his company wasshot through the arm, and many of his peons were killed and wounded. Twoof his English attendants quitted him, and returned to Surat, leavingonly two musicians to attend upon him. He arrived at Agra on the 9thApril, when he presented our king's letter to the Great Mogul, togetherwith a present of little value; and being asked if this present camefrom our king, he answered that it only came from the merchants. TheMogul honoured him with a cup of wine from his own hand, and thenreferred him, on the business of his embassy, to Morak Khan. One of hismusicians died, and was buried in the church-yard belonging to thePortuguese, who took up the body, and buried it in the highway; but onthis being complained of to the king, they were commanded to bury himagain, on penalty of being all banished the country, and of having allthe bodies of their own dead thrown out from the church-yard. Afterthis, Mr Canning wrote that he was in fear of being poisoned by thejesuits, and requested to have some one sent up to his assistance, whichwas accordingly agreed to by us at Surat. But Mr Canning; died on the29th of May, and Mr Kerridge went up on the 22d of June. At this time I was to have been sent by the way of Mokha to England; butthe master of the ship said it was impossible, except I werecircumcised, to go so near Mecca. The 13th October, 1613, the shipreturned, and our messenger made prisoner at the bar of Surat by thePortuguese armed frigates, [grabs] worth an hundred thousand pounds, andseven hundred persons going to Goa. [97] This is likely to be of greatinjury here, for no Portuguese is now permitted to pass either in or outwithout a surety; and the Surat merchants are so impoverished, that ourgoods are left on our hands, so that we had to send them to Ahmedabad. John Alkin, who deserted from Sir Henry Middleton to the Portuguese, came to us at this time, and told us that several of their towns werebesieged by the Decaners, and other neighbouring Moors, so that theyhad to send away many hundred Banians and others, that dwelt among them, owing to want of provisions; and indeed three barks came now with thesepeople to Surat, and others of them went to Cambaya. Their weakbehaviour in the sea-fight with us was the cause of all this. [Footnote 97: Probably owing to careless abridgement by Purchas, thispassage is quite unintelligible. The meaning seems to be, That the shipin which was the English messenger, having a cargo worth 100, 000_l_. Sterling, and 700 persons aboard, bound on the pilgrimage to Mecca, wastaken and carried into Goa. --E. ] About this time also, Robert Claxon of the Dragon, who had deserted tothe Portuguese for fear of punishment, came to us accompanied by aGerman who had been a slave among the Turks. One Robert Johnson, who waswith the Portuguese, and meant to have come to us, was persuaded byanother Englishman, while passing through the Decan, to turn mussulman, and remain in that country, where he got an allowance of seven shillingsand sixpence a-day from the king, and his diet from the king's table. But he died eight days after being circumcised. Robert Trully, themusician, fell out with Mr Kerridge at Agra, and went to the king ofDecan, carrying a German with him as interpreter. They both offered toturn Mahometans, and Trully, getting a new name at his circumcision, received a great allowance from the king, in whose service he continues;but the German, who had been, formerly circumcised in Persia, and nowthought to have deceived the king, was not entertained; whereupon hereturned to Agra, where he serves a Frenchman, and now goes to mass. Robert Claxon, above mentioned, had also turned Mahometan in the Decan, with a good allowance at court; but, not being contented, he came toSurat, where he was pitied by us for his seeming penitence; but beingentrusted with upwards of forty pounds, under pretence of makingpurchases, he gave us the slip and returned to the Decan. Thus there areat present four English renegadoes in the Decan, besides manyPortuguese. The 27th October, 1613, we received letters sent by MrGurney of Masulipatam, written by Captain Marlow of the ship Janus, informing us of his arrival and trade at that place. From Surat I went to _Periano_? three _coss_; thence to Cossumba, asmall village, ten _coss_; and thence to Broach, ten _coss_. This is avery pretty city on a high hill, encompassed by a strong wall, andhaving a river running by as large as the Thames, in which were severalships of two hundred tons and upwards. Here are the best calicoes in thekingdom of Guzerat, and great store of cotton. From thence I went to_Saninga_ [Sarang], ten coss; to _Carrou_? ten c. And then fourteen c. To _Boldia_ [Brodrah], a smaller city than Broach, but well built, having a strong wall, and garrisoned by 3000 horse under _Mussuff Khan_. I went thence ten c. To a river named, the _Wussach_, [the Mahy?] whereMussuff was about to engage with the rajaputs who lay on the oppositeside of the river, the chief of whom was of the race of the former kingsof Surat. Thence other fourteen coss to _Niriand_, [Nariad] a large townwhere they make indigo; and thence, ten c. More to _Amadabar_, orAhmedabad, the chief city of Guzerat, nearly as large as London, surrounded by a strong wall, and seated in a plain by the side of theriver Mehindry. There are here many merchants, Mahometans, Pagans, andChristians; with great abundance of merchandize, which chiefly areindigo, cloth of gold, silver tissue, velvets, but nothing comparable toours, taffeties, _gumbucks_, coloured _baffaties_, drugs, &c. _AbdallaKhan_ is governor of this place, who has the rank and pay of a commanderof 5000 horse. From, thence, on my way to Cambay, I went seven c. To_Barengeo_, [Baregia] where every Tuesday a _cafilla_ or caravan ofmerchants and travellers meet to go to Cambay, keeping together in alarge company to protect themselves from robbers. From thence sixteen c. We came to Soquatera, a fine town with a strong garrison; whence wedeparted about midnight, and got to Cambay about eight next morning, thedistance being ten _coss_. In November, we rode to _Sarkess_, three coss from Ahmedabad, where arethe sepulchres of the Guzerat kings, the church and handsome tombs beingkept in fine order, and many persons resort to see them from all partsof the kingdom. At the distance of a coss, there is a pleasant housewith a large garden, a mile round, on the banks of the river, which_Chon-Chin-Naw_, [98] the greatest of the Mogul nobles, built in memoryof the great victory he gained at this place over the last king ofGuzerat, in which he took the king prisoner, and subjugated the kingdom. No person inhabits this house, and its orchard is kept by a few poormen. We lodged here one night, and sent for six fishermen, who in halfan hour caught more fish for us than all our company could eat. [Footnote 98: This name seems strangely corrupted, more resembling thename of a Chinese leader than of a Mogul Khan or Amir. Perhaps it oughtto have been Khan-Khanna. --E. ] The 28th November, we received intelligence at Ahmedabad, that threeEnglish ships had arrived at _Larry Bunder_, the port town of_Guta-Negar-Tutla_, [Tatta] the chief city of _Sindy_. I was sentthither, and came on the 13th December to _Cassumparo_, where I overtooka cafilla or caravan travelling to _Rahdunpoor_, six days journey on myway. We went thence to _Callitalouny_, a fair castle; thence seven c. To_Callwalla_, a pretty village, given by the emperor Akbar to a companyof women and their posterity for ever, to bring up their children indancing and music. They exhibited their talents to our caravan, andevery man made them some present, and then they openly asked if any ofus wanted bedfellows. On the 16th we went eight _coss_ to _Cartya_, where is a well-garrisoned fortress. We remained here till the 18th, waiting for another caravan for fear of thieves, and then went to_Deccanaura_, [99] on which day our camel was stolen and one of our menwas slain. The 19th we travelled ten c. To _Bollodo_, a fort held by_Newlock Abram Cabrate_ for the Mogul, and who that day brought in 169heads of the Coolies, a plundering tribe. The 20th in thirteen c. Wecame to a fort named _Sariandgo_, and the 21st in ten c. We arrived at_Rhadunpoor_, a large town with a fort. We remained here till the 23d, to provide water and other necessaries for our journey through thedesert. [Footnote 99: It singularly happens, in the excellent map of Hindoostanby Arrowsmith, that none of the stages between Ahmedabad and Rahdunpoorare laid down, unless possibly _Decabarah_ of the map may be _Decanauru_of the text; while Mr Arrowsmith actually inserts on his map the routeof Whittington across the sandy desert of Cutch, between Rahdunpoor andthe eastern branch of the Indus, or _Nulla Sunkra_, and thence throughthe Delta to Tatta. --E. ] The 23d, leaving Rhadunpoor, we travelled seven coss, and lay all nightin the fields, having that day met a caravan coming from Tatta that hadbeen plundered of every thing. On the 24th I sent off one of my peonswith a letter to Larry Bunder, who promised to be there in ten days, butI think he was slain by the way; we went twelve c. That day. The 25th wetravelled fourteen c. And lodged by a well, the water of which was sosalt that our cattle would not drink it. The 26th ten c. To suchanother well, where our camels took water, not having had any for threedays. The 27th after fourteen c. We lodged on the ground; and the 28th, in ten c. We came to a village called _Negar Parkar_. In this desert wesaw great numbers, of wild asses, red deer, foxes, and other wildanimals. We stopt all the 29th, and met another caravan, that had beenrobbed within two days journey of Tatta. _Parkar_ pays tribute yearly tothe Mogul; but all the people from thence to _Inno_, half a day'sjourney from Tatta, acknowledge no king, but rob and spare at theirpleasure. When any of the Moguls come among them, they set their ownhouses on fire, and flee into the mountains; and as their houses areonly built of straw and mortar, they are soon rebuilt. They exactcustoms at their pleasure, and even guard passengers through the desert, not willing they should be robbed by any but themselves. The 30th weleft Parkar, and after travelling six coss, we lay at a tank or pond offresh water. The 31st we travelled eight c. And lay in the fields besidea brackish well. The 1st January, 1614, we went ten c. To _Burdiano_, and though many were sick of this water, we had to provide ourselveswith a supply for four days. The 2d we travelled all night eighteen c. The 3d, from afternoon till midnight, we went ten c. The 4th twelve c. This day I fell sick and vomited, owing to the bad water. The 5th, afterseven c. We came to three wells, two of them salt and one sweetish. The6th, having travelled ten c. We came to _Nuraquimire_, a pretty town, where our company from Rhadunpoor left us. We who remained were twomerchants and myself with five of their servants, four of mine, tencamels, and five camel-drivers. This town of _Nuraquimire_ is within three days journey of Tatta, and tous, after coming out of the desert, seemed quite a paradise. We agreedwith a kinsman of the Rajah, or governor, for twenty _laries_, orshillings, to conduct us on the remainder of our journey. We accordinglydeparted on the 8th, and travelled ten c. To _Gaundajaw_, where we hadbeen robbed but for our guard. The 9th we were twice set upon, andobliged to give each time five _laries_ to get free. We came to_Sarruna_, a great town of the _rajputs_ with a castle, fourteen _coss_from Tatta. We visited the governor, _Ragee Bouma_, eldest son to sultan_Bulbul_, who was lately captured by the Moguls and had his eyes pulledout, yet had escaped about two months ago, and was now living in themountains inviting all his kindred to revenge. The _Ragee_ treated mekindly as a stranger, asking me many questions about my country. Heeven made me sup with him, and gave me much wine, in which he soheartily partook, that he stared again. A banian at this place told methat Sir Robert Sherly had been much abused by the Portuguese and thegovernor of _Larry Bunder_, having his house set on fire, and his menmuch hurt in the night; and that on his arrival at Tatta, thirteen daysjourney from thence, he had been unkindly used by the governor of thatcity. He likewise told me of the great trade carried on at Tatta, andthat ships of 300 tons might be brought up to Larry Bunder; and advisedme to prevail upon _Ragee Bouma_ to escort us to Tatta. According to this bad advice, we hired the _Ragee_ for forty _laries_ toescort us with fifty horsemen to the gates of Tatta. We departed from_Sarruna_ on the 11th January, and having travelled five coss we lay allnight by the side of a river. Departing at two next morning, the Rageeled us in a direction quite different from our right road, and cameabout daybreak into a thicket, where he made us all be disarmed andbound, and immediately strangled the two merchants and their five men bymeans of their camel ropes. After stripping them of all their clothes, he caused their bodies to be flung into a hole dug on purpose. He thentook my horse and eighty rupees from me, and sent me and my men up themountains to his brothers, at the distance of twenty coss, where wearrived on the 14th, and where I remained twenty days a close prisoner. On the 7th February, an order came to send me to _Parkar_, the governorof which place was of their kindred, and that I should be sent fromthence to Rhadunpoor; but I was plundered on the way of my clothes andevery thing else about me, my horse only being left me, which was notworth taking away. Arriving at Parkar on the 28th February, and finding the inhabitantscharitable, we were reduced to the necessity of begging victuals; andactually procured four mahmoodies by that means, equal to as manyshillings. But having the good fortune to meet a banian of Ahmedabad, whom I had formerly known, he relieved me and my men. We were five daysin travelling from Parkar to Rhadunpoor, where I arrived on the 19thMarch, and went thence to Ahmedabad on the 2d April, after an absence of111 days. Thence to Brodia and Barengeo, thence sixteen c. To Soquatera, and ten c. To Cambay. We here crossed the large river, which is sevencoss in breadth, [100] and where many hundreds are swallowed up yearly. On the other side of the river we came to _Saurau_, [101] where is a townand castle of the _razbootches_ or rajputs. The 16th of April Itravelled twenty-five coss to Broach. The 17th I passed the river[Narbuddah], and went ten c. To _Cossumba_; and on the 18th thirteen c. To Surat. [Footnote 100: The great river in the text is assuredly the upper partof the gulf of Cambay, where the tide sets in with prodigious rapidity, entering almost at once with a vast wave or bore, as described on aformer occasion in the Portuguese voyages. --E. ] [Footnote 101: Probably Sarrode, on the south side of the entry of theriver Mahy. --E. ] According to general report, there is no city of greater trade in allthe Indies than Tatta in Sinde; its chief port being Larry Bunder, threedays journey nearer the mouth of the river. There is a good road withoutthe river's mouth, said to be free from worms; which, about Suratespecially, and in other parts of India, are in such abundance, thatafter three or four months riding, were it not for the sheathing, shipswould be rendered incapable of going to sea. The ports and roads ofSinde are said to be free. From Tatta they go in two months by water toLahore, and return down the river in one. The commodities there are_baffatys_, stuffs, _lawns_ [muslins], coarse indigo, not so good asthat of Biana. Goods, may be carried from Agra on camels in twenty daysto _Bucker_ on the river Indus, and thence in fifteen or sixteen daysaboard the ships at the mouth of the Indus. One may travel as soon fromAgra to Sinde as to Surat, but there is more thieving on the Sinde road, in spite of every effort of the Mogul government to prevent it. The inhabitants of Sinde consist mostly of Rajputs, Banians, andBaloches, the governors of the cities and large towns being Moguls. Thecountry people are rude; going naked from the waist upwards, and wearturbans quite different from the fashion of the Moguls. Their arms areswords, bucklers, and lances; their bucklers being large and shaped likebee-hives, in which they are in use to give their camels drink, andtheir horses provender. Their horses are good, strong, and swift, andthough unshod, they ride them furiously, backing them at a year old. TheRajputs eat no beef or buffalo flesh, even worshipping them; and theMoguls say that the Rajputs know how to die as well as any in the world. The Banians kill nothing, and are said to be divided into more thanthirty different casts, that differ somewhat among them in matters ofreligion, and may not eat with each other. All burn their dead; and whenthe husband dies, the widow shaves her head, and wears her jewels nomore, continuing this state of mourning as long as she lives. When a Rajput dies, his wife accompanies his body to the funeral pile inher best array, attended by all her friends and kindred, and by music. When the funeral pile is set on fire, she walks round it two or threetimes, bewailing the death of her husband, and then rejoicing that sheis now to live with him again: After which, embracing her friends, shesits down on the top of the pile among dry wood, taking her husband'shead on her lap, and orders fire to be put to the pile; which done, herfriends throw oil upon her and sweet perfumes, while she endures thefire with wonderful fortitude, loose not bound. I have seen manyinstances of this. The first I ever saw was at Surat, the widow being avirgin of ten years old, and her affianced husband being a soldier slainin the wars at a distance, whence his clothes and turban were sent toher, and she insisted on burning herself along with these. The governorrefused to give her permission, which she took grievously to heart, andinsisted on being burnt; but they durst not, till her kindred procuredleave by giving the governor a present, to her great joy. The kindred ofthe husband never force this, but the widow esteems it a disgrace to herfamily not to comply with this custom, which they may refrain from ifthey choose: But then they must shave their heads, and break all theirornaments, and are never afterwards allowed to eat, drink, sleep, orkeep company with any one all the rest of their lives. If, afteragreeing to burn, a woman should leap out of the fire, her own parentswould bind her and throw her in again by force; but this weakness isseldom seen. The Banian marriages are made at the age of three years or even under;and two pregnant women sometimes enter into mutual promises, if one oftheir children should prove male and the other female, to unite them inmarriage. But these marriages are always in the same cast and religion, and in the same trade and occupation; as the son of a barber with thedaughter of a barber, and so on. When the affianced couple reach threeyears of age, the parents make a great feast, and set the young coupleon horseback dressed in their best clothes, a man sitting behind each tohold them on. They are then led about the city in procession, accordingto their state and condition, accompanied by bramins or priests and manyothers, who conduct them to the pagoda or temple; and after goingthrough certain ceremonies there, they are led home, and feasts aregiven for several days, as they are able. When ten years of age, themarriage is consummated. The reason they assign for these earlymarriages is, that they may not be left wifeless, in case their parentsshould die. Their bramins are esteemed exceedingly holy, and have thecharge of their pagodas or idol temples, having alms and tithes fortheir maintenance; yet they marry, and follow occupations, being goodworkmen and ready to learn any pattern. They eat but once a day, washingtheir whole bodies before and after meat, and use ablutions after thenatural evacuations. The _Baloches_ are Mahometans, who deal much in camels, and are mostlyrobbers by land or on the rivers, murdering all they rob; yet are therevery honest men among them in Guzerat and about Agra. While I was inSinde, they took a boat with seven Italians and a Portuguese friar, allthe rest being slain in fight. This was ripped up by them in search ofgold. [102] [Footnote 102: This is obscurely expressed, leaving it uncertain _what_was ripped up in search of gold: The boat, the bodies of the slain, orthe prisoners. --E. ] John Mildnall, or Mildenhall, an Englishman, had been employed withthree other young Englishmen, whom he poisoned in Persia, to makehimself master of the goods. He was himself also poisoned, yet, by meansof preservatives, he lived many months afterwards, though exceedinglyswelled, and so came to Agra with the value of 20, 000 dollars. On thisoccasion I went from Surat for Agra, on the 14th May, 1614. I arrivedfirst at _Bramport_, [Bushanpoor] where Sultan _Parvis_ lives, situatedin a plain on the river _Taptee_ or of Surat, which is there of greatbreadth, and at this place there is a large castle. Thence I went toAgra in twenty-six days, having travelled the whole way from Surat toAgra, which is 700 coss or 1010 English miles, in thirty-seven days ofwinter, during which time it rained almost continually. From Surat toBurhanpoor is a pleasant champain country, well watered with rivers, brooks, and springs. Between Burhanpoor and Agra the country is verymountainous, not passable with a coach, and scarcely to be travelled oncamels. The nearest way is by _Mando_, passing many towns and cities onevery day's journey, with many high hills and strong castles, the wholecountry being well inhabited, very peaceable, and clear of thieves. Agra is a very large town, its wall being two coss in circuit, thefairest and highest I ever saw, and well replenished with ordnance; therest of the city being ruinous, except the houses of the nobles, whichare pleasantly situated on the river. The ancient royal seat was_Fatipoor_, twelve coss from Agra, but is now fallen into decay. Betweenthese two is the sepulchre of the king's father, to which nothing I eversaw is comparable: yet the church or mosque of _Fatipoor_ comes near it, both being built according to the rules of architecture. In Agra theJesuits have a house and a handsome church, built by the Great Mogul, who allows their chief seven rupees a-day, and all the rest three, withlicence to convert as many as they can: But alas! these converts wereonly for the sake of money; for when, by order of the Portuguese, thenew converts were deprived of their pay, they brought back their beadsagain, saying they had been long without pay, and would be Christians nolonger. In consequence of the Portuguese refusing to deliver back thegoods taken at Surat, the king ordered the church doors to be locked upand they have so continued ever since; so the _padres_ make a church ofone of their chambers, where they celebrate mass twice a day, and preachevery Sunday, first in Persian to the Armenians and Moors, andafterwards in Portuguese for themselves, the Italians, and Greeks. By them I was informed of the particulars of Mildenhall's goods, who hadgiven them all to a French protestant, though himself a papist, that hemight marry a bastard daughter he had left in Persia, and bring upanother. The Frenchman refusing to make restitution, was thrown intoprison and after four months all was delivered up. Between Agumere and Agra, at every ten _coss_, being an ordinary day'sjourney, there is a _Serai_ or lodging house for men and horses, withhostesses to dress your victuals if you please, paying a matter ofthree-pence for dressing provisions both for man and horse. And betweenthese two places, which are 120 coss distant, there is a pillar erectedat every _coss_, and a fair house every ten coss, built by Akbar, onoccasion of making a pilgrimage on foot from Agra to Agimere, saying hisprayers at the end of every coss. These houses serve for accommodatingthe king and his women, no one else being allowed to use them. The kingresides at Agimere on occasion of wars with _Rabna_, a rajput chief, whohas now done homage, so that there is peace between them. I made anexcursion to the Ganges, which is two days journey from Agra. TheBanians carry the water of the Ganges to the distance of many hundredmiles, affirming that it never corrupts, though kept for any length oftime. A large river, called the _Geminie_ [Jumna], passes by Agra. On the 24th of May, 1616, while on our voyage home to England, we wentinto Suldunha bay, where were several English ships outwards bound, namely, the Charles, Unicorn, Janus, Globe, and Swan, the general beingMr Benjamin Joseph. We arrived safe at Dover on the 15th September, 1616. * * * * * John Mildenhall, mentioned in the foregoing article, left England on the12th February, 1600, and went by Constantinople, Scanderoon, Aleppo, Bir, Caracmit, Bitelis, Cashbin, Ispahan, Yezd, Kerman, and Sigistan, toCandhar; and thence to Lahore, where he arrived in 1603. He appears tohave carried letters from Queen Elizabeth to the Great Mogul, by whom hewas well received, and procured from him letters of privilege for tradein the Mogul dominions. He thence returned into Persia, whence he wroteto one Mr Richard Staper from Cashbin, on the 3d October, 1606, givingsome account of his travels, and of his negociations at the court of theMogul. This letter, and a short recital of the first two years of hisperegrinations, are published in the Pilgrims, vol. I. Pp. 114--116, buthave not been deemed of sufficient importance for insertion in thiscollection. --E. SECTION XIX. _Eleventh Voyage of the East India Company, in 1612, in theSalomon_. [103] We sailed from Gravesend on the 1st February, 1611, according to thecomputation of the church of England, or 1612 as reckoned by others. Wewere four ships in company, which were counted as three separatevoyages, because directed to several parts of India: The James, whichwas reckoned the _ninth_ voyage, the Dragon and Hosiander the _tenth_, and our ship, the Salomon, as the _eleventh_. [Footnote 103: Purch. Pilgr. I. 486. This unimportant voyage is onlypreserved, for the sake of continuing the regular series of voyageswhich contributed to the establishment of the East India Company. Welearn from Purchas that it was written by Ralph Wilson, one of the matesin the Salomon, who never mentions the name of his captain. This voyage, as given by Purchas, contains very little information, and is thereforehere abridged, though not extending to two folio pages in thePilgrims. --E. ] I would advise such as go from Saldanha bay with the wind at E. Or S. E. To get to a considerable distance from the land before standingsouthwards, as otherwise the high lands at the Cape will take the windfrom them; and if becalmed, one may be much troubled, as there iscommonly in these parts a heavy sea coming from the west. Likewise, thecurrent sets in for the shore, if the wind has been at N. N. W. Or W. OrS. S. W. And also the shore is so bold that no anchorage can be had. The 18th October, we espied the land, being near _Celeber_ in the islandof Sumatra, in about 3° of south latitude. The 2d November, comingbetween Java and a ragged island to the westwards of the point of_Palimbangan_, we met a great tide running out so fast that we couldhardly stem it with the aid of a stiff gale. When afterwards the galeslacked, we came to anchor, and I found the tide to run three 1/2leagues in one watch. I noticed that this tide set outwards during theday, and inwards through the night. This day at noon the point ofPalimbangan bore N. E. By E. Three leagues off, and from thence to theroad of Bantam is five leagues, S. S. E. 1/3 E. The latitude of Bantam is6° 10' S. And the long. 145° 2' E. This however is rather too mucheasterly, as I think the true longitude of Bantam is 144° E. FromFlores. [104] [Footnote 104: The long. Of Bantam is 106° E. From Greenwich. That inthe text appears to have been estimated from the island of Flores, whichis 31° 20' W. From Greenwich, so that the longitude of Bantam ought tohave been stated as 137° 20' E. From Flores, making an error of excessin the text of seven or eight degrees. --E. ] The 7th March, at five p. M. While in lat. 20° 34' S. We descried landnine leagues off, N. E. 1/2 N. The S. E. Part of this island is somewhathigh, but falleth down with a low point. The W. Part is not very high, but flat and smooth towards the end, and falls right down. The south andwest parts of this island is all surrounded with shoals and brokenground, and we did not see the other sides; yet it seemed as if it hadgood refreshments. The longitude of this island is 104° from Flores, butby my computation 107°. [105] In these long voyages, we do not relyaltogether on our reckoning, but use our best diligence for discoveringthe true longitudes, which are of infinite importance to direct ourcourse aright. [Footnote 105: No island is to be found in the latitude and longitudeindicated in the text. --E. ] SECTION XX. _The Twelfth Voyage of the East India Company, in 1613, by CaptainChristopher Newport_. [106] The full title of this voyage, as given in the Pilgrims, is asfollows:--"A Journal of all principal Matters passed in the TwelfthVoyage to the East India, observed by me _Walter Payton_, in the goodship the _Expedition_. --Whereof Mr _Christopher Newport_ was captain, being set out _Anno_ 1612. Written by the said _Walter Payton_. " Thedate of the year of this voyage, according to our present mode ofcomputation, was 1613, as formerly explained at large, the year beingthen computed to commence on the 25th March, instead of the 1stJanuary. --E. [Footnote 106: Purch. Pilgr. I. 488. ] §1. _Observations at St Augustine, Mohelia, and divers Parts of Arabia_. The 7th January, 1613, we sailed from Gravesend for India, in the goodship Expedition of London, about the burden of 260 tons, and carryingfifty-six persons; besides the Persian ambassador and his suite, of whomthere were fifteen persons, whom we were ordered to transport to thekingdom of Persia, at the cost of the worshipful company. The names ofthe ambassador and his people were these. Sir Robert Sherley theambassador, and his lady, named Teresha, a Circassian; Sir ThomasPowell, and his lady, called Tomasin, a Persian; a Persian woman, namedLeylye; Mr Morgan Powell; Captain John Ward; Mr Francis Bubb, secretary;Mr John Barbar, apothecary; John Herriot, a musician; John Georgson, goldsmith, a Dutchman; Gabriel, an old Armenian; and three Persians, named Nazerbeg, Scanderbeg, and Molhter. In the morning of the 26th April; we fell in with a part of the land ofEthiopia, [Southern Africa, ] close adjoining to which is a small island, called _Conie island_, [Dassen island] all low land, and bordered bymany dangerous rocks to seawards. It is in the lat. Of 33° 30' S. Thewind falling short, we were constrained to anchor between that islandand the main, where we had very good ground in nineteen or twentyfathoms. We sent our boat to the island, where we found Penguins, geese, and other fowls, and seals in great abundance; of all which we took asmany as we pleased for our refreshment. By a carved board, we observedthat the Hollanders had been there, who make great store of train-oilfrom the seals. They had left behind them the implements of their work, together with a great copper cauldron standing on a furnace, thecauldron being full of oil; all which we left as we found them. Having spent two days here at anchor, and the wind coming favourable, weweighed and proceeded for the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived, by God'sgrace, at Saldanha on the 30th of April, where we found six ships atanchor. Two of these, the Hector and James, were English, and the otherfour Hollanders, all homeward bound. We here watered, and refreshedourselves well with reasonable abundance of the country sheep andbeeves, which were bought from the natives, and plenty of fresh fish, which we caught with our seyne. The 10th May the Pepper-corn arrivedhere, likewise homewards bound; and as she was but ill provided withnecessaries, we supplied her from our scanty store as well as we couldspare. Being all ready to depart with the first fair wind, which, happened onthe 15th May, we then sailed altogether from the bay, taking leaveaccording to the custom of the sea, and we directed our course for StAugustine. In our way we had sight of _Capo do Arecife_, [107] part ofthe main land of Africa, in lat. 33° 25' S. On the 24th May, the compassthere varying 6° 9'. The 15th June we got sight of the island of StLawrence or Madagascar, and on the 17th came to anchor close beside portSt Augustine, meaning to search the soundings and entrance into the baybefore we went in, as there was no one in the ship well acquainted withit. Having done this, we went in next day, and came to anchor in tenfathoms, yet our ship rode in forty fathoms. We had here wood andwater, and great abundance of fresh fish, which we caught in suchquantities with the seyne as might have served for six ships companies, instead of our own. But we could get no cattle from the natives, whoseemed to be afraid of us; for, though they came once to us, andpromised to bring us cattle next day, they seemed to have said so as acover for driving away their cattle, in which they were employed in theinterim, and they came no more near us. Some days after, we marched intothe woods with forty musketeers, to endeavour to discover some of thenatives, that we might buy cattle; but we only found empty houses, madeof canes, whence we could see the people had only gone away veryrecently, as their fires were still burning, and the scales of fish theyhad been broiling were lying about. We also saw the foot-marks of manycattle, which had been there not long before, and had to return emptyhanded. [Footnote 107: The latitude in the text indicates Burtrenhook, near themouth of the Groot river, this being probably the Dutch name, while thatin the text is the Portuguese. --E. ] The entry into the port of St Augustine resembles that of Dartmouthhaven; and on going in, you must bring the wood, calledWestminster-hall, to which it has some resemblance, to bear N. E. By E. And then steer due E. Borrowing a little towards the south side of thebay, where your soundings will be thirteen, nine, eight, and sevenfathoms, all good ground, till you be shut within the shoal. After thisyou have deep water till you come into the road, and then have seven, eight, and ten fathoms. But if you go too far behind the hill on thelarboard hand, which resembles an old barn, you shall then have thirtyand forty fathoms. St Augustine is in lat 23° 30' S. The var. Being 15°40'. [108] [Footnote 108: Long. 44° 20' E. From Greenwich. --E. ] We sailed from St Augustine on the 23d June, directing our course forthe island of Mohelia, and on the 3d July we had sight of an islandcalled Juan, nine or ten leagues E. By S. From Mohelia. We came alsothis day to anchor at Mohelia, between it and some broken land off itssouthern side. We had here great abundance of refreshments, and verycheap; for we bought five bullocks in exchange for one Levant sword, andhad goats, hens, pine-apples, cocoa-nuts, plantains, oranges, lemons, and limes, for trifles worth little. Such bullocks as we had for moneycost a dollar each, or ten pieces of 4-1/2d. ; at which rate wepurchased forty-one beeves. The natives of this island are chiefly Moors[negroes], but there are Arabians, Turks, and others also among them;and they are much engaged in wars with the people of _Juan_, [Hinznan orJohanna, ] and Comoro islands in their neighbourhood. They told us thatthe king of the island died the day we arrived, being succeeded by hisson, _Phanehomale_, who was only of tender years, and was to reign underthe protection of the queen his mother. His brother-in-law, as chiefman, accompanied by several other people of condition, came down to bidus welcome, and used us very kindly. Both he and many others of theislanders spoke tolerably good Portuguese, so that I had muchconversation with them, and was informed of every thing I wished toknow. In this island they build barks, in which they trade along the coast ofMelinda and Arabia, disposing of slaves and fruit, by which means theysupply themselves with dollars, and with such articles as they need. Isuspect also that they have some dealings with the Portuguese, but theywould not let us know this, lest we might suspect them of treachery. They told me that we were welcome, and that the whole island was at ourcommand to do us service; but, if we had been Portuguese, they wouldhave put us all to the sword. In my opinion, however, it would bedangerous to repose too much confidence in them. The king'sbrother-in-law shewed me a letter of recommendation of the place, written in Dutch, and left there by a Hollander; and he requested of usto leave a letter to the same purport, certifying their honest andfriendly dealings, that they might be able to show to others of ournation. To this we consented, and I gave them a writing, sealed by ourcaptain, expressing the good entertainment we had received, and theprices of provisions; yet recommending to our countrymen, not to trustthem any farther than might seem consistent with their own safety. Theyspeak a kind of Moorish language, somewhat difficult to learn; so that Icould only pick up the few words following, which may serve to ask forprovisions and fruits, by such as do not understand Portuguese, or inspeaking to any of the natives who have not that language. _Gumbey_, a bullock. _Buze_, a goat. _Coquo_, a hen. _Sinzano_, a needle. _Seiavoye_, cocoa-nuts. _Demon_, lemons. _Mage_, water. _Surra_, a kind of drink. _Soutan_, the king. _Quename_, a pine-apple. _Cartassa_, paper. _Tudah_, oranges. _Arembo_, bracelets. _Figo_, plantains. This island of Mohelia is in lat 12° 10' S. [109] and has good anchoragein its road in forty fathoms. Having watered and refreshed ourselvessufficiently, we sailed from thence on the 10th of July, directing ourcourse for the island of Socotora. The 19th we passed to the north ofthe equator; and on the 25th we had sight of land, which we supposed tohave been Cape Guardafui, at the entrance into the Red Sea; and so, taking a departure for Socotora, we were unable to find it. We weretherefore obliged to consider how we might shelter ourselves against thefury of the winter in these parts, and also to procure refreshments;wherefore we determined to sail for the islands of _Curia Muria_, whichare in about the latitude of 18° N. [110] over against the desert of_Arabia Felix_. In our way; the weather was continually so foggy, thatwe were unable at any time to see half an English mile before us, suchbeing usual in these seas in the months of July, August, and September. In all this time both the sun and stars were so continually obscured, that we were never able to get an observation, by which to regulate orcorrect our dead reckoning; but, God being our guide, we at lengthgroped out the land by means of the lead. We could now clearly perceivethe colour of the water to be changed to white, with many yellow grassyweeds floating on the surface; and heaving the lead continually as weadvanced, we at length struck ground in forty-three fathoms. Proceedingnearer the land, our sounding lessened to twenty-two fathoms, when weanchored on good ground; and though we distinctly heard the rut of theshore at no great distance, we could not perceive the land till nextday, when the weather was somewhat clearer. We then sent our skiff inshore, to see if any place could be discovered of more security for ourship to ride in; but, on account of the great sea that came rolling intothe bay, the surge was so violent that they could not come near theshore, and had to return as they went; only that they had been able todescry some fair stone-houses by the sea-side, which proved to be_Doffar_, in Arabia Felix. [Footnote 109: Lat. 13° 35' S. Long. 45° 30' E. From Greenwich. --E. ] [Footnote 110: These islands are at the mouth of a bay of the same nameon the oceanic coast of that portion of Arabia named Mahra, in long, 55°30' E. From Greenwich. --E. ] When God sent us a little clear weather, we could perceive a high capeon the western side of the bay, which we discovered from our skiff thesecond time it was sent, and could plainly see that it formed a verygood road for all kinds of winds, except between the E. And S. By E. Points. We were thankful to God for this discovery, and warped our shipto that road, with much toil to our men, as it was six or seven leaguesfrom the place where we had anchored. On the 3d of August, havingbrought our ship to anchor in that road, we went ashore in the boat to alittle village by the sea-side, called _Resoit_, inhabited mostly byArabian fishermen, who entertained us kindly, and gave us all theinformation we desired respecting the country. The governor also of_Doffar_ came down to us, whose name was _Mir Mahommed Madoffar_, whobade us kindly welcome, and presented us with three bullocks, and somesheep, goats, hens, sugar-canes, plantains, cocoa-nuts, and the like. Inreturn we made him a present of a fine damasked fowling-piece, doublelockt, which he greatly admired. He appeared to desire our friendship asmuch as we did his; and he gave us licence to land at all times when wewere inclined. He also gave orders to have a market established for usat the village of Resoit, that we might be supplied with every kind ofprovision that the country affords. Their cattle were both dear andlean, and fresh water so scarce, bad, and difficult to be had, that wewere forced to hire the natives to bring it down to us in skins from adistance, paying them at the rate of twenty-four shillings for the fillof five pipes. Before leaving this place, Mir Mahommed desired us to leave a writing ofcommendation in his favour, specifying the kind and good entertainmentwe had received. This was accordingly granted, and I wrote it uponparchment, beginning it in large letters, the purport being similar tothat granted at Mohelia, and this also was signed by the captain. Thegovernor also sent us three notes signed by himself, for the purpose ofbeing given by us to other ships, if they should happen to come uponthis part of the coast, as we had been constrained to do, by which hemight know our ships from those of other nations, and give them goodentertainment accordingly. Cape _Resoit_ is in lat. 16° 38' N. And hasgood anchorage in 5-1/2 or 6 fathoms. The 28th August, we set sail from thence, directing our course for thecoast of Persia, coasting along the oceanic shore of Arabia; it beingour chiefest object to set the lord ambassador on shore, as, by reasonof the news we had received at the Cape of Good Hope, our expectationsof trade at Surat, Dabul, and all other parts thereabouts, werefrustrated. The 2d September, we sailed close beside an island on thecoast of Arabia, called _Macyra_, in lat. 20° 30' N. And on the 4th ofthat month we passed the eastermost point of Arabia, called Cape_Rassalgat_, in lat. 22° 34' N. [111] [Footnote 111: This Cape is in lat. 23° N. And long. 58° 45'E. FromGreenwich. --E. ] * * * * * _Note_. --In explanation of the disappointment of trade at Surat, &c. There is the following marginal note in the Pilgrims, vol. I. P. 490. --"These news at the Cape were, Captain Hawkins coming away indisgust, as denied leave to trade; the English being often wronged bythe Mogul, in frequent breach of promise, as already shewn; for whichthey forced a trade in the Red Sea on the Mogul subjects. Whichafterwards procured the privileges granted to Captain Best, as alreadyrelated, lest the Moguls should have the sea shut up to them, and alltheir trade stopt. They were the more induced to grant these privilegesto the English, on seeing them able to withstand the Portuguese, whosemarine force had held the Guzerat people under maritime subjection, andmade them afraid to trade with the English. "--_Purch. _ §2. Proceedings on the Coast of Persia, and Treachery of the Baloches_. Having crossed the gulf from Cape Rasalgat, on the 10th September we gotsight of the coast of Persia, in the lat. Of 25° 10' N. When some sevenleagues from the land, we sent our skiff ashore to make enquiryconcerning the country, and to seek out some convenient place in whichto land his lordship, having Sir Thomas Powell, with two of theambassador's Persian attendants, and _Albertus_, our own linguist, thatwe might be able to converse with the natives. They came to a littlevillage called _Tesseque_, [112] where they spoke with some camel-driversand other country-people; from whom they learnt that the country wascalled _Getche Macquerona_ [Mekran], and the inhabitants _Baloches_, allliving under the government of a king, named _Melik Mirza_, whose chiefresidence was some five or six days journey from thence, at a port named_Guadal_. They were farther informed, that all the country of _Mekran_paid tribute yearly to the king of Persia. When informed of our purposeto land the ambassador, they told us that, by means of _Melik Mirza_, his lordship might have a safe conveyance in nine days to _Kermshir_, inthe province of _Kerman_; and from thence might travel in eleven daysmore to _Ispahan_ in Persia. [Footnote 112: Tize is laid down upon this part of the Persian coast, inlat 25° 25' N. And long. 60° 80' E. From Greenwich: Perhaps the Tessequeof the text. --E. ] We then sailed along the coast, and on the 11th of the month we sent ourboat ashore with Sir Thomas Powell, accompanied as before, to makefarther enquiries, and to endeavour to hire a pilot to direct our coursefor Guadal, as we were unacquainted with the coast. They came to a placecalled _Pesseque_, about a day's journey from Tesseque, where they hadsimilar accounts with the former, all commending the port of Guadal asthe best place at which the ambassador could land. Wherefore, beingunable to procure a pilot, we resolved, with God's blessing, to sail tothat place with all the speed we could. On the 13th, while on our way, we espied coming towards us from the eastwards, two great boats, called_teradas_, which were sailing along shore for Ormus. Whereupon, that wemight procure a pilot from them, we manned our skiff sufficiently tobring them by force to our ship, if entreaties were unavailing, yetwithout meaning to offer them the smallest injury, or even to send themaway dissatisfied. When our skiff came up with them, instead of answering the hails of ourmen, they waved our skiff to leeward with a drawn sword; on which, thinking to fear them, and make them lower their sail, our men fired arandom shot towards them, which they answered by firing another directlyat our skiff, followed by half a hundred arrows, to which our menanswered by plying all their muskets. But our skiff was unable to holdway with them, as they were under sail, and had therefore to return tothe ship, with one man very dangerously wounded by an arrow in thebreast, who afterwards recovered. As we in the ship saw the skiffreturning without them, we hoisted out our long-boat, and sent her afterthe two _teradas_, we following with the ship as near the shore as wecould with safety; for it was now of much importance that we shouldspeak with them, on purpose to avoid their spreading scandalous reportsof us in the country, which might have frustrated our chief hopes oflanding the ambassador at _Guadal_, being the place we most dependedupon, and being destitute of any other place for the purpose, shouldthis fail, considering the unwelcome intelligence we had got concerningGuzerat at the Cape. Our long boat, having fetched up with the _teradas_, drove them into abay whence they could not escape; on which the native mariners sailed sofar into the bay, that one of the teradas was cast away on the beach, and the other had nearly shared the same fate, but was saved by our menjust without the surf. Most of the _balloches_ leapt overboard, andseveral of them narrowly escaped drowning; while nine of them werebrought by our men to our ship along with the _terada_, part of whomthey had taken out of the water. There were originally twenty-sixballoches in the two teradas, but all the rest escaped ashore byswimming through the surf. When these men came aboard our ship, theywere found to belong to Guadal; and when told that we were sorry for theloss of their other bark, as we meant them no harm, but only wished tospeak with them, that we might learn the navigation to their port, theywere glad to learn we had no evil intentions, thinking we had been asmerciless as themselves, and acknowledged their loss proceeded fromtheir own folly. We then informed them that we were bound for Guadal, on purpose to landa Persian ambassador there, and that we earnestly entreated the masterof the terada, whose name was _Noradin_, to pilot us to that place, forwhich we would satisfy him to his contentment. Knowing that he could notchuse, he consented to go with us, on condition we would permit theterada and his men to proceed to Muscat, whither they were originallybound; but we did not think this quite safe, lest they might communicatenews of our arrival among the Portuguese, and thought it better to takethe bark along with us to Guadal, to manifest our own good intentions. Noradin accordingly consented, between fear and good will, and was muchmade of by us to reassure his confidence. On the passage to Guadal, wehad much conference with him and his men, both respecting the state ofthe country, the character of their king, and the means of theambassador travelling from thence into Persia. Their answers and reportsall confirmed what we had been already told on the coast, and gave ushopes of success. The terada was about fifteen tons burden, and herloading mostly consisted in the provisions of the country, as rice, wheat, dates, and the like. They had a Portuguese pass, which theyshewed us, thinking at first we had been of that nation. I translatedthis, to show in what subjection the Portuguese keep all the natives ofthese countries, as without such a pass they are not suffered tonavigate these seas, under penalty of losing their lives, ships, andgoods. _Antonio Pereira de la Cerda, Captain of the Castle of Muscat, &c. _ "Know all to whom these presents are shewn, that I have hereby givensecure licence to this _terada_, of the burden of fifty _candies_, whereof is master Noradin, a Mahomedan _baloche_, dwelling in Guadal, ofthe age of fifty years, who carries for his defence four swords, threebucklers, five bows, with their arrows, three calivers, two lances, andtwelve oars. And that in manner following: She may pass and sail fromthis castle of Muscat, to Soar, Dobar, Mustmacoraon, Sinde, Cache, Naguna, Diu, Chaul, and Cor. In going she carries goods of _Conga_, asraisins, dates, and such like; but not without dispatch from thecustom-house of this castle, written on the back hereof. In this voyageshe shall not carry any prohibited goods, viz. Steel, iron, lead, tobacco, ginger, cinnamon of Ceylon, or other goods prohibited by hismajesty's regulations. And conforming thereto, the said _terada_ shallmake her voyage without let or hindrance of any generals, captains, orany of the fleets or ships whatever of his majesty she may happen tomeet with. This licence shall be in force for one whole year, in goingand returning; and if expired, shall continue in force till thecompletion of her voyage. _Given at the Castle of Muscat, this_ 16_th November_, 1611. _Written by Antonio de Peitas, notary of the said factory, &c. _ _Sealed and signed by_ ANTONIO PEREIRA. " The certificate on the back was thus: "_Registered in the book of Certificates, folio xxxii, et sequ. _ Signed, ANT. PEITAS. " The 17th September, we sailed past some high rugged cliffs, close towhich, as Noradin told us, was a good watering place, at a village named_Ivane_, fifteen leagues west from Guadal. That same evening we arrivedat Guadal, and anchored for the night off the mouth of the port, whenceabout thirty boats came out next morning to fish, some of which came tospeak with the _balloches_ we had aboard. What conversation passed amongthem we did not understand, being in the _balloche_ language. Betimes onthe 18th, we cleared our pilot and his boat, and he departed wellcontented. Soon after, the ambassador sent Nazerbeg, one of his Persianattendants, on shore in our skiff, with a message to the governorconcerning his landing and passing through that country into Persia. While on the way, our skiff was met by the governor's boat, coming offto our ship, and Nazerbeg was taken into that boat, which carried him tothe shore, whence he was accompanied by many of the natives to thegovernor's tent. He here delivered his message in Persian, which thesepeople understand as well as their own language, and was kindlyentertained. The answer from the governor was to this effect: That, although this country of Mekran did not belong to the king of Persia, ityet owed love and duty thereto, having been long tributary to the kingand his predecessors, and still was. He farther said, that the king ofMekran was the king of Persia's slave, with many other hollowcompliments, and that the ambassador should be made as welcome as inPersian all this only tending to allure his lordship ashore by treacheryto his ruin, as appeared by the event. With this answer Nazerbeg returned, being accompanied on board by abouta dozen of the most ancient men of the balloches, to confirm the same. On coming aboard, these men saluted the ambassador most submissively, inthe name of the governor of Guadal, and on their own behalf some evenoffering to kiss his feet; and told his lordship that he was mostfortunate in coming to their city at this time, as only the day beforethe viceroy had come down with a troop of men, to visit a saint, andtherefore his lordship would be conducted with infinite safety throughthe country, and protected from the danger of rebels and thieves, whoinfested the country between Mekran and Persia, and might either gothrough Kerman or Segistan to Ispahan. They added, that the viceroywould supply his lordship with camels and horses, and every otherrequisite for the journey, and would gladly give him every otheraccommodation in his power. They said, moreover, that they were muchrejoiced at having such an opportunity of shewing their unfeigned loveand duty towards the king of Persia, and that the ambassador should bedispatched on his journey from Guadal in two days, if he were soinclined. They told us, that our ship should be supplied with water, andevery other necessary of which we were in want; and they gave us threebags of bruised dates, of about 300 pounds weight, with two boats, saying the fishing-boats were ordered to give us two fish a-piece daily, on account of their government, which they did accordingly. By these shews of good-will, all men concurring in the same fair story, both now and formerly, we were thoroughly satisfied, and had no distrustthat they meant not as well as they said. The lord ambassador, especially, was much rejoiced at the prospect of being thus enabled toreach Persia in twenty days, as they said; and we not less so, inbringing our long-desired hopes to a bearing. But God, from whom nosecrets of the heart can be hidden, knew their treacherous intentionstowards us; and had not his mercy exceeded his justice, we had beenutterly destroyed, and it had never been known what became of us, ourship, or our goods. Being quite satisfied with these fair promises, the ambassador got everything in readiness, and in the morning of the 19th September, sent hismoney and all his baggage on shore with the _balloches_ boats, whichcame aboard for the purpose. They also brought a message from theviceroy and governor, saying they had provided tents for his lordshipand all his followers, close to their own, where they would be happy toreceive him as soon as he pleased to land. Into this tent accordinglyall the ambassador's goods were carried, and some of his followers wereappointed by his orders to remain there in charge of them, till heshould himself land, intending to have gone ashore the same day, aboutfour in the afternoon, of which he sent word to the viceroy. In the meantime our boat went ashore with empty casks to bring off fresh water, andin her went the Persian followers of the ambassador, and three or fourmore of his people, to see the careful landing of his goods, and toaccompany them to the tents. While the ambassador's baggage was landing, some of the natives asked, if these were all the things the ambassador had to send ashore? To whichit was answered, that these were all, except jewels and such likethings, which were to come along with himself. Some other nativesstanding by, observed among themselves, That it was no matter, as thesewere enough for the soldiers. This was overheard and understood byNazerbeg, who concealed it for the time, though it raised some suspicionin his mind, as he said afterwards: Yet so strongly was he prepossessedby the agreement of all that had passed before, that he could not bringhimself to believe their intentions were bad. He listened, however, moreattentively to all that was said afterwards among them, but could hearnothing that savoured of double-dealing. A little while afterwards, Nazerbeg met with one _Haji Comul_, [113] whomGod made an instrument to disclose the devilish project of the ballochesto circumvent and destroy us, and who now revealed the particulars oftheir bloody designs. Nazerbeg was amazed, and even chid _Comul_ for nothaving told this before the goods were landed. As the time appointed forthe landing of the ambassador was at hand, Nazerbeg was fearful he mighthave come ashore before he could get to our ship to forewarn him. Wherefore, hastening to the shore, where, as God would have it, ourskiff was still filling water, he told our men there was treacheryplotting against us on shore, and entreated them to row him to the shipwith all possible speed. He was therefore brought off immediately, yethardly a moment too soon, as the ambassador and all his suite, togetherwith our captain and all the principal officers among us, willing tograce the ambassador as far as we could for the honour of our country, were already in the waste, and ready to go on shore. When Nazerbeg hadcommunicated his news, we were as ready to change our purpose as we hadbeen before to go ashore. The purport of what he had learnt from _HajiComul_ was as follows:-- The viceroy and governor had agreed together to entice as many of us asthey possibly could ashore, on purpose to cut all our throats; whichdone, they meant to have set upon the ship, and having taken her, toseize every thing she contained. They had made minute enquiry into ournumbers, and had got a particular enumeration of the state and conditionof every person in the ship, all of whom they intended to put to deathwithout mercy, except the surgeon, the musicians, the women, and theboys. Their reverence for the king of Persia, of which they had soboasted, was all a mere pretence to deceive; for they were all rebels, and it was death to talk of the king of Persia in Guadal. Though we nowunderstood their intended plot, for which God be praised, and weresufficiently put upon our guard to prevent its execution by armingourselves, knowing that we were able to defend ourselves from injury onboard, although they had great numbers of boats, and above 1500 menarmed with muskets, besides others; yet were we at a loss how we mightrecover his lordship's goods, and his three men who were ashore alongwith them. But God, who had thus miraculously delivered us from theircruel treachery, opened likewise our understandings, so that werecovered all according to our wish, in the following manner:-- As the viceroy and his fellows expected the immediate landing of theambassador and followers, together with the captain and others of us, wesent Nazerbeg again ashore, with instructions what to do. He was toinform the viceroy that the ambassador was not very well, and hadtherefore deferred his landing till next morning, which was Monday the20th September. He was also directed to request the viceroy andgovernor, to send two or three of their boats for him very early, tobring the women and others of his company ashore, as the ship's boatswere too small; and to say, that the ambassador expected to be attendedby some men of condition from the viceroy, to come in the boats, out ofrespect to the king of Persia, whose person he represented. Thismessage, being well delivered, took the desired effect, and the viceroyreadily promised to comply with every thing required. Having finishedthis part of his introductions, Nazerbeg was to repair to the tent wherethe baggage was lodged, and to fetch from one of the trunks, two bags ofmoney containing £200 sterling, and some other things of value, if hecould so contrive without being noticed, as it was wished to conceal theknowledge we had of the villainous intentions of these barbarians. Nazerbeg was also desired to use dispatch, and to desire the threeservants of the ambassador to remain all night at the tents, withpromise of being relieved next morning. All was done as directed, andnot only was the money brought away, but a trunk also containing LadyShirley's apparel. When the balloches enquired the reason of taking thattrunk back to the ship, they were told it contained the lady'snight-clothes, and that it was to be brought ashore again next day. [Footnote 113: In Purchas this person is named _Hoge_ Comul; but wesuspect it ought to be _Haji_, intimating that he had made thepilgrimage of Mecca and Medina. --E. ] The ambassador having thus recovered his money, wished much to get backone other large trunk, containing things of value, and the three menwhich were ashore with his baggage, even if all the rest were lost. Forthis purpose, we filled, over night, a large chest and a night-stool, with billets of wood, rubbish, stones, and other useless matters, tomake them heavy, binding them up carefully with mats and ropes to givethem an air of importance. Nazerbeg was instructed to take these onshore, to be left in place of the large trunk which he was to bringaway, under pretence that it belonged to one of the merchants, and hadbeen landed by mistake. The three men at the tent were to accompany himback to the ship, with their musical instruments, and the _balloches_were to be told they were wanted by the lord ambassador to accompany himwith their music on his landing. Every thing being thus properly arranged, we saw next morning early, thethree boats coming off for the purpose of bringing his lordship onshore, according to promise. We then manned our skiff, and sent herashore to put our plan into execution, by which we hoped to entrap the_balloches_ in the snare they had laid for us. In the mean time, wereceived the people from the three boats into our ship, consisting ofseven or eight persons of some condition, among whom was our friend_Haji Comul_; all the rest being slaves and fishermen. We kept them indiscourse on various matters, to pass away time till our skiff could getback. During this conversation, one of them said that the viceroyearnestly desired we might bring our _slurbow_[114] ashore with us, ashe wished much to see it, which we readily promised, to satisfy them. Wesoon after had the pleasure to see our skiff returning, having beencompletely successful, as it not only brought away the trunk and thethree men, but also one of the chief men among the _balloches_, whomNazerbeg enticed along with him. As soon as he came on board, he and therest desired to see our gun-rooms, in which they had been told we hadall our fire-works, of which they were in great dread, particularly ofour _slurbow_ and fire-arrows; and this answered exactly to our wishes, as we meant to have enticed them below, that we might disarm them oftheir long knives or daggers. When all these principal persons were downbelow in the gun-room, all our people being armed and in readiness, anddispersed in different parts of the ship, some on deck, some betweendecks, and others in the gunroom, to arrest and disarm the traitors;and when the concerted signal was given, this was instantlyaccomplished, to their great astonishment, yet without resistance. [Footnote 114: From circumstances mentioned in the sequel, this seems tohave been a species of cross-bow for discharging fire-arrows. --E. ] We then laid open to them our knowledge of their murderous intentions, saying their lives were now in our hands, as they had themselves falleninto the pit they had dug for us; and, if we served them right, weshould now cut them in pieces, as they meant to have done by us. Yetthey stoutly denied the whole alleged plot. We detained six of thechiefest men among them, and two of their boats, sending all the resta-shore, being all naked rascals, except one, by whom we sent a messageto the viceroy and governor, That, unless he sent us back all the goodsand baggage we had ashore, without abstracting even the smallestportion, we would carry off those we had now in our custody. When thismessage was delivered to the viceroy and governor, they sent back wordby the same messenger, that, if we would release the _balloches_, allour goods should be sent to us, and at the same time making many hollowdeclarations that no evil had ever been intended against us. Onreceiving this message, and in sight of the messenger, all our prisonerswere immediately put in irons; and two letters were wrote to the viceroyin Persian, one by us and the other by the prisoners, intimating in themost determined terms, that the prisoners would be all put to death, ifthe goods were not safely returned without delay, giving only two hoursrespite at the most, the sand-glass being set before them as themessenger left the ship, that he might be induced to make haste. Bythese sharp means, we constrained them to restore every thing in themost ample manner; and this being done, we released the men and boats, according to promise, and sent them away. One man named _MalimSimsadim_, whom we had learnt, from _Haji Comul_, was an experiencedpilot for _Sinde_ and _Cambay_, we detained for that purpose, promisingto reward him according to his merits. Thus, by God's assistance, to whom be endless praise for ourdeliverance, we happily extricated ourselves from this dangerous andintricate affair, which was entirely concluded by six p. M. Of the 20thSeptember. We set sail that same night with our new pilot and _HajiComul_, which last remained along with us, as his life would have beenin danger among that accursed crew, for revealing their diabolical plot. We now bent out course for Sinde, as willing to avoid all subsequentdangers which these blood-thirsty balloches might attempt to plotagainst us. In our way, we had much conversation with Comul, whom wemuch esteemed and respected for the excellent service he had donetowards us. _Comul_ was a native of Dabul in India, his father being aPersian of the sect of Ali, in which _Comul_ was a churchman, or priest, having likewise some skill in medicine and surgery, in which capacity hehad resided in the tent of the governor of Guadal, and owing to whichcircumstance he had overheard their infernal plot. He had obtained leaveto come aboard our ship, under pretence of procuring certain ointmentsor balsams, which he alleged had been promised him by our surgeons. Hesaid that, on hearing their murderous intentions, his heart yearnedwithin him, to think we should be led like sheep to the slaughter bysuch bloody butchers, and that God willed him to reveal their plot tous. He farther told us, that to his knowledge, they had already betrayedthree ships in the same manner; that they were all rebels against theKing of Persia, refusing to pay the tribute which they and theirancestors had been accustomed to; and that the king of Persia had leviedan army, which waited not for from Guadal, with the purpose to invadethe country next winter. This country of _Macquerona_, or Mekran, is on the main land of Asia, bordering upon the kingdom of Persia. The port of _Guadal_ is nearly inthe lat. Of 25° N, the variation being 17° 15' [lat. 24° 40' N. Long. 61° 50' E. ]. It has good anchorage in four or five fathoms. At night ofthe 21st September, the day after leaving Guadal, our _balloche_ pilotbrought our ship in danger of running on a shoal, where we had to comesuddenly to anchor till next morning. The 24th at night, while layingto, because not far from Cape Camelo, a Portuguese frigate, or bark, passed close beside us, which at first we suspected to have been anarmed galley, for which cause we prepared for defence in case of need. 3. _Arrival at Diul-ginde, [115] and landing of the Ambassador: SeekingTrade there, are crossed by the slanderous Portuguese: Go to Sumatra andBantam; and thence Home to England_. [Footnote 115: This singular name ought perhaps to have been Diul-Sinde, or Diul on the Indus, or Sinde river, to distinguish it from Diu inGuzerat. --E. ] The 26th September, 1613, we came to anchor right before the mouth ofthe river _Sinde_, or Indus, by the directions of a pilot we had fromone of the boats we found fishing at that place. We rode in very goodground, in a foot less five fathoms, the mouth of the river being E. ByN. Being in the latitude of 24° 38' N. [116] That same day, theambassador sent two of his people, to confer with the governor about hiscoming ashore, and procuring a passage through that country into Persia. The governor, whose name was _Arah Manewardus_, who was of _Diul_, [117]was most willing to receive the ambassador, and to shew him everykindness, both in regard to his entertainment there, and his passagethrough his province or jurisdiction. To this intent, he sent aprincipal person aboard, attended by five or six more, to welcome hislordship with many compliments, assuring him of kind entertainment. Presently after there came boats from _Diul_ for his accommodation, inwhich he and all his people and goods went ashore on the 29th September, all in as good health as when they embarked in our ship from England. Athis departure we saluted him with eleven guns, and our captain entrustedhim with a fine fowling-piece, having two locks, to present to thegovernor of Tatta, a great city, a day's journey from Diul, [118] bothcities being in the dominions of the Great Mogul. We also now set ashoreour treacherous _balloche_ pilot, _Sim-sadin_, though he better meritedto have been thrown into the sea, as he endeavoured twice to have castus away; once by his own means, as formerly alluded to, and afterwardsby giving devilish council to the pilot we hod from the fisher boat atthis place. [Footnote 116: The river Indus has many mouths, of which no less than_seventeen_ are laid down in Arrowsmith's excellent map of Hindoostan, extending between the latitudes of 24° 45' and 23° 15' both N. Andbetween the longitudes of 67° 12' and 69° 12' both east. That mouthwhere the Expedition now came to anchor, was probably that called the_Pitty_ river, being the most north-western of the Delta, in lat 24° 45'N. And long. 67° 12' E. From Greenwich; being the nearest on her wayfrom Guadal, and that which most directly communicates with Tatta, thecapital of the Delta of the Indus. --E. ] [Footnote 117: Such is the vague mode of expression in the Pilgrims; butit appears afterwards that he was governor of Diul, at which place SirRobert Shirley and his suite were landed. It singularly happens, thatDiul is omitted in all the maps we have been able to consult; but fromthe context, it appears to have been near the mouth of the Pitty river, mentioned in the preceding note. It is afterwards said to have beenfifteen miles up the river, in which case it may possibly be a placeotherwise called _Larry Bunder_, about twenty miles up the Pitty, whichis the port of Tatta. --E. ] [Footnote 118: Tatta is not less than seventy-five English miles fromthe mouth of the Pitty, and consequently sixty from Diul. --E. ] When the lord ambassador left us, we requested he would send us word howhe found the country disposed, and whether we might have trade there;and for this purpose, we gave his lordship a note in writing of what wechiefly desired, which was to the following purport: "That our coming tothis port was purposely to land his lordship; yet, as we had broughtwith us certain commodities and money, we were willing to make sales ofsuch and so much of those as might suit, if we could obtain licence andprotection for quiet trade; and, with the governor's permission, wouldsettle a factory at this place, to which, though now but slenderlyprovided, we would afterwards bring such kinds and quantities of goodsus might be most suitable for sale. The commodities we now had, wereelephants and morse teeth, fine fowling-pieces, lead and tin in bars, and some Spanish dollars. If we could not be permitted to trade, werequested leave to provide ourselves, with refreshments, and so todepart. " The 30th September, the ambassador had an audience of the governorconcerning all his business, to whom he shewed the _firmaun_ of the kingof Persia, as also the pass of the king of Spain, thinking thereby tosatisfy the jealousy of the Portuguese residents at that place, whoreported, on pretended intelligence from Ornus, that Don Roberto Shirleywas come from England with three ships to the Indies, on purpose tosteal. They peremptorily refused to give credence to the Spanish pass, saying it was neither signed nor sealed by their king, in which theycould not possibly be mistaken, knowing it so well, and therefore thatit was assuredly forged. On this, the ambassador angrily said, that itwas idle to shew them any king's hand-writing and seal, as they had noking, being merely a waste nation, forcibly reduced under subjection tothe king of Spain, and mere slaves both to him and his natural subjects. Yet the Portuguese boldly stood to their former allegations, insistingthat the ambassador had other two ships in the Indies. Then _ArahManewardus_ sharply reproved them for their unseemly contradictions ofthe Persian ambassador, and ordered them out of the room. The ambassador then made a speech to the governor concerning ouradmittance to trade at his port, on which the governor expressed hisreadiness to do so, all inconveniences understood, and desired theambassador to send for one or two of our merchants, that he might conferwith them on the subject. Upon this the ambassador wrote to us on the 2dOctober, saying what he had done in our affairs, and sending usassurance for our safe going and returning. Being thereby in good hopeof establishing trade at this place, if not a factory, and to make saleof the small quantity of goods we now had, Mr Joseph Salbank and I, byadvice of the captain and others, made ourselves ready and went ashorethat same morning in one of the country boats. Our ship lay about fouror five miles from the mouth of the river, from whence we had fifteenmiles to travel to _Diul_, where the ambassador was, so that it was latein the evening before we landed there. In our way we met a Portuguese frigate or bark, bound for Ormus, onpurpose to prevent any of their ships coming till we were gone. Thisbark went close past our ship, taking a careful review of her, and sodeparted. As soon as we were landed, three or four Portuguese came up tous, asking if we had brought any goods ashore, and such like questions;but we made them no reply, pretending not to understand their language, that we might the better understand them for our own advantage, ifoccasion served. There then came another Portuguese, who spoke Dutchvery fluently, telling me many things respecting the country and people, tending to their ill conduct and character, thinking to dissuade us fromendeavouring to have any trade there. Soon after, the officers of thecustoms came, and conducted us to the castle, but we could not have anaudience of the governor that night, as it was already late. Theofficers, who were mostly banians, and spoke good Portuguese, searchedevery part about us for money, not even leaving our shoes unsearched;and perceiving that we were surprised at this, they prayed us to becontent therewith, as it was the custom of the country. To this Ireplied, that though the Portuguese might give them cause for so bad afashion, yet English merchants did not hide their money in their shoeslike smugglers. Then the governor's servants came to us, and lighted usfrom the castle to the house in which the ambassador lodged, where wewere made heartily welcome, and were lodged all the time we staid inDiul, and at no expence to us. Seeing us landed, and hearing we came totreat with the governor for settling trade at that place, the Portuguesespread many slanderous and malignant lies against our king, country, andnation, reporting that we were thieves, and not merchants, and that wederived our chief subsistence by robbing other nations on the sea. In the morning of the 3d October, the governor sent word to theambassador that he would see and converse with us in the afternoon. Inthe mean time, we had notice that the Portuguese were using every effortwith him and others to prevent our being entertained, both by offeringhim gratifications if he would refuse us, and by threatening to leavethe place if we were received, pretending that they would not remainwhere thieves were admitted. Yet the governor sent for us, commandingfour great horses, richly caparisoned, to be sent to the ambassador'shouse, for his lordship, Sir Thomas Powell, Mr Salbank, and me, and sentalso a number of his servants to conduct us to the castle; all theambassador's servants went likewise along with him, each carrying ahalbert. In this manner we rode through some part of the city, thepeople in all the streets flocking out to see us, having heard talk ofEnglishmen, but never having seen any before, as we were the first whohad ever been in that part of the country. On coming to the castle, we were received in a very orderly manner, andled through several spacious rooms, where many soldiers were standing inranks on each side, all cloathed from head to foot in white dresses. Wewere then conducted to a high turret, in which the governor and someothers sat, who rose up at our entrance and saluted us, bidding uskindly welcome. We then all sat down round the room, on carpets spreadon the floor, according to their fashion. The governor again bid uswelcome, saying he was glad to see Englishmen in that country; but said, in regard to the trade we desired to have there, that the Portuguesewould by no means consent to our having trade, and threatened to desertthe place if we were received. Yet, if he could be assured of derivinggreater benefit from our trade than he now had from that of thePortuguese, he should not care how soon they left him, as he thoughtwell of our nation. In the mean time, however, as he farmed the customsof that port from the king, to whom he was bound to pay certain sumsyearly for the same, whether they were actually received or not, he wasunder the necessity of being circumspect in conducting the business, lest he might incur the displeasure of the king, to his utter ruin. Hethen told us that the customs from the Portuguese trade, together withwhat arose from their letting out their ships to hire to the Guzeratsand Banians, amounted to a _lack_ of rupees yearly, which is £10, 000sterling. [119] [Footnote 119: A rupee is two shillings, or somewhat more, and a _lack_is 100, 000. -_Purch. _] He then desired to know the kinds and quantities of the commodities wehad brought, and what amount we had in money? To all which we gave himdistinct answers, as nearly as we could remember; adding, that though wenow brought but small store, we would engage to furnish his port at ournext coming, which would be in about twenty-two months, with suchcommodities as were now brought by the Portuguese, and with suchquantities of each kind as might be requisite to satisfy the demands ofthat port. He appeared to approve of this, and concluded by saying, asour present stock of commodities were so small, the Portuguese wouldonly laugh at him and us if we were now admitted to trade, wherefore hewished us to defer all trade till our next coming; but that he was readyto give us a writing under his hand and seal to assure us of goodentertainment at our next coming, provided we came fully prepared as wesaid, and on condition we should leave him a written engagement not tomolest any of the ships or goods of the king of the Moguls, or hissubjects. We agreed to all this, and requested he would allow us to sellthose goods we now had; but which he would by no means consent to, forfear of offending the Portuguese, as stated before. We then desired that we might have leave to provide our ship with water, and other necessary refreshments, for our money, after which we shoulddepart as soon as possible. To this he said, that as soon as we sent himthe writing he desired, he would send us the one he had promised, andwould give orders to his officers to see our wants supplied; but desiredthat the Portuguese might know nothing of all this. Seeing no remedy, wethen desired to know what kinds of commodities he wished us to bring, and also what were the commodities his country could afford in return. We were accordingly informed, that the commodities in request in Sindewere broad-cloths of various prices, and light gay colours, as stammels, reds, greens, sky-blues, indigo-blues, azures, &c. Also elephants teeth, iron, steel, lead, tin, spices, and money. The commodities to be hadthere were, indigo of Lahore, indigo of _Cherques_, calicoes of allsorts, pintadoes, or painted chintzes of all sorts, all kinds ofGuzerat and Cambay commodities, with many kinds of drugs. We then tookour leave, and returned to the ambassador's house, whence I sent him aletter, according to his desire, signed by Mr Salbanke and me, on whichhe sent us another, in the Persian language, which is written backwards, much like the Hebrew, and which was interpreted to us by the ambassador, in English, as follows: "WHEREAS there has arrived at this port of Diul, an English ship calledthe Expedition, of which is captain, Christopher Newport, and merchants, Joseph Salbank and Walter Peyton, and has landed here Don RobertShirley, ambassador of the king of Persia, who has desired us to grantthem trade at this port under my government, which I willingly wouldhave granted, but not having brought merchandize in sufficient quantityto begin trade, and the Portuguese, from whom I reap benefit, refusingtheir consent, threatening to go away if I receive the English nation, by which I should be left destitute of all trade, whence arises thosesums I have yearly to pay to the king, and in default whereof I shouldincur his majesty's displeasure, to my utter ruin. Yet, from the love Ibear to the king of Persia, by whose ambassador I am solicited, and fromaffection for the English, together with the faithful performance of thewriting left with me under their hands and seals by the two merchantsbefore named, I hereby promise the English nation, under my hand andseal, if they will come like themselves, so fitted that I may derivemore advantage from them than from the Portuguese, that I willinfallibly grant them trade here, with such reasonable privileges as wemay agree upon. " _Given at Diul, this 3d of October_, 1613. ARAH MANEWARUS. Having received this writing on the 4th October, together with ordersfrom the governor to his officers for our being furnished with water andrefreshments, we made haste to return to our ships. A little before wewent away, the ambassador fell into discourse with us about procuring a_firmaun_ from the Great Mogul, for which purpose he wished Mr Salbankto accompany him to Agra, the principal residence of that sovereign, affirming that he would procure that grant of trade for us in a shorttime, for which he alleged there was now a favourable opportunity, bothbecause he had other business to transact at the court of the Mogul, andin consequence of the willingness of _Manewardus_ to admit us to tradeat his port. He alleged likewise that we might never have so favourablean opportunity, and assured us that he would therein shew himself atrue-hearted Englishman, whatever the company of merchants might thinkof him; and that Mr Salbank should be an evidence of his earnestendeavours to serve the merchants in procuring this _firmaun_, not onlyfor Diul, but for other parts of the Mogul dominions, and should alsocarry the grant with him over-land to England. All this seemedreasonable, and as Mr Salbank had been before in these parts, he wasvery willing to go, provided it met with the approbation of the captainand me, and the other gentlemen in the ship; for which purpose theambassador wrote a letter to our captain, to urge his consent, which wecarried with us. We left Diul that same day about four in the afternoon, and on going tothe river side to take boat, many of the natives flocked about to lookat us. We were likewise joined by about a dozen Portuguese, who began totalk with us in Dutch, as before, asking many frivolous questions. I nowanswered them in their own language, on purpose that the Banians, whowere present, might understand what I said; telling them that they werea shameless and lying people to spread so many slanderous and falsereports of our nation, while they knew their own to be much inferior toours in many respects, and that their scandalous conduct proceededmerely from malignant policy to prevent us from participating with themin the trade of India. To this I added, that if they did not restrainthemselves within due peaceful bounds, amending their behaviour both inwords and actions, they should be all driven out of India, and a morehonest and loyal nation substituted in their place. Then one of theprincipal men among them stepped forwards, and made answer, that theyhad already too many enemies, and had no need of more; but that they hadsubstantial reasons for speaking of us as they had done, as not longsince one of their ships had been taken near Surat, and, as theysupposed, by an English ship. To which I answered, that this was morelike to have been done by the Hollanders. They then became more civil, and finally wished that we might trade in all parts of India with them, and they with us, like friends and neighbours, and that our kings mightenter into some agreement to that effect. They then kindly took leave ofus, and we departed. We got back to our ship on the 6th, when it was agreed that Mr Salbankshould accompany the ambassador to Agra, as proposed. For which purposehe got himself in readiness, meaning to have gone ashore next day. Inthe mean time, the captain, the purser, and his man, went on shore tobuy fresh victuals and necessaries to take with us to sea; but, oncoming to the city, they were presently ordered away by the governor, and an express order issued by proclamation, that none of the nativesshould hereafter bring any of the English ashore, on pain of death. Wewere much astonished at this sudden alteration of affairs, for which wecould not divine any cause: but, on the 9th, finding we could getnothing done here, nor any farther intercourse, we set sail, directingour course for Sumatra. All the time we were here in Sinde, we had notthe smallest intimation of trade having been settled at Surat, for if wehad, we might have taken a different course. We came to anchor in the road of Priaman on the 20th November, going inbetween the two northermost little islands, and anchored close by thenorthermost of these, in five fathoms. We immediately began to bargainfor pepper, the price of which we beat down from twenty-two dollars, asfirst asked, to seventeen dollars the bahar, at which price we got twobahars, which were brought to us on board: but the governor would notallow us, although we made him a present of a musket, to hire a house, or to buy pepper ashore, unless we would consent to bestow presents onsome twenty of the officers and merchants of the place. On the 22d, wereceived a letter from Captain Christen, of the Hosiander, then atTecoo, earnestly advising us to come there immediately, as we could notfail to get as much pepper as we wished at that place, and in a shorttime; and, as we were not acquainted with the place, Captain Chrisensent Richard Hall, one of his master's mates, to pilot us through amongthe dangerous shoals that lay about the roads of Tecoo. Accordingly wewent to that place, and anchored in four fathoms, Richard Hall returningon board the Hosiander, where he died that same night, being ill of theflux. Before our arrival, the natives had offered their pepper to CaptainChristen at twelve and thirteen dollars the bahar, taking payment inSurat commodities; but they now demanded twenty-two dollars in readymoney, refusing to barter with them any longer for goods. They alsodemanded at this place as many presents as had been required at Priaman;beside which, they insisted upon having seventy-two dollars foranchorage duty. Being now in a worse situation than before, and havingno time to waste in delays, we determined to come to short terms withthem; wherefore we told them roundly, that we would on no account submitto their unreasonable demands, even though we might not get a single_cattee_ of pepper. For this purpose I drew out a letter from ourcaptain, which he signed and sealed, addressed to the head governor, stating that he had not used our nation so well as we had reason toexpect, both in unreasonable demands of presents, which were not usuallygiven upon compulsion, but rather from good-will, or in reward of goodbehaviour, and likewise by their improper delay in implementing theirpromises, so very unlike mercantile dealings; since our ships have atvarious times remained at their port for three, four, and even fivemonths, depending on their promises of having full lading, which mightas well have been accomplished in one month, in so far as respected thesmall quantity of pepper they had to dispose of. This letter wastranslated by the interpreter in the Hosiander, an Indian, named Johen, who perfectly understood their language. The governor, in consequence of this remonstrance, gave orders that wemight purchase pepper from any one who was inclined to sell; but sent usa message, wishing that one of us might come on shore, that the peppermight be there weighed. But still doubting that they meant to teaze uswith delay, we sent back word that we could not remain so long as itwould require for weighing the pepper ashore, and therefore if theywould bring it to us on board, we would pay them eighteen dollars abahar for their pepper, together with two dollars as custom to thegovernor, making exactly twenty dollars. As they still put off time, weset sail, as if meaning to have gone away, on which the governor sentanother messenger, who spoke Portuguese tolerably, entreating us to comeagain to anchor, and we should have as much pepper as we could take in. We did so accordingly, and they brought pepper off to us in proas asfast as we could conveniently weigh it, and continued to do so till wehad got about 200 bahars. They then began to grow slack in theirproceedings, on which, fearing to lose the monsoon by spending too muchtime at this place, we weighed and proceeded for Bantam. We left Tecoo on the 8th December, three of our men remaining in theHosiander, which needed their assistance, and proceeded towards Bantam, mostly keeping in sight of Sumatra. At our entrance into the straits ofSunda, on the 16th of that month, we met the Dragon on her homewardvoyage, by which ship we sent letters to England. Next day, the 17th, weanchored in Bantam roads, and went immediately ashore to provide ourlodging, and by the 29th our whole cargo was completed. We set sail from Bantam on the 2d January, 1614, for England, not havinghitherto lost a single man by sickness during our whole voyage, forwhich we were thankful to God. This same day, as we were going out byway of Pulo Panian, we met General Saris in the Clove, then returningfrom Japan; and we came to anchor, that we might have his letters forEngland, together with four chests. We likewise spared him two of ourhands, of which he was in great need; one being a youth, named MortimerPrittie, and the other a carpenter's mate, named Thomas Valens, as hehad not a single carpenter alive in his ship. Having settled all these matters with the Clove, we resumed our voyagefor England on the 4th January, and came to anchor in Saldanha bay onthe 21st March, where we got a sufficient supply of beeves and sheepfrom the natives, with abundance of fish, caught in our own seine. Weleft that place on the 9th April, with prosperous winds, which continuedfavourable till we were three degrees north of the equator, which wecrossed the 11th May. When in lat. 00° 22' N. Many of our men began tofall sick, some of them of the scurvy, and with swelled legs. On the10th July, 1614, by the blessing of God, we came to anchor in the Downs. CHAPTER XI. CONTINUATION OF THE EARLY VOYAGES OF THE ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANY TOINDIA. INTRODUCTION. In the immediately preceding chapter, we have given a series of thefirst twelve voyages fitted out by the English East India Company, inthe prosecution of their exclusive trade to India, as preserved bySamuel Purchas; and we now mean, chiefly from the same source, tocontinue the series for a few years longer. At the close of the lastvoyage of the foregoing chapter, Purchas informs us, that "The order ofreckoning must be now altered, because the voyages of the company werefor the future set forth by means of a _joint stock_, instead of byparticular ships, each upon a separate subscription, having separatestocks and factories; the whole proceedings being, in the sequel, at thegeneral risk of, and accountable to the entire society or company ofadventurers. " He farther adds, "That the whole of these joint-stockvoyages had not come into his hands; but that such as he had been ableto procure, and were meet for publication, he had inserted in hisCollection. " The learned historiographer of the East India Company[120] gives rathera different account of the former series of separate or unconnectedvoyages, than that which we have taken from Purchas, terming the lastvoyage in our former chapter only the _ninth_, while Purchas denominatesit the _twelfth_. [Footnote 120: Ann. Of the Hon. E. I. Co, I. 162. ] This difference, which is not at all material, may have arisen fromPurchas having considered some of the ships belonging to _single_adventurers or subscriptions, which made separate voyages or parts ofvoyages, as _separate_ adventures. We come now to a new era in the modeof conducting the English exclusive trade to India, of the motives forwhich the Annals give the following account. [121] [Footnote 121: Id. I. 165. ] "The inconveniences which had been experienced from separate classes ofadventurers, partners in the East India Company, fitting out equipmentson their own particular portions of stock, induced the directors, orcommittees, to resolve, in 1612, that, in future, the trade should becarried on by a joint stock only; and, on the basis of this resolution, the sum of £429, 000 was subscribed: and, though portions of this jointstock were applied to the equipment of four voyages, the generalinstructions to the commanders were given in the name, and by theauthority, of the governor, deputy-governor, and committees of thecompany of merchants in London trading to the East Indies, who explainedthat the whole was a joint concern, and that the commanders were to beresponsible to the company for their conduct, both in the sale andpurchase of commodities in the East Indies, and for their generalconduct, in extending the commerce, within the limits of the company. The transition, therefore, from trading on _separate adventures_, whichhas been described as an imitation of the Dutch, to trading on a _jointstock_, arose out of the good sense of the English nation, which, fromexperience, had discovered the evil consequences of internal opposition, and had determined to proceed on a system better calculated to promotethe general interest of the East India Company. "Notwithstanding this resolution, the proportions of this aggregate sumwere applied to what has been termed the _tenth, eleventh, twelfth_, and_thirteenth_ voyages, in the following manner: In 1613, the _tenth_voyage was undertaken, the stock of which was estimated at £18, 810 inmoney, and £12, 446 in goods, the fleet consisting of _eight_ vessels. In1614, the stock for the _eleventh_ voyage was £13, 942 in money, and£23, 000 in goods, the fleet being _eight ships_. In 1615, the stock forthe _twelfth_ voyage was £26, 660 in money, and £26, 065 in goods, with_six ships_. In 1616, the stock for the _thirteenth_ voyage was £52, 087in money, and £16, 506 in goods, the fleet containing _seven ships_. Thepurchase, repair, and equipment of vessels during these four voyagesamounted to £272, 544, which, with the specified stock and cargoes, accounts for the disbursement of the £429, 000, the sum subscribed on thejoint stock in 1613. [122] [Footnote 122: The enumerated particulars amount to £462, 060, and exceedthe subscribed joint stock by £33, 060. --E. ] "The profits on this joint stock are stated to have amounted, on thefirst two voyages, to £120 per cent. On the original subscription; butthey were subsequently much diminished, by the difficulties which theEnglish trade to the East Indies began to experience, from theopposition of the Dutch in the Spice Islands; so that, at the conclusionof this first joint stock, in 1617, the average profits of the fourvoyages did not exceed £87:10s. Per. Cent on the original subscription, notwithstanding the cargo of one of the vessels (the New-year's Gift)cost only 40, 000 rials of eight, and the sale produce, in England, amounted to £80, 000 sterling. " It is not the purpose of this Collection to enlarge on the history ofthe East India Company, any farther than by giving relations of itsearly voyages, so far as these have come down to us in the Pilgrims ofPurchas, their only published record; and we now therefore proceed withsuch of these voyages as are contained in that curious collection, andseem to be worth including in this work. --E. SECTION I. _Voyage of Captain Nicholas Downton to India, in 1614. _[122] The ships employed on this voyage, the _second_ set forth by the _joint_stock of the East India Company, were the New-year's Gift admiral, of650 tons, on board of which Captain Downton sailed as general or chiefcommander; the Hector of 500 tons, vice-admiral; the Merchant's Hope, of 300 tons; and the Salomon of 200 tons. We have thus only_ four_ shipsenumerated by Purchas, as employed in the _second_ voyage of the newjoint stock, instead at _eight_ mentioned in the _Annals_, as beforestated in the introduction to the present chapter. In this voyage, MrWilliam Edwards was lieutenant, or next in command under CaptainDownton, being likewise Cape merchant, and commander of the Hector. MrNicholas Easworth was Cape merchant, and commander of the Merchant'sHope. Mr Thomas Elkington, Cape merchant, and commander of the Salomon. Mr Peter Rogers minister; Martin Pring. Arthur Spaight, MatthewMolineux, and Hugh Bennet, masters of the four ships, assisted by sundrymates, --Purch. [Footnote 122: Purch. Pilg. I. 500. --Extracted from the journal ofCaptain Downton] §1. _Incidents at Saldanha, Socotora, and Swally; with an Account ofDisagreements between the Moguls and Portuguese, and between the Naboband the English. _ We sailed from England on the 1st March, 1614, and arrived in the roadof Saldanha, or Table Bay, on Wednesday the 15th June, being saluted onour arrival by a great storm. While every person was busy in mooring theship, John Barter, who had lost his reason in consequence of a longfever, was suddenly missing, and was supposed to have made away withhimself. The 16th we erected our tents, and placed a guard for theirdefence. We landed half our casks on the 17th, to be overhauled andseasoned; and this day _Choree_, the Saldanian or Hottentot, presentedme a young steer. The 18th we landed more of our beer casks, to bewashed, repaired, and seasoned. This day, _Choree_ departed into theinterior, carrying with him his copper armour, javelins, and all thingsbelonging to him, promising to be back the third day after, but he neverreturned. The 29th I sent George Downton ashore, to take observations of thelatitude and variation, in consideration of the great difference in thevariations, as observed in this and my former voyage in the Pepper-corn. We made the latitude exactly 34° S. And the variation 1° 45' W. By anazimuth, whereas most of the former variations at this place wereeasterly. We this night took down our tents, and brought every thing onboard, making our ships ready to depart next day, which we didaccordingly. We came to anchor in the bay of St Augustine in Madagascar on the 6thAugust, when the inhabitants abandoned the place, so that we could haveno intercourse with them, but we afterwards got some refreshments fromthem. We here cut down some straight timber for various uses. We setsail on the 12th August, and anchored in Delisa bay in Socotora on the9th September. Next day we went ashore to wait upon the king, who wasready with his attendants to receive me, and gave me an account of theexisting war in India, where the Mogul and the kings of the Deccan hadunited to drive the Portuguese from the country, owing to their havingcaptured a ship coming from Juddah in the Red Sea, in which were threemillions of treasure. He also informed me of two great fights whichCaptain Best had with the Portuguese, and of other news in these parts. I here procured such refreshments as the place could furnish, and bought2722 pounds of aloes from the king. Leaving Delisa on the 14th September, we got sight of the Deccan coastnear Dabul on the 2d October, where we found great hindrance to ournavigation, till we learnt by experience to anchor during the ebb tide, and continue our course with the tide of flood. Continuing thisprocedure, we anchored in the evening of the 14th, two and a half milesshort of the bar of Surat; when presently a fleet of fourteen frigatesor barks came to anchor near us, which we discovered by their lights, asit was quite dark. But as they could easily see us, by the lights at ourports, that we were in readiness for them, they durst not come anynearer, so that we rode quietly all night. Early of the 15th, we weighedwith the land-wind, and coming somewhat near the frigates, they alsoweighed and stood to the southwards. We held on our course past the bar, towards South Swally, where we soon after arrived, though much opposedby contrary winds. Soon after we were anchored, I sent Molineux in his pinnace, and MrSpooner with Samuel Squire in my _gellywatte_, [123] to take thesoundings within the sands. In a channel where we found only five feetat low water in our former voyage, Mr Molineux had now three fathoms;and Mr Spooner had now seven or eight feet, where our boats could notpass at all formerly. Seeing some people on the shore in the afternoon, whom I supposed might be some of our merchants from Surat, I sent mypinnace to them; but they were some of the people belonging to _CogeNozan_, sent to discover what nation we were of. From them I got fartherinformation respecting the wars with the Portuguese, being told that theMoguls were besieging Damaun and Diu, Mocrib or Mucrob Khan being thegeneral of the Mogul forces against Damaun; and I also learnt to mysorrow, that Mucrob Khan was governor and viceroy, as it may be called, not only over Surat, but all the country round, as, from formerexperience, I considered him to be a great enemy of our nation, and afriend to the Portuguese. From these people likewise, I heard of thehealth of Mr Aldworth and the rest of our factory, and wrote to hastenhis presence, sending my letters by the servants of Coge Nozan. [Footnote 123: From this singular term, what is now called the_jollyboat_ has probably derived its name. --E. ] I sent my purser on shore in the pinnace, early of the 16th, to purchasesuch necessaries as I thought might easily have been got; but hereturned about ten o'clock a. M. Without buying any thing for ourpurpose, bringing with him Mr Aldword, the chief merchant of our factoryat Surat, along with whom was one Richard Steel, who had come over-landto Surat from Aleppo. [124] Mr Aldworth endeavoured to persuade me thatMucrob Khan was our friend, and that we had now an excellent opportunityto obtain good trade and satisfactory privileges while the Moguls wereengaged in war with the Portuguese; and as both the Nabob and all thenatives were rejoiced at hearing of our arrival, they would assuredlygive us a most favourable reception. Pleased with these hopefulcircumstances, I yet still wished some other person here in commandinstead of Mucrob Khan, of whom I remained doubtful, and that we shouldhave no free trade from him, but in his accustomed manner, which Ibelieved to have been, of his own accord to cross us, and not as soconstrained by direction of his king; and the event turned outaccordingly, though we were wise behind the band, as will appear in thesequel. Even the name he bore ought to have opened our eyes as to hisinfluence with the Great Mogul: as _Mocrub_ signifies as much as _hisown bowels, Khan_ meaning _great lord_. Yet I was deluded to believethat his favour with the king was tottering, and that he might easily bebrought into disgrace, by complaint of any thing done contrary to thewill or humour of the king; so that we were too bold, and injured ourbusiness when we found him opposing us, as we thought unreasonably. Onenquiring into the state of our business, and the health of our factory, Mr Aldworth informed me that Paul Canning and several others had died;that Thomas Kerridge had long since been agent in his room at the courtof the Mogul, and that the factory at Surat now only contained himselfand William Bidulph. [Footnote 124: Mr Richard Stell, or Steel, had gone to Aleppo, torecover a debt from a merchant of that city, who had fled to India; and, following him through Persia, Mr Steel had arrived at Surat. On hisreport, the factors at Surat made an experiment to open a trade withPersia, which will form the subject of a future section of thischapter. --E. ] In the morning of the 17th, I called a council to advise upon the bestmanner of conducting our affairs here, and to consider who might be thebest person to send to Agraas resident. Then entering upon the sixinterrogatories, inserted in the second article of our commission, Irequired Mr Aldworth to give direct answers to every question. --1. Inwhat favour was Paul Canning with the emperor and his council, and howdid he conduct himself at court in the business entrusted to him? Heanswered, That on his first arrival at court, he was well respected bythe emperor, till the Jesuits made known that he was a merchant, and notsent immediately from our king; after which he was neglected, as hehimself complained: and, as for his carriage and behaviour there, so faras he knew, it was sufficiently good;--3. Then demanding, whether itwere needful to maintain a resident at court? Mr Aldworth answered, Thatit was certainly necessary, as the emperor required that one of ournation should reside there; and therefore, that the person ought to be aman of good respect, for preventing and counteracting any injuries thatmight be offered by the Jesuits, our determined adversaries; as he mightalso be extremely useful in promoting and directing the purchase andsale of various commodities. --6. Being questioned as to the expences ofa resident at court? he said, according to the estimate of Paul Canning, it might be about £300 per annum; but, some time afterwards, hisestimate was found to extend to five, six, and seven hundred pounds ayear. --Being afterwards questioned, Whether he thought it fit that MrEdwards should proceed to court under the designation of a merchant, according to the strict letter of the company's commission? his opinionwas, by the experience of the late Mr Canning, that such a residentwould not be at all respected by the king. In the morning of the 24th, Coge Nozan came down to the water side, andrested in my tent till I landed. I repaired to him, accompanied by allour merchants, and attended by a strong guard, armed with halberts, muskets, and pikes, having a coach to carry me from the landing place tothe tent. On alighting from my coach, Coge Nozan came immediately tomeet me. Before entering on business, he was told that a present for theNabob was to be delivered to him, which was brought in. This consistedof a case containing six knives, two pair of knives, six sword-blades, six Spanish pikes, one case of combs, one mirror, one picture of Marsand Venus, one ditto of the Judgment of Paris, two Muscovy hides, andone gilded case of bottles filled with strong rich cordials. I then madethe following present to himself: Six knives in single sheaths, foursword-blades, two pikes, one comb-case, a mirror, a picture of Moses, and a case of bottles, in consideration of the promise made by the nabobto our people, that whatever Coge Nozan agreed to, he the nabob wouldperform. I then moved for the enlargement of our privileges, and lessening of ourcustoms, especially at Baroach, and that we might have a daily bazar ormarket at the water side, where we might purchase beef for our people, according to the _firmaun_ already granted by the Mogul, and becauseother flesh did not answer for them. He answered, that the nabob wouldshew us every favour in his power, if we would assist him against thePortuguese; that the customs of Baroach were out of his power toregulate, as the king had already farmed these to another person at astipulated rent; and that we should have a regular market, but thatbullocks and cows could not be allowed, as the king had granted afirmaun to the Banians, in consideration of a very large sum of money, that these might not be slaughtered. In fine, I found he had no power togrant us any thing; yet, willing to leave me somewhat contented, heproposed that I should send some of our merchants along with him to thenabob, where our business might be farther discussed. I accordingly sent along with him, Mr Aldworth, Mr Ensworth, MrDodsworth, Mr Mitford, and some others. Two or three days afterwards, they had access to the nabob, to whom they explained our desires, asbefore expressed. He then desired to know whether we would go with ourships to fight for him against Damaun, in which case, he said, we mightcount upon his favour? To this it was answered, that we could not on anyaccount do this, as our king and the king of Spain were in peace. Hethen asked if we would remove our ships to the bar of Surat, and fightthere against the Portuguese ships, if they came to injure the subjectsof the Mogul? This likewise was represented to be contrary to the peacebetween our kings. On which he said, since we would do nothing for hisservice, he would do nothing for us. Several of the merchants of Suratendeavoured to persuade our merchants, that I ought to give way to thereasonable request of the nabob, and might still do what I thoughtproper; as, notwithstanding of our ships riding at the bar, thePortuguese frigates could go in and out on each side of me, owing totheir light draught of water. To this I answered, that the proposal wasutterly unfit for me to listen to; as whatever I promised I mustperform, though at the expence of my own life and of all under mycommand, and that I could not possibly lend myself to fight against thePortuguese on any account whatever, unless they first attacked me, as itwas absolutely contrary to my commission from my own sovereign. I added, that, if the Portuguese provoked me by any aggression, I would not bewithheld from fighting them for all the wealth of the nabob: But he madesmall account of this distinction, and, seeing that we refused to fulfilhis wishes, he opposed us in all our proceedings as far as he could, sothat we nearly lost all our former hopes of trading at this place. Inthis dilemma, I made enquiry respecting _Gengomar_ and _Castellata_, andalso of _Gogo_:[125] but could get poor encouragement to change forbetter dealing, so that we remained long perplexed how to act, andreturned to our business at the ships. [Footnote 125: Gogo is on the west shore of the gulf of Cambay. In anafter passage of this voyage, what is here called Gengomar _and_Castellata, is called Gengomar _or_ Castelletto, which may possiblyrefer to Jumbosier, on a river of the same name, about sixty miles northfrom Surat. Castelletta must have been a name imposed by thePortuguese. --E. ] The 27th, in the morning, when Nicholas Ufflet went ashore, he found allthe people belonging to Swally had gone away from the water-side in thenight, as also all those who used to stay beside the tents, inconsequence of an order from the nabob; and was farther informed thatour merchants were detained at Surat, having been stopped by force whenattempting to cross the bridge, and had even been beaten by the guardset there by the nabob. The gunner's boy and his companion, formerlysupposed to have run away, and who were in company at the time with ourmerchants, being on their return to the ships, were also well beaten, and detained with the rest. The 31st we began to take in fresh water, tobe ready for departing, as our stay here seemed so very uncertain. Thisday, Thomas Smith, the master's boy, had most of the outer part of oneof his thighs bitten off by a great fish, while swimming about the ship. The ravenous fish drew him under water, yet he came up again and swamto the ship, and got up to the bend, where he fainted. Being broughtinto the gun-room, the surgeon endeavoured to do what he could for hisrecovery; but he had lost so much blood that he never recovered out ofthe swoon, and shortly died. In the evening of the 2d November, Mr Aldworth and Mr Elkington camedown from Surat, where they left Mr Ensworth very sick. They reported tome their proceedings with the nabob, as formerly stated; but said theywere now reconciled, and that he had made fair promises of futurerespect, with a free trade through all the country under his government. I do not attribute his severe proceedings hitherto to any hatred orill-will to our nation, but to his fears lest we might unite with thePortuguese against him, owing to my refusing to assist him againstDamaun. These his doubts and fears were increased by a knavish device ofthe subtle and lying Jesuits; who, taking advantage of my refusal tofight against the Portuguese without cause, at Damaun or elsewhere, pretended with the nabob that they had a letter from the viceroy, saying, That he and his friends the English meant to join their forcesand come against Surat. This devilish device gave much hindrance to ourbusiness, by occasioning continual doubt in the nabob's mind of ourfriendly intentions; and unfortunately likewise, Mr Aldworth hadstrengthened these doubts and fears, though ignorant of the lyinginventions of the jesuits; for, thinking to mollify their rigour, herashly advised them to beware, lest their ill usage might force us tojoin with the Portuguese against them. We likewise believed that theorder of the nabob, forbidding the people to trade with us on board, proceeded entirely from his desire to thwart us: But we afterwardslearnt, by letter from Thomas Kerridge, that Mucrob Khan, and all othergovernors of sea-ports, had express orders from the Mogul, not to allowany trade with us till they had first chosen and purchased, for theking's use, all kinds of strange and unusual things we might have todispose of. On the 3d I called a council to deliberate concerning our business, andespecially how far we might proceed in aid of the natives against thePortuguese, for which purpose we carefully examined our commission andinstructions. We also arranged the appointments of the merchants fortheir several places of employment, both such as were to remain in thefactory at Surat, and those who were to proceed on the voyage. This daylikewise, sixty bales of indigo, and eleven packs of cotton-yarn, cameaboard from Surat, being goods that belonged to the _twelfth_ voyage. It was my desire to have been ashore among our merchants, that I mightassist in arranging our business at Surat; and this the rather becauseof the turbulent, head-strong, and haughty spirit of----, [126] who wasever striving to sway every thing his own way, thwarting others whoaimed at the common good, and whose better discretion led them to morehumility. But such was the uncertain state of our business, partly owingto the nabob and his people, and partly to the Portuguese, who I heardwere arming against us; and besides, because I understood that the nabobproposed to demand restitution for the goods taken by Sir HenryMiddleton in the Red Sea, at under rates, as they say, though I knowthey had goods for goods even to the value of a halfpenny. On all theseaccounts, therefore, I thought it best to keep nearest my principalcharge, referring all things on shore to the merchants of my council, inmost of whom I had great confidence. [Footnote 126: This name is left blank in the Pilgrims, probably becausePurchas, a contemporary, did not wish to give offence. --E. ] The 22d November, I finished my letters for Persia; being one for thecompany, to be forwarded over land, one for Sir Robert Shirley, and oneof instructions for Richard Steel. The 23d, _Lacandus_, the Banian, camedown to us, with news of discontent and hard speeches that had passedbetween the nabob and our merchants, but who were now again reconciled. This was occasioned by Mr Edwards refusing to let him see the presents, which he was at last obliged to consent to. All these merchants wrote meat this time separately, that the viceroy was certainly arming againstus. At this time Mr Ensworth and Timothy Wood died within an hour ofeach other. John Orwicke, Robert Young, and Esay But, were nowdispatched to provide such cloths and cotton-yarns as we had formerlyagreed on. The 25th Mr Edwards wrote me of the coming of three greatmen, bringing seven firmauns from the Great Mogul; in whose presence thenabob bestowed upon him 850 _mahmudies_, ten fine _basties_, thirty_top-seels_, and thirty _allizaes_; at the same time he gave ten_top-seels_ to Mr Elkington and Mr Dodsworth, a cloak to Mr Aldworth andanother to Mr Elkington, Mr Dodsworth having had one before. He likewisepromised free trade to all places under his command, and abundantrefreshments for our people in the ships. The 27th, John Crowther came from Surat, to inform me he had beenappointed by the chief merchants at Surat to accompany Mr Steel intoPersia, and had therefore come to take leave of me, and to fetch awayhis things from the ship. This day also Mr Edwards wrote to me, byEdmund Espinol, to send him fifty elephants teeth, indifferently chosenas to size, as a banian merchant was in treaty for them all, if theycould agree on terms. The 6th December, the nabob seemed ashamed that hehad not shewn me the smallest respect since my arrival, and, beingdesirous to excuse himself, he this day entreated Mr Edwards to go onboard along with the great banian who had bought our ivory, andLacandas, the banian merchant of the junk belonging to the king of_Cushan_. [127] He chose this last, on account of his former familiaritywith our people, and commissioned him to buy sword-blades, knives, andmirrors. By them he sent me a present, consisting of two _corge_ ofcoarse _bastas_, ten fine _bastas_, ten _top-seels_, ten _cuttonies_, and three quilts, together with a message, certifying that the nabobproposed to come down to visit me in a day or two at the most. At theirgoing ashore, I gave them a salute of five guns. [Footnote 127: Kessem, on the coast of Arabia Felix, is probably heremeant. --E. ] They told me, that the nabob had certain intelligence from Goa, that theviceroy was fitting out all the force he could muster to come againstus; and expressed a wish, on the part of the nabob, that I would convoyone or two of his ships for two or three days sail from the coast, whichwere bound for the Red Sea. To this I answered, that I could not dothis; as, if once off the coast, the wind was entirely adverse for ourreturn: But, if he would further our dispatch, so that we might be readyin any convenient time, I would do any thing reasonable that he coulddesire. The 9th, the nabob's son came to the shore, but would notventure on board, wherefore I went ashore to him. He had a horse readyfor me on landing to fetch me, and desired me to sit down beside him, which I did. He then commanded some horsemen, who accompanied him, toamuse me, by shewing their warlike evolutions on the sands, chasing eachother after the fashion of the Deccan, whence they were; and at hisdesire I caused eleven guns to be fired, to do him honour. Though herefused to drink any wine at this interview, he sent for it after hisdeparture, as also for a fowling-piece he had seen in the hands of oneof our people, both which I sent him, together with a bowl from which todrink the wine. §2. _Account of the Forces of the Portuguese, their hostile Attempts, and Fight with the English, in which they are disgracefully repulsed_. On the 16th of December, 1613, Mr Elkington wrote me, That the nabob hadtold him the Portuguese frigates had burnt Gogo, with many _gouges_ orvillages in its vicinity, together with ten large ships, of which the_Rehemee_ was one, and an hundred and twenty small vessels. He saidlikewise, that the nabob was much displeased with me for not havingfired upon the Portuguese vessels, as they passed our anchorage, whichcircumstance had renewed his suspicions of our friendly intelligencewith the Portuguese; and, although Mr Elkington had said every thing hecould to explain the reason of our conduct, as stated formerly, he couldnot satisfy the nabob of its propriety. The 23d two boats came off to usfor lead; and on the same day we saw twenty-two Portuguese frigates, which came to anchor in the night between, us and the mouth of theriver, where they continued most part of next day. The 24th, in the morning, we saw four boats coming down the rivertowards us; but, on seeing the Portuguese frigates, they immediatelyturned back, and were chased up the river by two of the frigates. Finding they could not get up with the boats, the Portuguese landed andset fire to two or three poor cottages, and carried off two or threecattle, and then returned to their squadron at the mouth of the river. In the afternoon, they all went up the river in company. In the morningearly of the 25th, we saw five or six frigates under sail. An hour ortwo after, we saw a boat standing towards us, which was presently chasedby two frigates, on which the men in the small boat ran her a-ground andforsook her; but as the frigates could not float near where the boatwas, and the tide was ebbing fast, they departed without farther harm. The 26th in the morning, I sent the Hope a good way to the northwardfrom the rest of our fleet, to see whether the Portuguese would assailher. Early in the morning of the 27th, the Portuguese frigates came and madea bravado before our ship, and then before the Salomon, which was nextus; and from thence went directly against the Hope, which rode a greatway from us, in which manoeuvre they had all their men close stowedbelow, and not one to be seen. The master of the Hope hailed them twice, but they would give no answer; on which they let fly at them from thebow-chases of the Hope, which only could be brought to bear, and bywhich they were forced with some loss to stand away. The master of theHope was satisfied, if he had not shot at them, that they would haveattempted to board, or to have set his ship on fire, as they had theadvantage of both wind and tide, and were so directly a-head of his shipthat he could hardly get any of his guns to bear upon them, while therest of our ships could not have come up to his rescue. In theafternoon, I sent the Salomon to keep company with the Hope; and, goingto the northwards of her, she made several shots at the frigates, but wedid not perceive that any harm was done. I therefore ordered a gun to befired, as a warning to desist, on which the Salomon stood in again andcame to anchor. In the morning of the 28th, I went in the pinnace aboard the Hope andSalomon, to enquire the reason of their firing. And the Portuguese, seeing our boats pass to and fro, removed in the afternoon, and anchoreda little way without us, obviously for the purpose of cutting off ourintercourse. In the meantime, the boat which had been chased ashore onthe 25th, came aboard the Gift, bringing some letters from Mr Elkington, which our master sent to me, as I was then in the Hope. Having answeredMr Elkington's letter, I sent back the _gelliwat_ to the Gift, withdirections to go thence to Surat in the night. But, as the _gelliwat_[galivat] returned, she was chased by the frigates; which perceiving, Iwaved her to return, but she held on her way, not observing my signal. The frigates held her so close in chase, that they got within shot ofher, and even fired one gun; and had not the Gift slipped one cable andveered another, and plied her ordnance at the Portuguese, they hadsurely taken or sunk the _gelliwat_. This forced the Portuguese to giveover the chase, not without damage. Late at night, on the tide of ebb, Imade the Hope and Salomon set sail and come near the other two ships, and then returned on board the Gift. Perceiving on the 29th, that my continuing off the bar of Surat wasquite unavailing, as the Portuguese frigates could pass and repass toand from the river, by going across the sands, where there was notwater to float my ships; and that no boats could come to us to fetchaway our goods, for fear of the frigates, neither could we have anyintercourse with our friends ashore, to know what passed; I thereforeset sail for Swally roads, where I arrived next day, having very littlewind. On the 14th January, 1614, we heard of many frigates being arrived, which rode at the bar of Surat all next day till night; and, leavingthat place after dark, they came and rode within shot of us till nextmorning, when they weighed and stood back to the southwards. While theyremained at anchor, supposing they might be the Mallabars, which thenabob had formerly promised to send me, I put forth a flag of truce, andsent Mr Spooner, one of our master's mates, towards them, directing himto keep a watchful eye to our signals, which we should make if we sawany reason of suspicion. Seeing our gallivat draw near, and no sign offriendship in answer to ours, I hoisted my flag and fired a shot torecall our boat, which immediately came back. At this time, our sentinelat the mast-head descried another fleet of frigates, which afterwardsassembled at the bar of Surat, and went all into the river. By this Iwas satisfied they were all Portuguese, and was glad our men and boathad escaped their hands. Thinking these frigates were forerunners of agreater force, I ordered the decks to be cleared, all our guns thrownloose, and every thing to be in readiness for action, both for the greatguns and small arms, and to fit up barricades for close quarters. In thenight of the 17th, all the frigates came out of the river, and in themorning were all at the point of the bar. The 18th, Maugie, the banian captain formerly mentioned, accompanied byanother great man, who was son to _Clych Khan_, came to the water sideto speak with me, to whom I went ashore. Not long after, word wasbrought from on board, that they had descried a fleet of ships far off, which looked very big, but which we could not see from the shore, owingto its being very low. Taking leave of my visitors, I returned aboard, and made every thing be put in readiness, which was done immediately. Towards night, we made them out to be six galleons, with three smallerships, besides the sixty frigates which were here before. Two galliesbelonging to this armament were not yet come up. The tide being spent, they came to anchor till next day. The 19th, they plied up to theentrance of our new channel, where they came to anchor, and where theywere joined by the two gallies. One of their great ships, being tooforward, came too near the sands and grounded, but was soon got offagain. On this occasion, Mucrob Khan, the nabob of Surat, sent the sabandar andseveral others of the principal men of Surat, with a great present ofprovisions to the Portuguese, and to endeavour to enter into terms ofpeace; but though great policy was used on both sides, they broke offwithout coming to any terms. This was done by the nabob to my greatmortification, for he and all the country despaired of my being able toresist such disproportionate force, and he was therefore willing beforehand to conciliate the viceroy by presents; considering, if I were onceoverthrown, his own turn would come next, either to endure a severeassault, or to make such a peace as the enemy chose to dictate. Peacewas certainly most desirable for the viceroy, that he might restoretrade with the Moguls. Yet, seeing the tractableness of the nabob, andhis apparent earnestness for peace, the viceroy made light of it for thepresent, expecting to bring it to bear with great advantage after he hadoverthrown us, which he made no doubt easily to accomplish. When thiswas performed, he expected to receive great presents, and greatsubmission from the Moguls to the dictates of the conqueror. But itpleased God, who beheld the injustice of his attempt, to turn the eventcontrary to the expectations both of the viceroy and the nabob. Afterfailing in all his attempts against me, and finding he could not evengain a _boats thole_ from me in all the time he spent here, with lossand disgrace, the viceroy was fain to revive the former despised profferof peace with the nabob: While the nabob on the other hand, confirmed bythe experience of a month, and seeing that the viceroy, after all hisboastful threatenings, and with so vast an armament, was unable toprevail against our four merchant ships, or even to remove our smallforce one foot from their place, gave for answer, that he would not makepeace with the viceroy. Thus was the viceroy frustrated in both hishopes, of an easy victory over us, and an advantageous peace with theMoguls. After this digression, I now return to our proceedings. When we formerly heard of the force which the viceroy was fitting outagainst us; we had no conception it would be so formidable as it nowappeared, and therefore deemed it expedient to consult how, by God'shelp, we might best resist. The odds and advantages on their side, mademe calculate every thing that made against me. Being far out-numberedby his forces, which I esteemed the principal ships and means belongingto the Portuguese in India, and having all the people of greatest rankand valour, I considered it might be too hazardous for us to put outinto deep water, as by their numbers they would be able to intercept andovercharge me, and to force me irrecoverably aground, on one side orother. Such were my apparent disadvantages in going out to sea; while Iknew, on the other hand, that their numerous smaller vessels might muchannoy us with fire-works, or put us otherwise into great hazard, in theplace where we now rode at anchor, where I was hopeful their great shipscould not or durst not come, owing to the shoal water. Though my numberswere considerably lessened by sickness and deaths, all my people, fromthe highest to the lowest, seemed quite courageous, yet ignorant both ofour danger and how it was to be prevented; but their brave spirit gaveme great hope. Yet my anxiety was not small, how I might best act inmaintaining the honour of my country, and not neglect the valuableproperty entrusted to my care by my friends and employers; as not onlywas the present charge to be put in hazard, but all hopes also of futurebenefits, if I were now overthrown; as the enemy, if he now got themastery, would be able to make peace with the Moguls on his own terms, to the expulsion of our nation for ever. Besides these considerations, I leave to such parents as are tender forthe safety of their dutiful and obedient children, to imagine how greatwas my anxiety for the safety of the people under my command. So greatwas my cares all this time, that I had little time for conversation, oreven almost to shew myself sensible of the approaching dangers. WheneverI could get free from others, I very earnestly craved the aid anddirection of the almighty and ever merciful God, who had often deliveredme before from manifold dangers, praying that he would so direct me thatI might omit nothing having a tendency to the safety of my charge, andour defence against the enemy. I had strong confidence that the Almightywould grant my request, and yet was often led to doubt, through mymanifold and grievous offences. I resolved at length what to do, byGod's assistance, providing the masters of the ships would agree tosecond me. Being satisfied, if we should-receive a defeat while atanchor, our disgrace would be great, and our enemies could in that casebe little injured by us; while by setting sail, the viceroy, in hisgreediness and pride, might do himself some wrong upon the sands, bywhich he might cripple his own force, and thereby open a way for ourgetting out through the rest. Yet this plan seemed only fit for ultimatenecessity, considering that much of our goods were now on their way, andothers were expected from day to day; and, if once out, unless itpleased God to make us the conquerors, so as to drive the viceroy cleanaway, I should on no account be able to return to my anchorage, whereonly I could get in my lading. Considering also that the viceroy wouldhold his honour in such high estimation, that he would rather die thangive way; and besides, that my people would be tired and half spent withlabour, before going to fight, by heaving at the capstan to get up ouranchors, setting the sails, and so forth, which in this hot countrymakes them both weary and faint, to the great diminution of theircourage; while the viceroy and his soldiers being troubled with nolabour, which among them is done by slaves and inferior mariners, wouldcome fresh into the battle. Likewise, even supposing the viceroy to losemany men in the fight, he could be again supplied from the nearest townsbelonging to the Portuguese, by means of his frigates; whereas we couldnot have a single man replaced, whatever number we might have slain ordisabled. Having none of our merchants aboard, as they were all employed in thecountry, or with Mr Elkington in our factory at Surat, I sent for allthe masters, on the night of this Thursday the 19th January, desiringthem and some of the mates to come to supper with me on board the Gift. I then made them a speech on our present situation, desiring every oneto give his opinion freely, how we might best proceed in our presentstraits. I declared to them my confidence in God, notwithstanding allthe force of these bragging Portuguese, that their injurious attemptswould not prevail against us, who had been careful not to wrong them inthe Indies. I represented also to them, the jealousy entertained of usby the nabob and other chief men of the country, because we hadrefrained from firing at the saucy bragging frigates. I found all the masters willing and tractable to my heart's desire. Wehad some few discourses about our provident mooring, as also aboutremoving a little lower down. I then proposed my plan to them, desiringto have their free opinion. I represented that our ships were now in asgood condition for battle as we could make them, yet our danger bynight, if we continued where we were, was not small, however providentwe might be. Wherefore, I thought it fit in the morning at low water, tosend one ship to ride as far down as we could have water for all ourships at the lowest ebb, at which time none of the enemies ships couldcome to annoy her. This, as I thought, might induce the viceroy to makesome attempt at high water, when our other three ships might bear downagainst the stream, the springs being now at the highest, when we shouldsee what efforts the viceroy might make, and might attend to the sameand act accordingly, in the hope that the viceroy might commit someerror to the weakening of his own force and our advantage. And if suchshould happen, it would then be proper for us to put out to sea, in thedarkness of the following night, when the viceroy would not be incondition to make sail to hinder us. Or, if we saw reason, we might makesail daily on the flood, working to and again, which would somewhatdismay the Portuguese, and encourage our own men. My proposal wasunanimously agreed to, as the best way of proceeding; and finding MrMolineux quite willing to fall down with the Hope at low water nextmorning, this was directed accordingly. In the morning of the 20th, at low water, the Hope went down to inducethe enemy to make some attempt against her when the tide rose, and thenwe in the other ships stood after her. The viceroy, and all the worthyknights about him, thinking I was about to flee, hastened as soon as theflood would permit to stop the passage, and prevent our getting out. Weall came to anchor short of the Hope, yet not so as to leave herdestitute of our help, but rather doubting of sufficient depth for ourships at low water so far down. On coming to anchor, I went down into mycabin, meaning to have given our friends ashore notice of my purposes, that they might know it proceeded from no rashness, but in gooddiscretion to wait upon advantages to the prejudice of our enemies. Butpresently I had notice, that three of the Portuguese ships and most oftheir frigates were coming stem on before the wind upon the Hope, followed by all the galleons. We endeavoured to weigh our anchor, but having no time for that, we cutour cables, and made sail for the rescue of the Hope. Before we couldget sufficiently near, the enemies ships were close aboard of her, andhad entered their men, boarding her with great appearance of resolution. But they had no quiet abode there, nor could they rest in their ownships, neither could they cast them loose from the Hope, so greatly werethey annoyed by our great guns and small arms. At length, theirprincipal officers being slain, the rest in great numbers leapt into thesea, whence many of them were taken up by their frigates. But, beforequitting their ships, they set them on fire, thinking to have burnt theHope along with them. But, praised be the Lord of Hosts, they were burntwithout harm to the Hope; for, so soon as the fire had well kindled, theflaming ships were cast loose and drifted on the sands, where theycontinued burning till quenched by the flowing tide. So long asday-light lasted, we continued exchanging shots from all our ships withthe galleons, they being on the outside of a spit of sand, and we on theinside. They did us little injury in our hulls, but much to our ropesand sails overhead. In this conflict, besides those who were wounded, wehad five men slain. By a great mischance, the main-top-sail, top-mast, and shrouds got afire, communicated from the main-top, in consequence ofthe fire-works lodged there taking fire, the man being slain who had thecharge there. All these were burnt quite away, together with a greatpart of the main-mast; and this misfortune prevented us from going outinto deep water to try our fortune with the viceroy in close fight. Wewere likewise put to our shifts, not knowing by what means we might getthe mast replaced. The 21st I got the anchor weighed, which we had been obliged to cut fromthe day before. On the 22d, I was informed that many great men, accompanied by a Portuguese friar, and escorted by five or six hundredhorse, had come down to Swally, meaning to send the friar next day, withthree or four principal Moors, to negociate a peace with the viceroy. But the nabob sent me word, that he sought for no such thing, and wasresolved to conclude no peace, unless we were included. He also grantedme what timber we might need, of which we availed ourselves, andpromised to supply us with provisions. The Portuguese remaining quiet onthe 25th, the _muccadam_ of Swally came to me, saying that thebefore-mentioned friar had sent to entice him to poison the well whencewe had our water, which he would not consent to, and had therefore putsome live tortoises into it, that these might shew by their deaths, ifpoison should be put therein by the Portuguese. At night, part of the120 bales of indigo we had purchased came to the water side, and waspresently got aboard. This day _Isaac Beg_ sent me a present of fruitfrom his own garden; and this day likewise the rest of the timber forrepairing the Hope's mast was brought down to us. The 27th, I sent all our boats to sound the _Swash_ at low water, beingchiefly on purpose to keep the Portuguese in ignorance of my realintentions. They sent one galley and five frigates, thinking to have cutoff our boats; but in this they failed, as in every thing else theyattempted against us. The 28th, the nabob sent great store of provisionsto the viceroy, as goats, bread, plantains, and the like, together witha banquet of sweetmeats. Coge Nozan sent me a present of five bullocks. Several of our men died about this time of fluxes and other diseases. The 31st, we received aboard from Cambay, fifty bales of indigo. In theafternoon, one _Coge Arson Ali_ came aboard, and presented me withseveral goats, a large supply of bread, roast-meat, plantains, sugar, and other such things. Along with him came an old acquaintance of mine, a Persian, who said there were news from Damaun, that the Portuguese hadsent there 350 men to be buried; and we computed, that there could notbe less than 100 more, killed and burnt in their ships, besides thosewho were drowned. They also told me, that not only were the Portugueseopposed here in India, but also by the Persians at Ormus, and that theMalays were in arms against them at Malacca. They likewise assured me, that the negociations between Mucrob Khan and the viceroy were entirelyat an end, and that no peace would take place between them. I had long wished to see this man, who, till now, could never get leaveof the nabob, without which no one dared use that freedom. This jealousyof the nabob proceeded, as he said, from a great charge enjoined by theking to procure for his use all curious things of value, and he isfearful lest any of these should pass through other hands, to hisdisgrace, which forces him to employ strange and severe means to preventthis happening. Day being nearly spent, I sent them ashore, making thema present, and giving money to all their people, having first shewn themhow far some of our great guns could throw a ball. They then took theirleave and departed. §3_Supplies received by the Portuguese, who vainly endeavour to useFire-boats. They seek Peace, which is refused, and depart. Interviewbetween the Nabob and Captain Downton, and Departure of the English_. On the 3d February, 1615, there arrived at the waterside twenty-fourbales of indigo, seven packs of white, seven of black, and four of blue_bastas, _ six packs of cotton yarn, three of _candikens, _ and one packof _crecany, _ all of which were brought immediately on board. This dayalso the supplies for the viceroy came in sight, being two ships ofburden, two junks, and eight or ten of the country boats. The nabob sentme a message by _Lacandas, _ that these were not for the purpose offighting, but were full of combustibles, meant to be set on fire, andallowed to drift with the tide upon our ships in the night. I was gladof this information, and took immediate measures to prevent theconsequences of such an attempt, as well as to defend ourselves from thesmaller vessels. The spring-tides were now near the highest, and wereconsequently fittest for their attacks, so that I expected them everytide; and to let them see I was ready for their reception, and howlittle I cared for them, I directed the setting and clearing our watch, mornings and evenings, to be announced by a volley of shot from everyship, pointing the best piece in my ship at the prow of the viceroy'sship, to try his temper, and to daunt the courage of his people. Itpleased God this morning, when I had least leisure for mourning, to callmy only son, George Downton, to his mercy, who was buried next morningashore, and the volleys intended to insult the viceroy, served also tohonour his obsequies. This morning also, while expecting an assault from the Portuguese, I wasvisited by one _Mousa Attale, _ a Malabar captain, together with histroop, from whom I got a description of the principal ports and harboursof his country, expressing my anxious desire to become acquainted withthem, and to have league and intercourse between them and the English, with mutual trade and friendship. He seemed willing to encourage thisproposal, and requested letters to that effect from me, which theirships might shew to my countrymen when they happened to meet, which Igave him, as also a letter for his king, requesting kind usage for mycountrymen if any of their ships should come into his harbours. Aftersome conference, he departed, and I presented him with a sword-blade, and three or four knives. [128] This day the master of the Hoperepresented that he had several men killed in the former engagement, andmany hurt, bruised, and disabled from service, on which I sent him threemen from my ship, four from the Hector, and four from the Salomon. [Footnote 128: These knives, so often mentioned as presents in India, were probably daggers. --E. ] The 5th I had letters from Mr Aldworth, informing of his arrival atBaroach with his companions, and saying that he had been set upon by 200Rajput thieves, nine _coss_ from Baroach, the day before, the thievesbeing armed with pikes, matchlocks, and bows and arrows; but, after someskirmishing, they fled, three of them being slain, and more wounded. Inthis affair Humphrey Elkington was shot through the thigh with an arrow, one of the horsemen sent by Surder Khan to guard our people was killed, and Mr Aldworth's horse sore wounded. The nabob sent me word that theviceroy proposed to assault me this day, and therefore sent Coge Nozanto guard the land. Nozan came accordingly to the water side, and senthis son, _Mamud Iehad, _ to visit me on board, accompanied by a chiefnamed _Kemagee, _ the son of _Leckdarsee, rajput_ chieftain of _Guigamar_or _Castelletto, _[129] who had for a long time maintained war with theMoguls and Portuguese. These chiefs entreated permission to see andpartake in the fight, and as no assault was made that day, they remainedall night on board. The _rajput_ chief went ashore next morning, but theother remained on board two or three days, and seeing the enemy would donothing, he went likewise ashore. [Footnote 129: On a former occasion supposed to have beenJumbosier. --E. ] On the forenoon of the 8th, we received more indigo aboard, and in theafternoon all the Portuguese frigates, with the two junks, and twogallies, came driving up with the flood, as if for some attempt againstus, either by fire, which I most doubted, or otherwise. We therefore gotunder weigh and advanced to meet them, upon which they all made off asfast as they could, and we came again to anchor. This was merely adevice, to make us believe their fire-boats were to come against usfrom the south, and that we might have no suspicion of their coming fromthe northwards; wherefore they again assembled all their junks, frigates, and galleys next night, a little without the sands, to callour attention from the northern quarter. But I was aware of that beingthe place of greatest danger; and though I commanded a careful outlookto be kept both ways, I especially enjoined to be watchful in the northquarter, as it fell out accordingly. A little within the night, betweenus and a great light to the westwards, upon the island of Gogo, we coulddiscern them creeping up to the north upon the flood; and then, aboutten o'clock at night, when very dark, and before the moon rose, upon thelast quarter of the ebb tide, there came down towards us two fire-boats, towed by two frigates, which we happily descried before they came nigh, and plied them heartily both with great guns and small arms. By this wesoon beat off the frigates, which set the fire-boats adrift, and madesail from us. One of the fire-boats drifted clear of the Gift, Hector, and Salomon, but got athwart the cable of the Hope, and presently blew up; but, blessed be God, the Hope received no harm, having cut her cable and gotclear. The other fire-boat came up likewise on the quarter of the Hope, all in flames, but did no harm, as she drifted past with the ebb. Shecame up again with the tide of flood, and was like to have got foul ofus; but our boats towed her ashore continually burning. The former onefloated likewise back with the flood, but sank near us in the morning. This day I had a letter from Thomas Kerridge, specifying that NicholasWhittington had gone distracted, and expressing some doubts of RichardSteel. The 10th, at night, about the same time as before, two other fire-boatscame against us, towed by four or five frigates, bearing directly on theHector. Immediately on perceiving them, the Gift and Hector let drive atthem with great guns and small arms, so that the frigates threw themadrift, firing them sooner than they otherwise would. The burning boatsfloated toward the Hector, but having a stiff breeze, drifted past toleewards. Within half an hour after, we perceived many boats driftingtowards the Hector, against which we again let drive, forcing thefrigates to abandon them in such a hurry that they only set two of themon fire, there being four of them chained together. Fortunately we hada stiff gale, and by edging up to windward, they all floated clear toleeward. While passing, our gunner made a shot at one of the boats thatwas unfired, which struck her and set her on fire. The vehemence of theflames reached the fourth boat, and set her likewise on fire; so theyall drifted ashore in flames, hard by our landing-place. My pinnace tookthree of the actors in a small canoe, in which they thought to haveescaped. Two of these men were brought aboard my ship, the third beingleft in the Hector. Besides these, our _gelliwat_ picked up another, which she brought with her. Thus did God disappoint all the maliciouspractices of our enemy. Seeing himself foiled in all his injurious attempts, the viceroy setsail on the 11th, and fell down to the bar of Surat, where he anchored. Being suspicious that he meant to attempt taking Surat, I resolved, inthat case, to have gone with my ships to set upon his fleet, which musthave constrained him to desist from his enterprise against Surat, as Iwas desirous to assist in defending a place where we had so great astock, and so many of our merchants. But the viceroy durst not trust meso far as to unman his ships, lest I should come against him. In thenight he sent all his frigates into the river, and sent some person topropose peace, but received a flat denial. The 12th, the nabob sent_Lacandas_ to inform me that five or six frigates had gone to thenorthwards, having four or five fire-boats, which they meant to letdrive upon us in the night, and therefore wished me to keep a goodlook-out. I acknowledged his kindness, and was glad of his care, thoughneeding no such admonition, as I was equally suspicious of theirpractices when out of sight as when they rode near us. The nabob hadthis intelligence from the Jesuits, with whom he kept on fair terms, forhis better security, if he should have been put to the worst. As thefrigates, or other vessels in the offing, could not well discern theplace where our ships rode during the darkness of the night, by reasonof the shadow of the shore, they had lights made for them ashore forguiding them where to find us during their hellish incendiary plans. Having observed this light, night after night, always in the same place, and seeing it as before on the night of the 13th, I sent William Gurdinashore with twenty men, armed with muskets and pikes, directing them toendeavour to surround this fire-blazer, supposing him to be some traitorinhabiting the neighbourhood. But, on coming near, the fire waspresently put out, and was again seen at another place, quite contraryto the direction of their pursuit; and so going up and down for a longtime, they gave it over, esteeming it some delusion of the devil. Thisnight the viceroy set sail from the bar of Surat, leaving about twentyof his frigates in the river to keep in check the Malabar frigates whichwere there for the defence of the town. The 14th, the nabob sent a great man, who, in token of friendship, wascalled his brother, to visit me. This person gave as his opinion thatthe viceroy was gone with all his fleet to Goa, leaving some frigates tokeep possession of the river, and others to return to Diu and Ormus. Butmy own opinion is, that the viceroy has only gone somewhere to refreshhis people, and to reinforce his ships, against our putting to sea, whenno sands will be in the way of his greatest ships coming against me. Healso told me that the king had sent down forces for the purpose ofconquering Damaun and all the sea coast. He said likewise, that theywere more willing to give entertainment and trade to our nation than thePortuguese, which I thought very reasonable, as the Portuguese hadalways been injurious, and had done many vile things against them. Yet, unless we continue able to resist the Portuguese, they will soon unsaythat speech for their own ease. When he had viewed our ship, with ourordnance and defensive preparations, we sent him and his train on shorein oar boats, in all courtesy. We now set seriously to work in clearing and loading the Hope forEngland, having hitherto taken in our goods confusedly and by hastysnatches, some into one ship, and some into others, not deeming itproper to hazard all in one bottom while exposed to so much danger fromthe Portuguese. I had resolved to send home the Hope, not that Iesteemed her burden the fittest for the goods we had provided, butbecause of the many impediments and disabilities of that ship, as dailycomplained of by the master and carpenter; in particular, that herstern-post within the rudder was unsheathed, a strange and dangerousneglect and unaccountable oversight, on which account it was fitting sheshould soonest return; besides, we were in danger of losing ourquicksilver which was in her, and lay on her keel and bilges. The 18th, the nabob sent to me Cage Arson Ali, the sabandar, and othermerchants of Surat, requesting me to remain for fifteen days, which Iwould in no sort consent to. They then importuned me to stop for tendays, which likewise I refused, shewing them how prejudicial so longdelay might be to my voyage. The cause of their request was, lest theviceroy might come with all his forces against Surat after my departure. Seeing them discontented at my denial, and loth to give displeasure tothe nabob, which might be prejudicial to our affairs afterwards, andconsidering that it would require six days of the ten before we couldget the Hope ready, I at last consented to their request, to their greatsatisfaction. At night on the 22d I had a letter from Surat, informingme that the nabob meant to visit me next day, and accordingly twoelephants and six camels came down in the morning of the 23d, bringinghis tents and other matters for his reception. The 24th, Mr Aldworthcame down with the rest of the merchants to finish all business with meprevious to our departure. In the morning of the 25th, the nabob came down with a great train, withsix other elephants, and was two hours at the water side before I knewof his arrival. When told, I was sorry for the neglect, and sent MrAldworth, Mr Elkington, and Mr Dodsworth ashore to compliment him, andto keep him in discourse till I could go on shore, which I did soonafter. I proposed to have gone to him as a son to his father, in mydoublet and hose, without arms or any great train, according to custom, to shew the trust and confidence I reposed in him; but my friendspersuaded me to the contrary, insisting that I should go well appointed, and attended by a sufficient guard, to which I consented, though Iafterwards repented that I had not followed my own way. I wentaccordingly ashore with about 140 men, part pikes, and part firelocks, who gave me a volley of small arms as I entered the nabob's tent. Thenabob received me with much kindness, seeming much pleased at my comingashore to him. We sat for some time under a very fair tent, open on allsides, and surrounded by many people, both his attendants and mine. At length he brought me into a more private room, near adjoining, havingonly along with him Ali Khan, a great Persian captain, with Henie theBanian as his interpreter; while I was accompanied by Messrs. Aldworth, Elkington, and Dodsworth. We there conferred about the state of hiscountry, and about our affairs. At last I invited him to go on board toview our ship, to which he readily consented. He then presented me withhis own sword, with many complimentary speeches, saying it was thecustom of his country to honour with arms such captains as had deservedwell. This sword, as he said, was made in his own house, the hilt beingof massy gold. In return, I presented to him my own arms, being swordand dagger, together with my girdle and hangers, by me much esteemed, and making a much finer shew than his, though of less value. We cameforth together from the private tent, and I walked down to the shore towait for his coming, whither he sent me a present of ten _cuttonee_quilts and twenty _topseels_. Soon after the nabob came to the shore, and we took boat together, goingon board my ship. Having shewn our ordnance, and the manner of pointingthe guns, and explained all our other preparations for defence, Ipresented him with a very handsome gilt cup and cover, some fair knives, a rundlet of Muscadine wine, and some other toys. Desiring to see someof our ordnance shot off, and how far they could carry their balls onthe water, I caused three guns to be fired. He would then have takenleave, but I accompanied him ashore, and ordered him to be saluted athis departure with eleven guns. When we parted at the water side, thenabob gave me four baskets of grapes. He likewise gave among the gunnersand trumpeters 200 mahmoodies, and 500 among the ship's company, together with 100 _books_ of white _bastas_, worth two mahmoodies each. Thus, after some compliments, we took leave of each other and parted. While rowing up along shore for my better getting on board, as the tideran very swiftly, _Lacandas_ came running towards the boat, bearing amessage from the nabob to ask if he should erect a tomb over the graveof my son. I returned my hearty thanks for the kind offer, desiringLacandas to say that I had already begun to do so. The nabob then wentaway to Surat, and not long after his tent was taken down and went afterhim, with all the rest of his carriages. The 26th, the nabob's son and son-in-law, a very ingenious young man, came to visit me, upon whom I bestowed some knives and other things, such as I had left, which could not be much, as I had every now and thensome great man or other to visit me, to all of whom I had to givesomething. The 27th, the three sons of Ali Khan came to visit me, theeldest of whom, named Guger Khan, presented me with two antilopes, amale and a female, of which I was very glad, having endeavoured beforeineffectually to send some home to Sir Thomas Smith. After viewing allour ship, with our ordnance and warlike preparations for defence, I gavehim four Spanish pikes, and some other things of my own, and saluted himwith eleven guns at his departure. In the afternoon of the 3d March, upon the tide of ebb, and having alight gale from the north, sufficient to give steerage-way to our ships, we hastened to get up our anchors, meaning to set sail in theprosecution of our voyage, though our friends, the Malabars, who haddesired to go with us, made no attempt to come out. At this time we sawanother fleet of Portuguese frigates standing in from the westwards, andbeing willing to do my best to hinder them from going into the river ofSurat, were it only to shew our good-will to the country people, we shotat the nearest of them, though without hope of doing them any hurt, asthere was room for them to pass on either side of us, beyond reach ofour shot. I was willing also to shew our friends on land, as also tothose who I made no doubt would go down the coast to give notice to thegalleons of our coming, that we shot at their frigates going into Surat, that they might also expect that we cared little for their greaterstrength. In our passage this night we had various flaws of inconstant winds, which obliged us to come to anchor for some time. As the wind becameafterwards steady, though faint, we again made sail, continuing ourcourse S. By E. Along shore. At day-light nest morning we began todescry, between us and the shore, the Portuguese galleons and twogallies; all of which made sail on perceiving us, following with a lightbreeze, while we stood somewhat out of our course with all our sails, partly to gain time to prepare ourselves perfectly for battle, andpartly to give rest to my people, who had taken much fatigue the nightbefore, as also to draw the enemy farther from the coast, and fromhaving the convenience of fresh supplies. Ere long, the tide of floodobliged us to anchor, not having sufficient wind to stem the current. The enemy, resting his hopes on the wind, kept longer under sail, to hisgreat disadvantage. But as I did not consider this at the time as anerror in them, I was is great doubt lest they might intend going againstSurat with all their force, now that we were at sea, and there worktheir wills upon our friends and goods, which I could only prevent byfollowing them. Yet the season was now so far advanced that I doubted, even with our best haste, we should hardly get off the coast before thefoul weather set in; and this gave me hope that the viceroy would notexpose himself to the danger of the approaching winter. Whileconsidering these things, the tide of flood was spent, and it was timefor us to use the ebb, when, to my great satisfaction, I saw the viceroyand his whole fleet standing towards us, with a fresh breeze. Welikewise made sail, and stood our course before him all that ebb, and sospent that night to the best advantage, partly at anchor, and partlyunder sail, according as wind and tide served. In the morning of the 5th, the enemy had gained very little way upon us. We spent this day, as before, in riding or sailing, as the tideanswered. This night the viceroy gained much ground upon us, and by thistime we had got a good way from the coast, and had advanced well to thesouthwards, so that I was now satisfied the Portuguese forces could notthis year give any annoyance to Surat. I considered that my purposes inthese parts, both by the authority of my king, and to fulfil the designsof my employers, were, in merchant ships, fitted indeed for defence, toseek honest commerce, without striving to injure any; wherefore I heldit fit for me to proceed soberly and discreetly, neither basely to fleefrom the enemy, nor to tempt danger by proudly seeking it, if it mightbe honourably avoided. The viceroy was quite differently situated. Hehad been sent by his master with the principal ships of all India, andall the gallants and braggarts of these parts, not only to disturb andintercept the peaceable trade of the English with the subjects of theMogul, but to take and burn them in the harbours of that great king. Theviceroy was furnished with abundance of all things the country couldafford, and only wanted an upright cause. He found what he was in searchof, --four poor merchant ships, having few men, many being dead, and moresick; and these bragadocios, measuring our hearts by their own, thoughtwe could never stand against what they esteemed so superior a force;and, seeing their intent, I baited my hook, which the fish presently ranafter. The Hope, being heavily laden, was in tow of the Hector, and beingsternmost, three of the Portuguese ships, and thirty or forty of theirfrigates, as I had expected, boarded her with the flower of all theirchivalry. But, by the hand of God, and to their great amazement, theyreceived such a blow that few of them escaped, and these byextraordinary chance, and three of their ships were burnt. [130] Thus itpleased God to baffle this their first assault. Ever after, though theybeleaguered us round about for many days together, with all sorts ofships, our people still in action, and sadly worn out with continuallabour, even shifting goods from ship to ship in that time, yet did theynever gain from us even the value of a _louse_ in all that time, exceptour bullets, which we most willingly gave them roundly, their fire-boatsalways failing, and nothing prospering in all their efforts. For manydays together I sent the viceroy a defiance once every twenty-fourhours, which must needs lie heavy on the stomach of so courageous agentleman. Craving pardon for this digression, I now proceed with mynarrative. [Footnote 130: I strongly suspect this to be a mere recapitulation ofwhat happened in Swally roads, as already related, as this second attackon the Hope by the Portuguese is entirely omitted by Elkington andDodsworth. --E. ] The 6th, in the morning, I sent for my master, letting him know that Iproposed, when the viceroy should come up near us, to cast about andcharge him suddenly, that we might strike unexpected terror in hispeople, who now bragged us, seeing us flee before them. To this end Iwent on board all the ships, giving them directions how to act, and gaveorders to the Hector, by means of her pinnace and mine, to take in anhundred bales of goods from the Hope, to lighten her, and even staid tosee it done. By this time it was mid-day, when my ship struck sail formy better getting on board; at which, the viceroy thinking it staid forhim in contempt, as we imagined, be and his consorts bore up with theshore, and gave up all hope of mending their fortunes by following usany farther; which course I very well liked, as there is nothing underhis foot to make amends for the loss of the worst man's finger in allour ships. Besides, I wished for no occasion of fighting unless for thehonour of my king and country as I would rather save the life of one ofmy poorest sailors than kill a thousand enemies. Having now finished with the viceroy, I set myself to write letters forthe dispatch of the Hope, yet still thinking to have stood in for thebar of Goa to endeavour to have left some compliments there for theviceroy at his return. This was my earnest desire, but we were so longdelayed in dispatching the Hope, that by the time we had finished, wewere far beyond Goa. * * * * * "The rest of this journal is wanting, as he is also wanting who shouldhave finished it. But, alas! this is the imperfection of man's bestperfections; death lying in ambush to entrap those whom by open force hecould not devour. He dying in this voyage, and following his son, hathleft this glorious act, _memoriae sacrum_, the memorable epitaph of hisworth, savouring of a true heroic disposition, piety and valour being inhim seasoned by gravity and modesty. "--_Purch. _ SECTION II. _Relations by Mr Elkington and Mr Dodsworth, in Supplement to the formerVoyage_. [131] "Since writing the voyage of Captain Downton, I have obtained thejournal of Captain Elkington, in which the reader may proceed with thisworthy captain to Bantam, and thence to his grave; this historysucceeding the former, as its author did in command. "--_Purch. _ [Footnote 131: Purch. Pilgr. I. 514. ] In employing the journals of Mr Elkington and Mr Dodsworth, to continuethe account of the voyage set forth under the command of CaptainDownton, only so much of both are here inserted as answers that purpose, to avoid prolix repetition of circumstances, already sufficientlyrelated. The journal of Elkington breaks off abruptly, like that ofDownton, and probably from the same cause; as we learn from Purchas, inthe preceding notice, that Elkington died at Bantam. The journal ofDodsworth entirely relates to the voyage of the Hope to England, afterparting company with the other two ships, except that it mentionsseveral incidents of the transactions previous to the departure of thatship, most of which are here omitted, as already sufficientlyexplained. --E. §1. _Continuation of the Voyage from Surat to Bantam, by Captain ThomasElkington_. On the 4th March, 1615, we descried the Portuguese fleet, whichimmediately gave us chace, which it continued all that day and the next. On the 6th, the general came aboard us, wishing us to make ready, as heproposed to turn suddenly round and give an onset upon the enemy: But, about noon that day, the Portuguese bore up and stood for the coast, andin three hours after we lost sight of them. At night of the 10th, theHope departed from us. The 15th we saw three water-spouts at no greatdistance; one of them, which was very large, continued for the space ofhalf an hour. The 19th we doubled Cape Comorin. The 10th May, the wind and current both against as, the general went toa green island, to the north or the salt hill, where we came to anchorin twenty fathoms on good sand. We here sought fresh water, but foundnone. There were plenty of bogs and pigs on this island, where likewisewe gathered abundance of cocoa-nuts. All about this island is goodanchorage, within a stone's throw of the shore, in twelve fathoms. Thepinnace brought water from another island, about four leagues off but itwas brackish. [132] The 2d June we came to anchor in Bantam road. [Footnote 132: So vaguely is this journal expressed, or rather somiserably abbreviated by Purchas, that there are no indications by whichto guess even where this island lay, except that it was on the waybetween Cape Comorin and Bantam. --E. ] The 3d July we weighed mace, and received silk towards furnishing theSalomon for Masulipatam, to which place we agreed to send the followingmerchants: George Chancie, Ralph Preston, Humphry Elkington, TimothyMallory, George Savage, and Robert Savage. The 8th we loaded porcelaininto the Salomon. This day we had news by a junk from the Moluccas, thatthe Thomasine was there; and that there were twelve sail of Hollandersat Ternate, who endeavoured to prevent all others from trading. The 11thour old house very narrowly escaped burning, in conscience of a firevery near. The 20th, Mr Jordan had letters from. Mr Ball at Macasser, complaining of violent ill usage from the Hollanders, who had driven himfrom thence, and stating that they proposed coming with all their forceto take possession of Bantam, and to place the king of _Motron_ in thegovernment. The 21st Mr Bennet set sail in the Salomon. The 25th, theAdvice and Attendance arrived from England, after a voyage of eightmonths. They met the Globe and James at the Cape, to which ships theyspared eighteen men. These ships departed for England on the 17th July, and the Advice and her consort on the 18th, meeting a ship near theCape, which we suppose might be either the Samaritan or the Hope, boundfor England. The 5th of August I went aboard to visit the general, Captain NicholasDownton, who was then very ill, and we got word of his death nextday. [133] Mr Evans the preacher, and Mr Hambdon, followed him, on the8th, as we supposed by taking laudanum, as they were both well a littlebefore. On the 11th the Advice was sent to Japan, having a complement oftwenty-two Englishmen, together with five blacks, and Fernando theSpaniard. The Concord returned on the 14th from Succadanea in Borneo andMacasser. That night we had a prodigious tempest of rain, with thunderand lightning, and the mosque of Bantam was split in two by athunderbolt, on which occasion the chief priest was nearly slain, whichthe king and people took for a bad omen, and therefore determined tomake peace with Jacatra. The 16th the boat belonging to the Thomasinecame to Bantam, with twenty-two English and five blacks, bringingintelligence of that ship having been lost on certain flats the nightbefore, twenty-two leagues from Macasser, owing to the carelessness ofWilson the master, while all the people were asleep, he only being atthe helm. They saved all the money, which they brought along with them;and as Mr Bailey told us that his wrecked crew had compelled him to paythem their wages, we caused them to restore the money. [Footnote 133: By order in the box, Mr Elkington succeeded in thecommand. --_Purch. _] On the 19th, the Hollanders clapped three blacks into the bilboes, whomMr Bailey had brought with him from Celoar, pretending they were caught, climbing over the rails of their house, and also, as they were broughtfrom a place under their protection, they refused to give us them back. We are in various ways most vilely abused by these Hollanders, neitherdo I see any means to right ourselves, unless we go to war with them;for we believe this matter to have been done on purpose, and theseblacks enticed by them to it, as if taken by force. I was much offendedwith Mr Bailey for his conduct in taking away these blacks, as themeans of making us hated as man-stealers, in, places where we used to bewell received, which the Hollanders will take care to blaze abroad toour disgrace. In the night of the 13th September, the watch discovered a fire in thethatch over the house in which Mr Jordan lodged, which was soonextinguished; but we could plainly perceive it had been done apurpose, as we found the cane by which it had been kindled sticking in thethatch, for which we suspected a Spaniard named Francisco, who hadappostatized and turned Javan. The 2d October, Sophonee Cossock, amerchant, came in a small pinnace from Puloway, accompanied by an_Orancay_, to confer on trade with that place. The 22d, I went ashore, accompanied by Mr Pring and Mr Bailey, to confer with the Dutch general, concerning certain idle complaints made by them against our mariners. Ifound him and the president of their factory very impatient, calling usinsolent English, threatening that our pride would have a fall, withmany other disgraceful and opprobrious words. [134] Such was theentertainment we received from that boorish general, named GarratReynes, in his own house. He had formerly shewn the like or worse to MrBall, on going aboard his ship at Banda: And four of our men, who tookpassage with him from thence to _Cambello_, were brought all the way inthe bilboes, for no cause. [Footnote 134: Quis tulerit Gracchos de seditione querentes? It wasDutch policy to cry _rogue_ first. --_Purch. _] I went ashore on the 3d November, when Captain Jordan called togetherthe merchants, and sent for the _orancay_ of Banda, whose letter he gottranslated; the purport of which was, that, in regard to the ancientfriendship between them and the English, especially with CaptainKeeling, and provoked by the cruelty and injustice of the Hollanders, their earnest desire was to trade only with the English for the spicesof Puloway, Puleron, and Nera, on condition that the English wouldsupply them with provisions, ordnance, and ammunition, and help them torecover the castle of Nera, desiring that some person might be sent toBanda, to confer with the orancays. To this we answered, That we couldnot give them assistance to recover the castle of Nera, without ordersfrom England, and that at present we had no ordnance to spare; but wouldwillingly supply them with provisions, and every thing else in ourpower, till we had farther orders from England, and would trade withthem for spices, for which purpose we proposed to send a ship, and aperson to confer with the _orancays_, and particularly to know how wemight have security, and whether they would grant us permission to builda fort for that purpose. The 23d five Hollanders anchored in the outer road, four of which camelast from the Mauritius, having been nineteen months on the voyage fromHolland. At that island they found that General Butt had been cast awaywith three ships, two being totally lost, the men and goods of the thirdbeing saved. A fourth, which was in company, went home under jury-masts, along with a pinnace that came there by chance. One of these ships thatwas at the Mauritius came away before the rest, and they found herdriving up and down off the mouth of the straits, having lost 160 men, and having only eight remaining. The 25th, by letters from Priaman, wehad notice of the death of Mr Ozewicke and Samuel Negus. §2. _Brief Observations by Mr Edward Dodsworth, who returned to Englandin the Hope_. The 16th October, 1614, while in the bay of Surat, Mr Aldworth and MrSteel came on board, and next day Mr Aldworth was examined, according tothe company's commission and instructions, [135] concerning the behaviourof Paul Canning to the king, and the king's conduct towards him. Towhich he answered, That his behaviour was right, and the king'sentertainment of him satisfactory, till the Jesuits insinuated he wasonly a merchant, and not sent immediately by the king of England. Afterthis he was neglected, and died since. [136] Also, that he thought it fitthat some one of our nation of good respect should remain at court, toprocure redress of any wrongs that might be offered; to which functionMr Edwards was chosen to go to Agra, as the person most answerable tothe company's instructions, on which occasion some question was made, whether it would be proper he should proceed in the character of amerchant, according to the strict letter of the instructions, which MrAldworth conceived would procure him disrespect with the king; and, after some contest, some way was given to Mr Edwards in this affair, lest they should disagree in their proceedings, especially as it hadbeen reported by some already, that he was a messenger from the king ofBritain. [Footnote 135: This commission had six questions, of which I onlyinsert what is fit for the public eye. --_Purch. _] [Footnote 136: It has been said on a former occasion, that he died ofpoison, given, as was thought, by the jesuits. --_Purch. _] After much opposition to our desire of trade, there came a _firmaun_from the king on the 24th November, which, according to custom, thenabob met in state two miles from the city, attended by 600 horse. Nextday we were kindly entertained, and the nabob gave Mr Edwards 850mahmoudies, thirty pieces of _topseels_, ten of fine calicoes, and otherthings. The money being to bear the charges of carrying up the presentto the king, who was not willing we should incur any expence on thataccount, and the stuffs as a gratification to those who carried them up. To the merchants also he gave fifteen pieces of _topseels_, five toeach, with his _chop_ or licence for our departure, and promises of kindusage, all this being done in presence of those who brought the_firmaun_. The 30th, Mr Edwards and we set out for _Amadavar_[Ahmedabad. ] The 2d of December we reached Broach, whence the governor sent a guardof horse with us to _Demylode_, and there we had a new escort of horseand foot to _Charmondo_;[137] whence we departed on the 7th withtwenty-five soldiers, all notorious thieves, as we afterwards found. With these we went ten coss, when we pitched our tents in a plain, barricading ourselves as usual with our carts. While at supper, we hadnearly been assaulted by fifty horse, who passed close by us, but theyfound us well provided for our defence, and it appeared that the chargewe carried was well known in all the country through which we travelled. The 8th we came to _Brodera_, [Brodrah] and made a present to thegovernor, who received it very kindly, and particularly requested to seeour mastiff dog. Brodrah stands in a plain, which seemed fertile, and iswell watered, a thing rather uncommon in those parts. We departed thencewith an escort of 100 horse and foot, voluntarily offered from respectfor the king's present, yet were they a considerable charge to us. Wecame next to Arras, [138] a town mostly inhabited by banians, and wheretheir superstition of not killing any thing occasioned us to have verybad fare. On the 13th we came to Ahmedabad, whence we gave a commissionto Richard Steel and John Crowther to proceed on their journey toPersia; and hence Mr Edwards departed from us for Agra. [Footnote 137: On this part of the indicated route, between Broach andBrodrab, no stations are to be found in our best maps resembling thesetwo names, unless Simlode may have been corrupted into Demylode bytypographical error. --E. ] [Footnote 138: No such name is now to be found in the road betweenBrodrah and Ahmedabad, neither is it of much importance in any view, asthe route is so vaguely indicated in the text. --E. ] All this time, the merchants at Ahmedabad, being in hopes of peace withthe Portuguese, held up the price of their indigos, on which we resolvedto proceed for _Sarques_ [Sarkess, ] to make trial with the countrypeople who are the makers of that commodity. We did so on the 7th, andfound plenty of employment, packing in four days no less than 400 bales:after which Mr Edwards returned to Ahmedabad, where he found themerchants greatly more tractable. _Sarkess_ is a town of no great size, three coss from Ahmedabad, its territory being considered the best soilin all these parts for the production of indigo. All of the dealers inthis commodity are apt to put tricks upon us, by mingling or otherwise. At Sarkess there are two of the most ancient monuments that are to befound in all that country; one being the tomb of a saint or prophet whowas buried there, to which many pilgrims resort from great distances;and the other is the sepulchres of their ancient kings. To the north ofthe town, is the place where _Khan-Khana_ first put the Guzerates toflight, who were the original inhabitants of the country, all the restof the kingdom being shortly after reduced under the subjection ofAkbar, father to the present Great Mogul. This field of victory isstrongly walled round with brick, about a mile and half in circuit, allplanted within with fruit-trees, and delightfully watered; having acostly house called by a name signifying _Victory_; in which Khan-Khanaresided for some time, but he now resides at Burhanpoor. The 24th of December we had leave from the governor of Ahmedabad todepart; but hearing that several persons had been robbed and murderedthat night close by the city, order was given for us to wait till asufficient guard could be provided for us. The 26th we departed, havingwith us forty carts, loaded with indigo and other goods, and came on the27th to _Mundeves_, [139] where the gates were shut upon us by order of_Sarder Khan_. This put us in much doubt, and we procured a person tospeak with the governor, who told him of letters he had received fromMucrob Khan, nabob of Surat, informing of the gallant action of ourgeneral at Swally and the safety of Surat from the Portuguese, throughthe bravery of the English. It was therefore agreed that we should notdepart without a sufficient guard, which was to be ready for us nextday. We did not however depart till the 29th; and, at Brodrah, the menbelonging to Sarder Khan procured more soldiers to assist them, as therewere several companies of rajputs lying in the way to intercept us, andmany robberies and murders were committed daily in that part of thecountry. [Footnote 139: This name also is so corrupted as not to have anyresemblance in the modern geography of Hindoostan. --E. ] On the 2d of February, while passing through a narrow lane inclosed onboth sides with hedges, we were assaulted by above 300 rajputs, where wecould not hurt them, as they did our caffila or caravan by their arrowsand shot. We therefore made all the haste we could to gain the plain, while they in the mean time cut off two of our carriages. Having got tothe open ground we made a stand; but the rajputs betook themselves againto their hedges, to look after their prey, lest one thief should robanother. Many of our party were hurt on this occasion, among which wasHumphrey Elkington. Next day we got to Baroach, and on the 5th to Surat, where we returned thanks to Macrob Khan for the care he had taken of oursafety. Hearing of an assault to be made next day on our ships by thePortuguese, we got his leave to go down to Swally and went aboard, butthe Portuguese deceived our expectation. On occasion of the last attemptof the Portuguese to set our ships on fire, by means of four fire-boatschained together, four of them were taken in smaller boats, whichcaptives confessed that this was the last attempt of the viceroy forthis year, as he was now under the necessity of returning to Goa, forwant of water and provisions. One of these captives, taken in Swallyroads, and carried aboard the New-year's Gilt, emitted the followingdeclaration:-- _Examination of Domingo Francisco, on the 20th of February_, 1615. "He saith, that he was born in Lisbon, being the son of a mariner, andserved under Nunna d'Acunha in the seafight against Captain Best, inone of the four galleons. He afterwards went to Macao on the coast ofChina, and returned thence to Goa; where, after remaining ten months, hewas ordered on board a galleon called the St Antonio, in this expeditionfor the road of Swally, where he was made prisoner on the 8th of thismonth. The purpose of the viceroy, _Don Jeronimo de Savedo_, in thisexpedition, as the examinant says, was to destroy the English at Surat. The viceroy's ship was called the All-saints, of 800 tons, with 300 men, and twenty-eight cannon. Michael de Souza was captain on the St Bennetof 700 tons, 150 men, and twenty guns. John Cayatho of the St Lawrence, of 600 tons, 160 men, and 18 guns. Francisco Henriques of the StChristopher, of 600 tons, 155 men, and 18 guns. Francisco de Mirande ofthe St Jeronymo, of 500 tons, 180 men, and 16 guns. Gaspar de Meall ofthe St Antonio, of 400 tons, 140 men, and 14 guns. These were thegalleons: The ships were, the St Peter of 200 tons Captain FranciscoCavaco, 150 men and eight guns; the St Paul of 200 tons, Captain DonJuan de Mascarenha, 150 men and eight guns; a pinnace of 120 tons, Captain Andrea de Quellio, eighty men and four guns. Lewis de Bruto wascaptain of one galley, and Diego de Suro of the other, each having fiftymen. There were sixty barks or frigates, each having twenty soldiers, and rowing eighteen oars of a side. The reinforcement which joinedafterwards, consisted of two ships of 200 tons each, two India junks, and eight small boats, which were employed to endeavour to set us onfire. In the viceroy's ship, the ordnance were all of brass, those inthe other galleons being half brass and half iron:" Against all whichthe Almighty protected us, blessed be his name for ever. On the 11th March, 1615, we parted from the general, he and the othertwo ships being bound for Acheen and Bantam, and we in the Hope forEngland. On the 12th we passed by the north end of the Maldives, wherewe found many shoals and islands most falsely laid down in the charts, as if purposely to render the navigation of these seas more dangerous. We arrived on the 17th of June in Saldanha bay, where we found a fleetof four English ships bound for Surat, under the command of CaptainKeeling; which fleet, after consultation held with us, and receivingintelligence of the state of affairs there, departed on its voyage. Onthe 20th I met with _Crosse_ and his company, left there fordiscovery, [140] and entreated some of them to acquaint _Coree_ with myarrival. These were set upon by the savages and wounded, wherefore Idelivered four muskets to Crosse at his earnest request; after which heprocured Coree to come down with his whole family, and we afterwards gotsome cattle. He told me that there was discord among the savages, through which the mountaineers had come down and robbed them. Wedeparted on the 26th June, leaving our longboat with Crosse, togetherwith powder, shot, and provisions. [Footnote 140: Of Crosse and his company of condemned persons, set onshore at the Cape of Good Hope, see afterwards in Peyton'svoyage. --_Purch. _] In the latitude of 29° N. We fell in with a Dutch ship from theMauritius, having gone there to cut timber, which seemed a bastardebony. Contrary to their expectation, they found there the lamentablewreck of four ships come from Bantam and the Moluccas, which had gone topieces on the rocks. The goods and men of two of these were totallylost, most of the goods of the third were saved, with part of which thisship was laden. The fourth was driven out to sea in a storm, andreturned under jury-masts. The master of this ship promised to keep uscompany, but finding us a hindrance, he left us after ten days, withoutso much as a farewell or offering to carry a letter, which I imputed totheir inbred boorish disposition. Ill weather followed, and we were muchweakened; yet, I thank God, we lost none till my arrival in Ireland offthe river of Limerick on the 27th October, 1615; where also we had toendure a storm, till we hired a Scottish bark, detained by contrarywinds, to pilot us into harbour. There also, a remainder of Captain M. His ungodly crew, who had lately obtained their pardon, put me in greatfear; till Sir Henry Foliat secured us by a supply of men, and I sentoff letters for London. SECTION III. _Journey of Richard Steel and John Crowther, from Ajmeer in India, toIspahan in Persia, in the Years_ 1615 _and_ 1616. [141] Having been detained at Agimere[142] from February, Mr Edwards receiveda letter on the 17th March, 1615, from the Great Mogul, of which hedelivered a copy, together with his other letters, to Richard Steel, promising to procure the king's firmaun for our safety and furtherance, and to send it after us to Agra, where he directed us to wait for itsreception. We went that night two coss to _Mandill_. [143]We had fourservants, two horses, and a camel. The 18th we went twelve coss to_Bander Sandree_, [Bunder-Sanory, ] a small _aldea_. [144] The 19th, tencoss to _Mosobade_, [Morabad. ] The 20th to _Pipelo_, [Peped, ] thirteencoss. The 21st to a town called _Chadfoole_, [Gohd?] seven coss. The 22dto _Lalscotte_, thirteen coss. The 23d to _Mogolserai_, twelve coss. The24th to _Hindone_, fourteen coss. The 25th to _Bramobad_, twelve coss. The 26th to _Futtipoor_, twelve coss. This has been a fair city, whichwas built by Akbar, and contains a goodly palace belonging to the king. It is walled round in a handsome manner, and has many spacious gardensand sumptuous pleasure houses; but is now falling to ruin, and ranchground within the walls is now sown with corn, the king having carriedoff much of the best stone to his new city of Agra. The 27th we wenttwelve coss to Agra. In the English house there, we found one RichardBarber, an apothecary, who came over with Sir Robert Shirley, and hadbeen sent here by Mr Kerridge to take care of Nicholas Whithington. [Footnote 141: Purch. Pilgr. I. 519. --In the title of this article inthe Pilgrims, Agimere, or Azmere, as it is there called, is said to havebeen the residence of the Great Mogul at the commencement of thisjourney, and Spahan, or Ispahan, the royal seat of the kings ofPersia. --E. ] [Footnote 142: This place, named Azmeer in the Pilgrims, is known inmodern geography under the name of Ajmeer, or Agimere. --E. ] [Footnote 143: A coss, or course, as it is uniformly denominated in thePilgrims, is stated on the margin by Purchas, to be equal to a mile anda half, and in some places two English miles. As more preciselydetermined in modern geography, the Hindoostanee coss is equal to 14/7th English miles, and the Rajput coss to 2 1/6th miles nearly. Itwould overload this article to attempt critically following all thestations in the present journal, in which the names of places are oftenso corrupt as to be unintelligible. Such corrections of the text as canbe ventured upon are included within brackets. --E. ] [Footnote 144: This is a Spanish or Portuguese term, signifying countryvillage. --E. ] Within two days journey of Agra, we passed by the country and city ofBiana, where the finest indigo is made, the best being then worththirty-six rupees the maund at Agra, but much cheaper in the country. Finding the promised firmaun came not, and the hot season of the yearfast approaching, we departed on the 3d April in the prosecution of ourjourney, leaving directions with Richard Barber to send it after us. Wecame that night to a serai called Boutta, six coss. The 4th to the townof _Matra_, fourteen coss, where we lay in a fair _serai_, [145] andthere we received the firmaun. The 5th we went twelve coss to a seraicalled _Chatta_, [Chautra. ] The 6th to a serai built by Azam Khan, ninecoss. The 7th to a serai built by Sheic Ferreede, called _Puhlwall_, eleven coss. The 8th to a serai built by the same person, ten coss. The9th to _Dillee_, [Delhi, ] nine coss. This being a great and ancientcity, formerly the seat of the kings, where many of them are interred. At this time, many of the great men have their gardens and pleasurehouses here, and are here buried, so that it is beautified with manyfine buildings. The inhabitants, who are mostly Banians or Hindoos, arepoor and beggarly, through the long absence of the court. [Footnote 145: These are fair buildings for the accommodation oftravellers, many of which were erected by great men. _Purch. _] The 10th we went ten coss from Delhi to _Bunira_. The 11th to_Cullvower_, twelve coss. The 12th to _Pampette_, [Paniput, ] twelvecoss. This is a small handsome city, where they manufacture varioussorts of girdles and sashes, and great quantities of cotton-cloth, andhave abundance of handicrafts. The 13th to _Carnanl_, twelve coss. The14th to _Tanisera_, [Tahnessir, ] fourteen coss. The 15th to _Shavade_, [Shahabad, ] ten coss. The 16th to _Mogol-Sera_, or _Gaugur_, fifteencoss. The 17th to _Sinan_, [146] fourteen coss, which is an ancient city, where they manufacture great store of cottons. The 18th to _Duratia_, fifteen coss. The 19th to _Pullower_, [Bullolepoor, ] eleven coss. Wethis day passed in a boat over a great river called Sietmege[147] whichis very broad, but full of shoals, and runs westward to join the Sinde, or Indus. The 20th we came to a small town called _Nicodar_, elevencoss. The 21st to _Sultanpoor_, an old town having a river which comesfrom the north, over which is a bridge of six arches. At this placegreat store of cotton goods are made. Four coss beyond this place wepassed another small river. The 22d to _Chiurmul_, [148] eleven coss. Wewere this day boated across a river as broad as the Thames at Gravesend, called _Vian_, which runs westwards to join the Sinde. On its banksAllom Khan, ambassador from the Great Mogul to the king of Persia, hadpitched his camp, which looked like a little city. The 23d we went to_Khan Khanum Serai_, seventeen coss, and the 24th we reached Lahore, seven coss. [Footnote 146: This is probably Sirhind, which is directly in the route, but so disguised in the text as to defy emendation. --E. ] [Footnote 147: This is clearly the Sutuluge, or Setlege, called likewisethe Beyah-Kussoor, and Chato dehr, being the easternmost of the Punjabor five rivers, which form the Indus. It was called Hesudrus by theancients. --E. ] [Footnote 148: From the river mentioned in the text as passed, on thisday's journey, this may have been what is now called Gundwall, a littlebeyond the river Beyab, which is here 100 yards broad. --E. ] All the country between Agra and Lahore is exceedingly well cultivated, being the best of India, and abounds in all things. It yields greatstore of powdered sugar, [raw sugar] the best being worth two 1/2 to two3/4 rupees the great _maund_ of forty pounds. The whole road is plantedon both sides with trees, most of which bear a species of mulberry. Inthe night, this road is dangerously infested with thieves, but is quitesecure in the day. Every five or six coss, there are serais, built bythe king or some great man, which add greatly to the beauty of the road, are very convenient for the accommodation of travellers, and serve toperpetuate the memory of their founders. In these the traveller may havea chamber for his own use, a place in which to tie up his horse, and canbe furnished with provender; but in many of them very littleaccommodation can be had, by reason of the banians, as when once anyperson has taken up his lodging, no other may dispossess him. Atday-break the gates of these serais are opened, and then all thetravellers prepare to depart; but no person is allowed to go awaysooner, for fear of robbers. This made the journey very oppressive tous, as within two hours after the sun rose we were hardly able to endurethe heat. Lahore is a great and goodly city, being one of the fairest andancientest in India. It stands on the river Indus or Sinde;[149] andfrom this place came the most valuable of the Portuguese trade when theywere at peace with the Moguls, as it formed the centre of all theirtraffic in Hindoostan. They here embarked their goods, which werecarried down the river to Tatta, and were thence transported by sea toOrmus and Persia; and such native merchants as chose to go that waybetween India and Persia, paid them freight. They had also a great tradeup this river, in pepper and other spices, with which they furnishedthat part of India. At this time, the merchants of India assemble atLahore, where they invest a great part of their money in commodities, and, joining in caravans, they pass over the mountains of Candahar intoPersia; by which way it is computed there now pass yearly twelve orfourteen thousand camel loads, whereas formerly there did not go in thisway above three thousand, all the rest going by way of Ormus. Thesemerchants are put to great expences between Lahore and Ispaban, besidesbeing exposed to great cold in winter and fervent heat in summer, and tobad and dangerous roads, usually spending six or seven months in thejourney, and they estimate the charges of each camel's load at 120 or130 rupees. In this way Persia is furnished with spiceries, which arebrought all the way from Masulipatam by land. We remained in Lahore fromthe 24th of April to the 13th of May, refreshing both ourselves and ourhorses, and providing servants and necessaries for the journey. We alsoprocured here recommendatory letters from an ambassador to the king ofPersia. [Footnote 149: Lahore is upon the Ravey, the second of the five riversforming the Indus, counting from the east, and was the Hydroates of theancients. The Indus proper, or Nilab, is considerably farther west. --E. ] We left Lahore on the 13th May, proposing to overtake a caravan whichset out two months before, and went that day eleven c. To a small townnamed _Chacksunder_. The 14th to _Non-serai_, fifteen c. The 15th to_Mutteray_, eight c. The 16th to _Quemal khan_, nineteen c. The 17th to_Herpae_, sixteen c. The 18th to _Alicasaca_, twelve c. The 19th_Trumba_, twelve c. And this day we overtook a small caravan that leftLahore eight days before us. The 20th to _Sedousehall_, fourteen c. The21st to _Callixechebaut_, fifteen c. The 22d to _Multan_, [150] twelve c. This is a great and ancient city, having the river Indus at the distanceof three coss. All caravans must remain here ten or twelve days, beforeleave can be procured from the governor to proceed, on purpose that thecity may benefit by their stay. It yields white plain cotton cloth anddiaper. We remained five days, and were then glad to get leave todepart, by means of a present. [Footnote 150: In the whole of this itinerary, from Lahore to Multan orMooltan, down the Ravey river, not a single name in the text, except thetwo extremities, bears the smallest resemblance to any of those inmodern geography. --E. ] We passed the river on the 28th, and went twenty c. To a small villagenamed _Pettoallee_. The 29th we passed another great river by a boat, and came that same night to a small river called _Lacca_, where wefound the caravan we wished to overtake. [151] We presented the caravan_basha_ with a mirror and knife, when he directed us to pitch our tentnear his own, that we might be more immediately under his protection. This caravan had been here ten days, and remained till the 2d of June, waiting for an escort of cavalry to convoy them to _Chatcza_, [152] asmall fort in the mountains, having received information that a formercaravan had been injured by the mountaineers. The 2d June we resumed ourjourney, and travelled twelve c. Entering into the mountains, where wewere much distressed for want of fresh water, what water we met withbeing brackish. The 3d and 4th we travelled all night, climbing highmountains, and following water-courses with various turnings andwindings, insomuch that in travelling twelve coss our direct course didnot exceed six c. The 5th we again followed the bed of a water-course orriver, full of large pebbles, travelling eight c. The 6th we rested. The7th we went four c. Still along the water-course, the 8th eight c. The9th twelve c. And the 10th three c. When we came to _Chatcza_, [Chatzan]a small fort with mud walls, inclosed with a ditch, where the Mogulkeeps a garrison of eighty or 100 horse, to scour the road from thieves, yet these are as great thieves as any, where they find an opportunity. The captain of this castle exacted two _abacees_ for each camel in thecaravan, though nothing was legally due, as he and his troops have theirpay from the king. In the whole of our way, from the river Lacca toChatzan, we found no sustenance for man or beast, except in some placesa little grass, so that we had to make provision at Lacca, hiring abullock to carry barley for our horses. The _Agwans_ or _Afgans_, as thepeople of the mountains are called, came down to us every day at ourresting place, rather to look out what they might steal, than to buy asthey pretended. [Footnote 151: The great river passed on the 29th must have been theSinde, Indus, or Nilab, and from the circumstance of falling in next daywith the _Lacca_ or Lucca, Pettoallee in the text may possibly be whatis named _Joghiwallah_, on the east side of the Indus, almost oppositethe mouth of the Lacca. --E. ] [Footnote 152: Chatzan, a town or fortress in Sewee, or the country ofthe Balloges; to the west of a ridge of rocky mountains, described asconsisting of hard black stone, which skirt the western side of the valeof the Indus, and on the north join the mountains of Wulli in Candahar. Chatzan is in lat. 31° 3' N. And long 69° 42' W. From Greenwich--E. ] Having made provision for three days at Chatzan, we went thence on the12th June, and travelled fourteen c. The 13th ten c. The 14th ten c. This day the mountaineers brought down to us sheep, goats, meal, butter, and barley, in abundance, sufficient both for us and our cattle, all ofwhich they sold at reasonable prices; and from this time forwards, theydid the same every day, sometimes also bringing felts and stripedcarpets for sale. The 15th we went six c. The 16th four c. The 17th tenc. The 18th nine c. The 19th nine c. When we came to a small town of theAfgans called _Duckee_, [Dooky], where the Mogul keeps a garrison in asmall square mud fort, the walls of which are of a good height. Thisfort is a mile from the town. We stopt here three days, as the caravancould not agree with the captain of the fort, who demanded a duty onevery camel, and at last an _abacee_ and a half was paid for each camel. The 23d we went six c. The 24th we passed a place called _Secotah_, orthe three castles, because of three villages standing near each other onthe side of a hill, forming a triangle. We this day went eight c. The25th we rested, on account of bad weather. The 26th we went ten c. The27th fourteen c. This day we passed through the _durues_ or gates of themountains, being narrow straits, with very high rocks on both sides, whence with stones a few men might stop the passage of a multitude, andwhere many caravans have been accordingly cut off. We this night, wherewe lodged, suffered much insolence from the Afgans; and next day, as wepassed a small village called _Coasta_, they exacted from us two 1/2_abacees_ for each camel. The 28th we went five c. The 29th, passing avillage called _Abdun_, eight c. The 30th six c. The 1st. July in sevenc. We came to a place called _Pesinga_ [Pusheng or Kooshinge], wherethere is a small fort like that at _Dooky_ in which is a garrison forsecuring the way. At this place the captain exacted half an _abacee_ foreach camel. The 3d we left the caravan and went forwards six c. The 4thwe passed over a mighty mountain, and descended into the plains beyond, having travelled that day fourteen c. The 5th we went twenty c. And weremuch distressed to get grain for our cattle. The 6th, in like distressboth for them and ourselves, we went twelve c. And on the 7th, aftereight c. We got to the city of Candahar. These mountains of Candahar are inhabited by a fierce people, called_Agwans_ or _Potans_, [Afgans or Patans] who are very strong of body, somewhat fairer than the natives of Hindoostan, and are much addicted torobbery, insomuch, that they often cut off whole caravans. At presentthey have become more civil, partly from fear of the Mogul, and partlyfrom experiencing the advantages of trade, by selling their grain, sheep, and goats, of which they have great store, and by purchasingcoarse cotton goods and other necessaries. Still, however, if they findany one straggling or lagging behind, they are very apt to make themslaves, selling them into the mountains, and houghing them to preventtheir running away, after which they are set to grind grain inhandmills, or to other servile employments. The chief city, calledlikewise Candahar, is very ancient, and was in old times inhabited byBanians. At this place the governor of the whole country resides, whohas a garrison of twelve or fifteen thousand horse, maintained there bythe Great Mogul, in regard of the neighbourhood of the Persians towardsthe north. To the west, the city is environed by steep and craggy rocks, and to the south and east by a strong wall. In consequence of thefrequent passage of caravans, it has been considerably increased oflate, so that the suburbs are larger than the city. Within the last twoyears, in consequence of the Persian trade by way of Ormus beingstopped, through war with the Portuguese, all the caravans betweenPersia and India must necessarily pass through this place; and here theyhire camels to go into India, and at their return for Persia have to dothe same. They cannot return without leave of the governor, who causesthem to stop a month here, or at the least fifteen or twenty days; owingto which, it is inhabited by many lewd people, as all such places ofresort commonly are. Victuals for man and beast are to be had in great abundance at Candahar, yet are very dear owing to the great concourse of trade, occasioned bythe meeting at this place of many merchants of India, Persia, andTurkey, who often conclude their exchanges of commodities here. At thisplace the caravans going for India usually unite together, for greaterstrength and security in passing through the mountains of Candahar; andthose that come here from India generally break into smaller companies, because in many parts of the route through Persia, a greater numberwould not find provisions, as all Persia, from hence to Ispahan, isextremely barren, so that sometimes not a green thing is to be seen intwo or three days travel; and even water is scarce, and that which is tobe got is often brackish, or stinking and abominable. We remained atthis city for fourteen days, partly to procure company for our fartherjourney, and partly for refreshment after the fatigues and heats of ourlate journey, especially on account of John Crowther, who was so weakthat he at one time doubted being able to proceed any farther. We joined ourselves to three Armenians and a dozen Persian merchants, along with whom we left the city of Candahar on the 23d July, and wentten c. To a village called _Seriabe_. [153] The 24th we came in twelve c. To _Deabage_, a small _dea_ or village. The 25th in eight c. To_Cashecunna, _ a small castle in which the Mogul has a garrison, beingthe utmost boundary of his dominions westwards, and confining withPersia. The 26th we travelled seventeen c. And lodged in the open fieldsby the side of a river. The 27th, after four c. We came to a castlecalled _Greece_, the first belonging to the king of Persia. Here wedelivered to the governor the letter we had got from the Persianambassador at Lahore, and presented him a mirror and three knives. Hewould take nothing for our camels, while the others had to pay five_abacees_ for each camel. He promised to give us a safe conduct under anescort of horse to the next governor, but we saw none; neither were wesorry for the omission, for he was little better than a rebel, and allhis people were thieves. [Footnote 153: We here lose the almost infallible guide of Arrowsmith'sexcellent map of Hindoostan, and are reduced to much inferior helps infollowing the route through Persia. --E. ] The 28th we departed at night, going two _parasangs_, and lodged at a_dea_ or village called _Malgee_. A _farcing_ or parasang is equal totwo Indian cosses and a half. [154] The 29th we went ten p. And lodged inthe open fields, where we could get nothing but water. The 30th we wentfive p. To a small castle named _Gazikhan_. The 31st other five p. To anold ruined fort, where we could get nothing but water, and that wasstinking. The 1st August we proceeded other five p. To an old fortcalled _Dilaram_, where we paid an _abacee_ and a half for each camel. We staid here one day to rest our cattle, which was termed making_mochoane_; and on the 3d we went seven p. To an old castle called_Bacon_. The 4th four p. And lodged in the open fields, where we foundnothing but water. The 5th four p. And the 6th five p. To _Farra_. [155] [Footnote 154: In a side-note, Purchas says a parasang consists of sixtyfurlongs. This is a most egregious error, as the parasang or farsang isexactly equal to 2. 78 English miles, or twenty-two two-5thsfurlongs. --E. ] [Footnote 155: Farra, the capital of a district of the same name in thenorth of Segistan, is in lat 33° 40' N. Long. 62° 40' E. --E. ] _Farra_ is a small town, surrounded by a high wall of bricks dried inthe sun, as are all the castles and most of the buildings in thiscountry, and is of a square form, about a mile in circuit. It has ahandsome bazar or market-place, vaulted over head to keep out the rain, and in which all kinds of necessaries and commodities are sold. It issituated in a fertile soil, having plenty of water, without whichnothing can be raised in this country; and it is wonderful to see withwhat labour and ingenious industry they bring water to every spot ofgood ground, which is but seldom to be found here, often carrying itthree or four miles in trenches under ground. At this town, allmerchants going into Persia must remain for seven, eight, or ten days;and here the king's treasurer sees all their packs weighed, estimatingthe value of their commodities at so much the maund, as he thinks fit, and exacts a duty of three per cent. Ad valorem on that estimate. Ontheir way into Persia, merchants are used with much favour, lest theyshould make complaints to the king, who will have merchants kindlytreated; but on their return into India, they are treated with extremerigour, being searched to the very skin for money, as it is death totransport any gold or silver coin from Persia, except that of thereigning king. They likewise look narrowly for horses and slaves, neither of which are allowed to be taken out of the country. We remained here two days waiting for certain Armenians, with whom wetravelled the rest of the journey, leaving our former companions. The9th of August we went only one parasang to a river. The 10th wetravelled seven p. And lodged in the open fields. The 11th, four p. To asmall village, where we had plenty of provisions. The 12th, four p. Where we had to dig for water. The 13th, eight p. And the 14th five p. To a village named _Draw, _ [Durra, ] where we remained a day, as it isthe custom of those who travel with camels to rest once in four or fivedays. The 16th, we advanced three p. The 17th, four p. The 18th, five p. To _Zaide-basha, _ [Sarbishe, ] where abundance of carpets are to be had. The 19th we came to a village named _Mude, _ [Moti, ] where also arecarpets. The 20th, five p. To _Birchen, _ [Berdjan, ] where aremanufactured great quantities of fine felts, and carpets of camels hair, which are sold at the rates of from two to five abacees the _maund. _ Atthis place we rested a day. The 22d, we went to _Dea-zaide, _ [Descaden, ]where all the inhabitants pretend to be very religious, and sell theircarpets, of which they have great abundance, at a cheap rate. The 23d, three p. The 24th, five p. To _Choore, _ [Cors or Corra, ] an old ruinedtown. The 25th, three p. The 26th, seven p. When we had brackishstinking water. The 27th we came to _Dehuge, _ [Teuke, ] where is aconsiderable stream of hot water, which becomes cool and pleasant afterstanding some time in any vessel. The 28th we went seven p. To_Dea-curma. _ The 29th we went five p. To _Tobaz, _[156] where we had to pay half anabacee for each camel. At this plce all caravans take four or five daysrest, the better to enable them to pass the adjoining salt desert, whichextends four long days journey, and in which many miscarry. We foundhere a small caravan of an hundred camels, which set off the next dayafter our arrival. Here, and in the former village, there is great storeof dates; and 3000 maunds of the finest silk in Persia are made hereyearly, and is carried to _Yades_, [Yezd, ] a fair city, where likewisethey make much raw silk, and where it is manufactured into taffaties, satins, and damasks. The king does not allow the exportation of rawsilk, especially into Turkey; but the Portuguese used to carry it toPortugal. _Yades_, [Yezd, ] is about twelve days journey from Ispahan, and is twelve p. Out of the way from the Indian route to the capital. [Footnote 156: Tabaskili, or Tobas Kileke, in Cohestan, is probably theplace here meant, in which case the route appears to have passed fromFarra by the south of the inland sea or lake of Darrah, but which is notnoticed by our travellers. Our conjectural amendments of the names ofplaces on the route are placed within brackets. --E. ] The 30th of August we advanced nine p. Into the desert, and lay on theground, having to send our beasts three miles out of the way for water, which was very salt. The 31st, after travelling ten p. We came to waterwhich was not at all brackish. The 1st September we went five p. And hadto send two miles for water. The 2d we went nine p. To a small castle, where we procured a small quantity of provisions. The 3d, five p. Andlay in the fields, having to send far for water. The 4th, ten p. To_Seagan_. The 5th, four p. The 6th, ten p. To a castle called _Irabad_, [Hirabad, ] where we paid half an _abacee_ for each camel. The 7th, sixp. The 8th, eight p. To _Ardecan_, where we rested till the 10th, whenwe went four p. To _Sellef_. The 11th, three p. To a small castle named_Agea Gaurume_. The 12th, nine p. To a spring in the fields. The 13th, three p. To _Beavas_. The 14th, four p. To _Goolabad_, whence RichardSteel rode on to Ispahan, without waiting for the caravan. The 15th wecame to _Morea Shahabad_, five p. The 16th, to _Coopa_, five p. The17th, to _Dea Sabs_, five p. The 18th, four p. And lay in the fields. And on the 19th, after three p. We came to _Ispahan_. Richard Steel reached this city on the 15th, at noon, and found SirRobert Shirley already provided with his dispatches from the king ofPersia as ambassador to the king of Spain. Sir Robert, attended by hislady, a bare-footed friar as his chaplain, together with fifty-fivePortuguese prisoners, and his own followers, were preparing in all hasteto go to Ormus, and to embark thence for Lisbon. The purpose is, thatseeing the Portuguese not able to stand, the Spaniards may be broughtin. [157] Six friars remain as hostages for his safe return to Ispahan, as otherwise the king has vowed to cut them all in pieces, which he islikely enough to do, having put his own son to death, and committed athousand other severities. [Footnote 157: The meaning of this passage is quite obscure in thePilgrims, and the editor does not presume upon clearing theobscurity. --E. ] On his arrival at Ispahan, Richard Steel delivered his letters to SirRobert, [158] who durst hardly read them, except now and then, as bystealth, fearing lest the Portuguese should know of them. He afterwardssaid it was now too late to engage in the business of our nation, andseemed much dissatisfied with the company, and with the merchants andmariners who brought him out. But at length he said he was atrue-hearted Englishman, and promised to effect our desires. On the19th, the friars being absent, he carried both of us to the master ofthe ceremonies, or _Maimondare, _ and took us along with him to the GrandVizier, _Sarek Hogea_, who immediately called his scribes orsecretaries, and made draughts of what we desired: namely, three_firmauns_, one of which John Crowther has to carry to Surat, one forRichard Steel to carry to England, and the third to be sent to thegovernor of _Jasques_, all sealed with the great seal of the king. Thesame day that these firmauns were procured, being the last of September, Sir Robert Shirley set out for Shiras in great pomp, and very honourablyattended. [Footnote 158: Of the landing of Sir Robert Shirley, see Peyton's firstvoyage before; and of the rest of his journey see the second voyage ofPeyton, in the sequel. --_Purch. _] _Copy of the Firmaun granted by the King of Persia. _ "Firmaun or command given unto all our subjects, from the highest to thelowest, and directed to the _Souf-basha_, or constable of our country, kindly to receive and entertain the _English Franks_[159] or nation, when any of their ships may arrive at Jasques, or any other of theports in our kingdom, to conduct them and their merchandize to whatplace or places they may desire, and to see them safely defended uponour coasts from any other Franks whomsoever. This I will and command youto do, as you shall answer in the contrary. Given at our royal city, this 12th of _Ramassan_, in the year of our _Tareag_, 1024. [October, 1615. ]" The chief commodities of Persia are raw silks, of which it yields, according to the king's books, 7700 _batmans_ yearly. Rhubarb grows inChorassan, where also worm-seed grows. [Footnote 159: Frank is a name given in the East to all westernChristians, ever since the expedition to the Holy Land, because theFrench were the chief nation on that occasion, and because the Frenchcouncil at Clermont was the cause of that event. --Purch. ] Carpets of all sorts, some of silk and gold, silk and silver, half silk, half cotton, &c. The silver monies of Persia are the _abacee, mahamoody, shakee_, and _biftee_, the rest being of copper, like the _tangas_ and_pisos_ of India. The _abacee_ weighs two _meticals_, the _mahmoody_ ishalf an abacee, and the _shahee_ is half a _mahamoody_. In the dollar orrial of eight there are thirteen shahees. [160] In a shahee there are two_biftees_ and a half, or ten cashbegs, one _biftee_ being four_cashbegs_, or two _tangs_. The weights differ in different places; two_mahans_ of Tauris being only one of Ispahan, and so of the _batman_. The measure of length, for silks and other stuffs, is the same with thepike of Aleppo, which we judge to be twenty-seven English inches. [Footnote 160: Assuming the Spanish dollar at 4s. 6d. Sterling, theshahee ought therefore to be worth about 4d. 1-6, the mahamoody, 8d. 1-3, and the abecee, 1s. 4d. 2-3. --E. ] John Crowther returned into India, and Richard Steel went to England byway of Turkey, by the following route. Leaving Ispahan on the 2dDecember, 1615, he went five p. To a serail. The 3d, eight p. To anotherserail. The 4th, six p. To a village. The 5th, seven p. To _Dreag_. The6th, seven p. To a serail. The 7th, eight p. To _Golpigan_, [Chulpaigan. ] The 8th, seven p. To _Curouan_. The 9th, seven p. To_Showgot_. The 10th, six p. To _Saro_, [Sari. ] The 11th, eight p. To_Dissabad_. The 12th, twelve p. To a fair town called _Tossarkhan_, where he rested some days, because the country was covered deep withsnow. The 15th, six p. To _Kindaner_. The 16th, eight p. To _Sano_. The17th to _Shar nuovo_, where I was stopped by the _daiga_; but on shewinghim letters from the vizier, he bade me depart in the name of God and ofAli. The 18th we passed a bridge where all travellers have to give anaccount of themselves, and to pay a tax of two _shakees_ for each camel. The 19th we came to _Kassam-Khan_, the last place under the Persiangovernment, and made a present to the governor, that he might give me aguard to protect me from the Turkomans, which he not only did, but gaveme a licence to procure provisions free at his villages without payment, which yet I did not avail myself of. The 21st of December I began to pass over a range of high mountainswhich separate the two empires of Persia and Turkey, which are verydangerous; and, on the 22d, at the end of eight p. I arrived at avillage. The 23d, after travelling seven p. I lay under a rock. The 24thI came to _Mando_, eight p. A town belonging to the Turks. The 25th, eight p. To _Emomester_. The 26th, eight p. To _Boroh_, passed over ariver in a boat, and came that night to Bagdat. I was here strictlyexamined and searched for letters, which I hid under my saddle; butobserving one trying there also, I gave him a sign, on which hedesisted, and followed me to my lodging for his expected reward. I faredbetter than an old Spaniard, only a fortnight before, who was imprisonedin chains in the castle, and his letters read by a Maltese renegado. Ifound here a Portuguese, who had arrived from Ormus only two days beforeme. The pacha made us wait here twenty days for a sabandar of his. The 16th of January, 1616, we passed the river Tigris, and lay on theskirt of the desert. The 17th we travelled five _agatzas_, being leaguesor parasangs. The 18th we came to the Euphrates at _Tulquy_, wheremerchandize disembarked for Bagdat, after paying a duty of five percent. Passes to the Tigris, and thence to the Persian gulf. After atedious journey, partly by the river Euphrates, and partly through thedesert, and then by sea, we arrived at Marseilles, in France, on the15th April, and on the 10th May at Dover. SECTION IV. _Voyage of Captain Walter Peyton to India, in 1615. _[161] This voyage seems to have been under the command of Captain Newport, whosailed as general in the Lion; but is called, in the Pilgrims, The_Second_ Voyage of Captain Peyton to the East Indies, because the formervoyage of Newport was written by Peyton, who, though he occasionallymentions the general, never once names him. In this voyage Peyton sailedin the Expedition; the fleet consisting of three other ships, theDragon, Lion, and Pepper-corn. The journal appears to have beenabbreviated by Purchas, as he tells us it was _gathered out of hislarger journal_. This voyage is chiefly remarkable as introductory tothe embassy of Sir Thomas Roe to India, contained in the subsequentsection, as Sir Thomas and his suite embarked in this fleet. Instead ofgiving the remarks of Sir Thomas Roe in his own journal, so far as theyapply to the voyage between England and Surat, these have been added inthe text of the present voyage, distinguishing those observations byT. R. The initials of his name, and placing them all in separateparagraphs. [Footnote 161: Purch. Pilgr. I. 528. ] We learn by a subsequent article in the Pilgrims, I. 603, That CaptainWilliam Keeling was general, or chief commander of this fleet, andsailed in the Dragon, Robert Bonner master. The other two ships were thePepper-corn, Captain Christopher Harris, and the Expedition, CaptainWilliam Peyton. --E. §1. _Occurrences during the Voyage from England to Surat_. We sailed from Gravesend on the 24th January, 1615, and on the 2dFebruary Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador from his majesty to the Great Mogul, repaired on board the Lion, with fifteen attendants. At the same time, Mr Humphry Boughton embarked in the Pepper-corn, being recommended bythe king to the company for a passage to India. We carried out in thefleet eleven Japanese, who were brought to England in the Clove, dividedproportionally among the ships; likewise fourteen Guzerates, broughthome in the Dragon, together with nineteen condemned persons fromNewgate, to be left for the discovery of unknown places, the companyhaving obtained their pardons from the king for this purpose. On the20th, some of the Dragon's men, among whom were the _Newgate birds_, attempted to run away with the pinnace, but were prevented: Yet nextnight one of these condemned men, and two of the crew of thePepper-corn, carried away her pinnace. Two of my men conspired to carryaway my boat that same night, but were discovered. The 23d February we set sail from the Downs, and on the 6th March welost sight of the Lizard. The 26th we saw land, supposed to be thewestern part of Fuerteventura, but it proved to be part of Barbary. Oneof the points of land at the mouth of the river _Marhequena_, we foundto be laid down wrong, a whole degree more northerly than it ought tobe; as likewise cape Bajadore is misplaced a whole degree, which wefound by experience, escaping great danger caused by that error in ourcharts. The 26th of April we got into the trade wind; and on the 10thMay, being by estimation 620 leagues west of the Cape of Good Hope, wesaw many _pintadoes, mangareludas_, and other fowls. The 5th June we came to anchor in Saldanha bay, having only buried threeor four men since leaving England, out of our whole fleet, and had nowabout thirty sick, for whom we erected five tents ashore. _Corey_[162]came down and welcomed us after his manner, by whose means the savageswere not so fearful or thievish as at other times. They brought uscattle in great abundance, which we bought for shreds of copper. Coreyshewed his house and his wife and children to some of our people, hisdwelling being at a town or _craal_ of about an hundred houses, fiveEnglish miles from the landing place. Most of these savages can say _SirThomas Smith's English ships_, which they often repeat with much pride. Their wives and children came often down to see us, whom we gratifiedwith bugles, or such trifles; and two or three of them expressed adesire to go with us to England, seeing that Corey had sped so well, andreturned so rich, with his copper suit, which he preserves at his housewith much care. Corey also proposed to return with us, accompanied byone of his sons, when our ships are homeward-bound. On the east side ofthe _Table_ mountain there is another village of ten small houses, builtround like bee-hives, and covered with mats woven of bent grass. [Footnote 162: Corey, or Coree, was a savage, or Hottentot chief; whohad been in England. --_Purch. _] "The land at the Cape of Good Hope, near Saldanha bay, [Table bay] isfertile, but divided by high and inaccessible rocky mountains, coveredwith snow, the river Dulce falling into the bay on the east side. Thenatives are the most barbarous people in the world, eating carrion, wearing the guts of sheep about their necks, and rubbing their heads, the hair on which is curled like the negroes, with the dung of beastsand other dirt. They have no clothing, except skins wrapped about theirshoulders, wearing the fleshy side next them in summer, and the hairyside in winter. Their houses are only made of mats, rounded at the toplike an oven, and open on one side, which they turn as the windchanges, having no door to keep out the weather. They have left offtheir former custom of stealing, but are quite ignorant of God, and seemto have no religion. The air and water here are both excellent, and thecountry is very healthy. The country abounds in cattle, sheep, antilopes, baboons, pheasants, partridges, larks, wild-geese, ducks, andmany other kinds of fowls. On the Penguin isle [Dassen or Robber'sisland, ] there is a bird called penguin, which walks upright, having nofeathers on its wings, which hang down like sleeves faced with white. These birds cannot fly, but walk about in flocks, being a kind ofmixture, or intermediate link, between beast, bird, and fish, yet mostlybird. The commodities here are cattle and _ningin_ roots; and I believethere is a rock yielding quicksilver. [163]The Table mountain is 11, 853feet high. [164] The bay is full of whales and seals, and is in lat. 33°45' S. "--T. R. [Footnote 163: Ningin, or Ginseng, is mentioned afterwards. Thequicksilver rock has not been found. --E. ] [Footnote 164: This height is probably an exaggeration, or was measuredup its slope or talus, not ascertained perpendicularly. --E. ] On the 16th of June, after a consultation, we set ashore ten of ourcondemned persons to remain at the Cape. These were John Crosse, HenryCocket, Clerke, Brand, Booth, Hunyard, Brigs, Pets, Metcalf, andSkilligall. These men agreed that Crosse should be their chief, and wegave them weapons for their defence against men and wild beasts, together with provisions and clothes. The natives at this place areespecially desirous of brass, and care not much for copper, chieflywishing to have pieces of a foot square. They care little for ironhoops. We caught seven or eight hundred fishes in the river, at one haulof our seyne. The country people brought us for sale a root called_Ningin_, [165] of which we bought a handful for a small piece of copperan inch and half long. Our men got some of this, but not so good, thisnot being the season when it is ripe; for, when in full perfection, itis as tender and sweet as anise-seeds. [Footnote 165: A medicinal root, much prized at Japan, somewhat like a_skerrit_. --_Purch. _ Probably that named Ginseng, in high repute inChina and Japan for its fancied restorative and provocative powers, likethe mandrake of holy writ, but deservedly despised in the Materia Medicaof Europe. Its whole virtues lay in some supposed resemblance to thehuman figure, founded on the childish doctrine of signatures; whence, at one time, every thing yellow was considered specific againstjaundice, with many other and similar absurd notions. --E. ] We sailed from Saldanha on the 20th June, and on the the 21st we hadsight of land in 34° 28' S. Being the land to the west of cape _deArecife_, laid down 28' more northwardly than it ought in the charts of_Daniel_. On the 6th July we ought to have seen the coast of Madagascar, by most of our computations, and according to Daniel's charts, uponMercator's projection, which proved false by seventy leagues in distanceof longitude between the coast of Ethiopia at cape Bona Speranza and theisle of St Lawrence, as is evident from the charts projected _in plano_by _Tottens_. The 22d all the four ships anchored at _Mohelia_, where wehad water from wells dug a little above high-water mark, eight or ninefeet deep, close by the roots of trees. _Doman_ is the chief town ofthis island, where the sultan resides, to whom we gave a double-lockedpiece and a sword. For very little money we were plentifully suppliedwith provisions, as poultry, goats, bullocks, lemons, oranges, limes, tamarinds, cocoa-nuts, pines, sugar-canes, and other fruits. Among theinhabitants of this island there are Arabs, Turks, and Moors, many ofwhom speak tolerable Portuguese. From them I had a curious account ofthe current at this place, which they said ran alternately fifteen dayswesterly, fifteen days easterly, and fifteen days not at all; and whichI partly observed to be true: For, at our first coming, the current setwesterly, and on the 28th it set easterly, and so continued during ourstay, which was six days, but we went away before trial could beperfectly made of this report. I learned here that the king of _Juanni_ [Joanna or Hinzuan] wassovereign of this island, but entrusted its government to the sultan, who resides here. The 29th, a vessel arrived at _Doman_ from_Gangamora_, in the island of Madagascar, and I was desired by thegeneral to examine what were its commodities, which I found to consistof rice, and a kind of cloth manufactured of the barks of trees, whichmakes very cool garments. I enquired from the pilot, who spoke goodPortuguese, respecting Captain Rowles and the other Englishmen who werebetrayed on that island. He knew nothing of all this, but said that twoor three years before, an English boy was at Gangamora along with thePortuguese, whom he now thought dead, but knew not how he came there. This town of _Doman_ contains about an hundred houses, strongly built ofstone and lime, and its inhabitants are orderly and civil. They carryon trade with the coasts of Melinda, Magadoxa, Mombaza, Arabia, andMadagascar, carrying slaves taken in their wars, which they sell fornine or ten dollars each, and which are sold afterwards in Portugal for100 dollars a-head. At Mombaza and Magadoxa, they have considerabletrade in elephants teeth and drugs; and it was therefore agreed toadvise the honourable company of this, that they might consider ofsending a pinnace yearly to make trial of this trade. In Mohelia, webought two or three bullocks for a bar of iron of between twenty andtwenty-five pounds weight. We bought in all 200 head of cattle, andforty goats, besides poultry, fruits, &c. "_Malalia_ [Mohelia] is one of the Commora islands, the other threebeing _Angazesia_, [Comoro] _Juanny_, [Joanna or Hinzuan] and Mayotta, stretching almost east and west from each other. _Angazesia_ [Comoro]bears N. By W. From Mohelia, and is the highest land I ever saw. It isinhabited by Moors trading with the main and the other three easternislands, bartering their cattle and fruits for calicoes and other clothsfor garments. It is governed by ten petty kings, and has abundance ofcattle, goats, oranges, and lemons. The people are reckoned false andtreacherous. _Hinzuan_ lies east from Mohelia and Mayotta. All thesethree islands are well stored with refreshments, but chiefly Mohelia, and next to it Hinzuan. Here lived an old woman who was sultaness of allthese islands, and under her there were three deputies in Mohelia, whowere all her sons. The sultan in whose quarter we anchored is soabsolute, that none of his people dared to sell a single cocoa-nutwithout his leave. Four boats were sent to his town to desire thisliberty, which was granted. Captain Newport went ashore with forty men, and found the governor sitting on a mat, under the side of a junk whichwas then building, and attended by fifty men. He was dressed in a mantleof blue and red calico, wrapped about him to his knees, his legs andfeet bare, and his head covered by a close cap of checquer work. Beingpresented with a gun and sword, he returned four cows, and proclaimedliberty for the people to trade with us. He gave the English cocoa-nutsto eat, while he chewed betel and areka-nut, tempered with lime of burntoister shells. It has a hot biting taste, voids rheum, cools the head, and is all their physic. It makes those giddy who are not accustomed toits use, producing red spittles, and in time colours the teeth black, which they esteem handsome, and they use this continually. From thegovernor they were conducted to the carpenter's house, who was a chiefman in the town. His house was built of stone and lime, low and little, plaistered with white lime, roofed with rafters, which were covered withleaves of the cocoa-nut tree, the outsides wattled with canes. "Their houses are kept clean and neat, with good household stuff, havinggardens inclosed with canes, in which they grow tobacco and plantains. For dinner, a board was set upon tressels, on which was spread a finenew mat, and stone benches stood around, on which the guests sat. First, water was brought to each in a cocoa-shell, and poured into a woodenplatter, and the rinds of cocoa-nuts were used instead of towels. Therewas then set before the company boiled rice, roasted plantains, quartersof hens, and pieces of goat's flesh broiled. After grace said, they fellto their meat, using bread made of cocoa-nut kernels, beaten up withhoney, and fried. The drink was palamito wine, and the milk of thecocoa-nuts. Those who went to see the sultan, named _Amir Adell_, foundall things much in the same manner, only that his behaviour was morelight, and he made haste to get drunk with some wine carried to him bythe English. The people of these islands are strict Mahomedans, and veryjealous of letting their women or mosques be seen. For, on some of theEnglish coming near a village, they shut them up, and threatened to killthem if they came nearer. Many of them speak and write Arabic, and somefew of them Portuguese, as they trade with Mosambique in junks of fortytons burden, built, caulked, and rigged all out of the cocoa-nut tree. Here we bought oxen and cows, fat but small, Arabian sheep, hens, oranges, lemons, and limes in abundance, paying for them in calicoes, hollands, sword-blades, dollars, glasses, and other trifles. "--T. R. We sailed from Mohelia on the 2d August, and on the 17th got sight ofcape Guardafui, where the natives seemed afraid of us. The 20th weanchored in the road of _Galencia_ in Socotora, where the fierceness ofthe wind raised the sea into a continual surf all round about us, and bythe spray, blown about us like continual rain, our masts, yards, andtackle were made white all over by the salt, like so much hoar-frost;The 23d we anchored at _Tamara_, the town where the king resides, and onthe 24th at _Delisha_. They here demanded thirty dollars for the quintalof aloes, which made us buy the less. The _Faiking_ told us that CaptainDownton had bought 100 quintals, and it was still so liquid, eitherfrom newness, or because of the heat, that it was ready to run out ofthe skins. The quintal of this place, as tried by our beam, weighed 1031/2 pounds English. Aloes is made from the leaves of a plant resemblingour sempervivum, or house-leek, the roots and stalk being cut away, therest strongly pressed, and the juice boiled up to a certain height, after which it is put into earthen pots, closely stopped for eightmonths, and is then put into skins for sale. The north part of Socotorais in 12° 30', and the body in 120° 25'. [166] It is fourteen leaguesfrom this island to _Abdul Curia_, and as much more from thence to capeGuardafui. Such as mean to sail for Socotora, should touch at that cape, and sail from thence next morning a little before day-break, to lose nopart of the day-light, the nights here being dark and obscure, with fogsand boisterous winds, during the months of August and September. Ongetting into _Abdul Curia_, they may anchor on the west side in seven oreight fathoms, under the low land; or, if they cannot get to anchor, should keep close hauled in the night to the southward, lest the windand northerly current put them too much to leeward before day. Notwithstanding the monsoon, the winds do not blow steadily, beingsometimes S. By W. And S. S. W. But seldom to the east of south. [Footnote 166: These two numbers unquestionably relate to the longitudeand latitude respectively, though strangely expressed. The true lat. Is13° 20'N. And long. 53° E. From Greenwich. --E. ] "Socotora is an island not far from the mouth of the Red Sea, being the_Dioscuria_ or _Disoscordia_ of the ancients, in lat. 13° 20' N. It wasgoverned when we were there by a sultan, named Amir Ben-said, son of theking of Fartaque, in Arabia Felix, which lies between the latitudes of15° and 18° N. On the coast of Arabia. This king was in peace with theTurks, on condition of assisting them with 5000 men when required, andthen these troops to be paid and maintained by the Turks, to whom hepaid no other acknowledgement. Near to the sea about Dofar, there isanother petty Arab sovereign, whom he of Fartaque dare not meddle with, because he is under the protection of the Grand Signior. "The sultan of Socotora came down to meet us at the shore, accompaniedby 300 men, and had a tent set up for his accommodation. He was onhorseback, as were two of his principal attendants, and a third on acamel, the people running before and behind him shouting. He had twocompanies of guards, one composed of his own subjects, and the otherconsisting of twelve hired Guzerates, some armed with Turkish bows, somewith pistols, and some with muskets, but all having good swords. He hadalso a few kettle-drums, and one trumpet. He received the general in acourteous manner, and was so absolute, that no person could sell anything except himself. His people sat about him very respectfully; hisclothes were of Surat cloths, made in the Arabian fashion, with acassock of red and white wrought velvet, and a robe of which the groundwas cloth of gold. He wore a handsome turban, but his legs and feet werebare. "Every night these people all stand or kneel towards the setting sun, the _zerife_ throwing water on their heads, being all Mahomedans. Theking's town, named Tamara, is built of stone and lime, all whited over, the houses built with battlements and pinnacles, and all flat-roofed. Ata distance it looks well, but within is very poor. Mr Boughton had leaveto see the king's house, and found it such as might serve an ordinarygentleman in England. The lower rooms were used as warehouses andwardrobe, a few changes of robes hanging about the walls, and along withthem were some twenty-five books of their law, religion, history, andsaints lives. No person could be permitted to go up stairs to see histhree wives, or the other women; but the ordinary sort might be seen inthe town, their ears all full of silver rings. In the mosque the priestwas seen at service. Mr Boughton had for his dinner three hens, withrice, his drink being water, and a black liquor called _cahu_, [coffee]drank as hot as could be endured. "On a hill, a mile from Tamara, there is a square castle, but we couldnot get leave to see it. The inhabitants are of four sorts. The firstare Arabs, who have come in by means of conquest, who dare not speak inpresence of the sultan without leave, and kissing his hand. The secondsort are slaves, who kiss his foot when they come into his presence, doall his work, and make his aloes. The third sort are the old inhabitantsof the country, called Bedouins, though I think these are not the oldestof all, whom I suppose to have been those commonly called JacobiteChristians: For, on Mr Boughton going into a church of theirs, which theArabs had forced them to abandon, he found some images and a crucifix, which he took away. The Mahomedans would not say much about thesepeople, lest other Christians might relieve or support them. TheseBedouins, having had wars with the Arabs, live apart from them in themountains. The fourth kind of people, or original natives, are verysavage, poor lean, naked, and wear their hair long. They eat nothing butroots, ride about on buffaloes, conversing only among themselves, beingafraid of all others, having no houses, and live more like wild beaststhan men, and these we conjecture to have been the original natives ofthe place. "The island is very mountainous and barren, having some beeves, goats, and sheep, a few dates and oranges, a little rice, and nothing else forthe food of man. All its commodities consist of aloes, the inspisatedjuice of a plant having a leaf like our house-leek. The only manufactureis a very poor kind of cloth, used only by slaves. The king had somedragon's blood, and some Lahore indigo, as also a few civet cats andcivet. The dead are all buried in tombs, and the monuments of theirsaints are held in much veneration. The chief of these was one _SidyHachun_, [167] buried at Tamara, who was slain about an hundred yearsbefore we were there, and who, as they pretend, still appears to them, and warns them of approaching dangers. They hold him in wonderfulveneration, and impute high winds to his influence. "--T. R. [Footnote 167: Sidy, or Seid, signifies a descendant or relative ofMahomet, and Hachem, a prophet. --E. ] The 31st of August we sailed from Socotora. The 10th September we hadquails, herons, and other land-birds blown from the land, and unable toreturn. The 14th we had sight of Diu, and the 16th of Damaun, bothinhabited by the Portuguese, and strongly fortified. On the 18th wepassed the bar of Surat, and came to anchor in the road of Swally. Nextday we sent a messenger on shore, and our boat returned the same night, bringing off Mr William Bidulph, who told us of all the affairs of thecountry, and that _Zulphecar Khan_[168] was now governor of Surat. Atthis place we bought sheep for half a dollar each, and got twenty hensfor a dollar. On the 22d Mr Barker and other merchants were sent toSurat to provide furniture for a house to accommodate the lordambassador, Sir Thomas Roe. They were searched most narrowly, even theirpockets, and the most secret parts of their dress, according to the basemanner of this country, in which a man has to pay custom for a singledollar in his purse, or a good knife in his pocket; and if one has anything rare, it is sure to be taken away by the governor, under pretenceof purchase. [Footnote 168: In the Pilgrims this person is named Zuipher-Car-Chan, but we believe the orthography in the text is more correct. --E. ] The lord ambassador landed on the 25th, accompanied by our general, allthe captains and merchants, and eighty men under arms, part pikes, andpart muskets. Forty-eight guns were fired off from the ships, which wereall dressed out with colours and streamers, flags and pendants. Onlanding, he was received in a splendid tent by the chief men of Surat, who welcomed him to India. There was much to do about their barbaroussearch, which they would have executed on all his attendants, which hestrenuously resisted, and at length he and three or four of hisprincipal followers were exempted, while the rest were only slightlyhandled for fashion-sake. A great deal passed on this occasion betweenthe governor and the ambassador, about these rude and barbarousexactions, Sir Thomas justly contending for the honour and immunity ofan ambassador from an independent king; while they insisted to make nodifference between him and others of similar rank in those parts, and ofour own likewise, who had formerly assumed the name of ambassadors. Their barbarous usage not only perplexed him there, and detained himlong till an order came from court, but gave him much plague all thetime he remained in the country, as will appear afterwards from his ownjournal. They could not easily be persuaded to allow of any differencebetween him and Mr Edwards, who had been considered by them in the samelight with Sir Thomas. Mr Barwick's man, who had been inveigled to run away by a deserter fromCaptain Best who had turned Mahomedan, was brought back from Surat onthe 1st of October. Others afterwards ran away to Damaun, and wrote totheir comrades to induce them to do the same. The 2d, two Hollanderscame on board, who had travelled by land from Petapulli, on theCoromandel coast. On the 10th, the governor's brother came on board, making many fair speeches, and had a present given him. The governorimpudently urged us to give him presents, though he had already receivedthree, but found fault with them, and even named what he would havegiven him, being beggar and chooser both at once. We had this day newsof Mr Aldworth's death; and on the 5th November we received intelligenceof the lord ambassador having fallen sick at Burhanpoor, and that MrBoughton was dead. The most current coin at Surat is rials of eight, or Spanish dollars, ofwhich the old with the plain cross passes for five mahmoodies each. Thenew dollars, having flower-de-luces at the ends of the cross, if notlight, are worth four 3/4 mahmoodies. The _mahmoody_ is a coarse silvercoin, containing thirty _pice_, and twelve _drams_ make a _pice_. TheEnglish shilling, if full weight, will yield thirty 1/2 pice. Larinesare worth much the same with mahmoodies. [169] There are sundry kinds ofrupees, some of which are worth half a dollar, and others less, by whichone may be easily deceived. The trade at Surat is conducted by brokers, who are very subtle, and deceive both buyer and seller, if not carefullylooked after. In weights, each city of India differs from another. Thecommodities are infinite, indigos being the chief, those of Lahore thebest, and those from Sarkess inferior. Great quantities of cloths madeof cotton, as white and coloured calicoes, containing fourteen yards thebook or piece, from 100 to 200 mahmoodies each. Pintadoes, chintzes, chadors, sashes, girdles, cannakens, trekannies, serrabafs, aleias, patollas, sellas, quilts, carpets, green ginger, suckets or confections, lignum aloes, opium, sal amoniac, and abundance of other drugs. Vendiblecommodities are knives, mirrors, pictures, and such like toys; Englishcloth, China wares, silk, and porcelain, and all kinds of spices. TheGuzerates load their great ships, of nine, twelve, or fifteen hundredtons, at Gogo, and steal out unknown to the Portuguese. [Footnote 169: From this explanation, the _mahmoody_ and larine may beassumed as worth one shilling; the _pice_ as equal to a farthing and ahalf, and the dram at about 1-10th of a farthing. --E. ] The chief places for trade on the river Sinde, or Indus, are Tatta, _Diul-sinde_, Mooltan, and Lahore. The Expedition, on her former voyage, had landed the Persian ambassador, Sir Robert Shirley, at _Diul-sinde_;and of him I have thought it right to give the following particulars, asan appendix to my former voyage, having learnt them from some of hisfollowers at Agra. Being weary of _Diul-sinde_, through the evil conductof the governor, and the attempts of the Portuguese to molest him, whoeven used their endeavours to cut him off, for which purpose twelve ofthem had gone there from Ormus, he asked leave to proceed to Tatta; but, being refused permission, he went without leave, and having by the wayto pass a river where none durst ferry him over, because prohibited bythe governor on pain of death, he constructed a raft of timber andboards, on which he and Nazerbeg embarked. They were no sooner shovedoff than twenty or thirty horse came from the governor in great haste todetain them. And as Nazerbeg was unable to guide the raft against thetide, some men swam to the raft and brought them back, on which occasionthey narrowly escaped being drowned. Some of his followers beingindignant at this rude dealing, one Mr John Ward shot off his pistol intheir faces, and was instantly slain by another shot, and all the restwere carried back prisoners to _Diul-sinde_, being pillaged by thesoldiers on their way. After some time in prison, they were permitted toproceed to Tatta, where they were kindly entertained by the governor ofthat place, who was a Persian. Before leaving Diul-sinde, Sir ThomasPowell and Mr Francis Bub died. Sir Robert Shirley remained at Tattatill a fit opportunity offered of proceeding to Agra, where he went atlast, finding the way long and tedious, and much infested by thieves. Hewent there however in safety, going in company with a great man who hada strong escort, and for whom he had to wait two months. In this time Lady Powell was delivered of a son, but both she and herchild died soon after, together with Mr Michael Powell, brother to SirThomas, losing their lives in this tedious waiting in boats for thegreat man. On his arrival at Agra, Sir Robert was favourably entertainedby the Great Mogul, who sent for the Banian governor of Diul-sinde toanswer at court to the complaint, and promised Sir Robert to have hisown revenge if he would stay; but he hasted away to Persia, afterreceiving many presents from the Mogul, who gave him an escort, and allnecessaries for his journey, in which he had not a single Englishattendant, as John Heriot died at Agra, and Mr Richard Barber, hisapothecary, returned to Surat. Of all his company, three only remainedwith him, his lady and her female attendant, two Persians, the oldArminian, and the Circassian. His Dutch jeweller came to Surat alongwith Mr Edwards. §2. _Occurrences at Calicut and Sumatra, Miscarriage of the EnglishShips, Abuses of the Dutch, and Factories in India_. We took a Portuguese prize on the 29th of February, 1616. The 3d March, while at anchor in the road of Calicut, the deputy of the Zamorin cameaboard, attended by many boats, signifying the joy of his master at ourarrival, and his earnest desire to confer with our nation, and entreatedtherefore that we would tarry a few days, that he might send to theZamorin, who was then at Cranganore besieging a castle belonging to thePortuguese. We had here abundance of provisions brought to us on board, and at reasonable rates. That same evening, there came a messenger fromthe Zamorin, entreating us to anchor for two or three days offCranganore, which we accordingly did on the 5th, anchoring two leaguesoff shore. About noon the Zamorin sent to request the general would comeashore, to visit him, but this was not deemed right without a pledge, and Mr George Barkley went ashore to wait upon him; but the Zamorinrefused to reveal his intentions to any one except our general, andseemed much displeased at his not coming ashore. The general accordingly landed on the 8th, and had an audience of theZamorin, who wished the English to establish a factory in his dominions, for which purpose he offered a good house rent-free, freedom from customor other exactions, for all goods brought there or carried thence, andmade many protestations of affection for our nation. This was for thepresent declined, because most of our goods had been left at Surat, andbecause we were now bound for Bantam. To this the Zamorin answered, thatit was no matter whether any goods were left for the present, as he onlydesired we might leave two or three Englishmen there, who should wantfor nothing, as he only wanted to be assured of our return next yearwith a supply of men and goods. He assured us we might be sure ofloading one ship yearly with pepper, and might make sale of ourcommodities to a considerable extent. Upon this it was agreed to leave afactory at this place, with such goods as we could spare, which wentaccordingly on shore on the 9th; George Woolman being appointed chief ofthis new factory at Cranganore, Peter Needham and Roger Haresunder-factors, together with Richard Stamford, and a boy named EdwardPeake, who was appointed to learn the language. The name of the king is_Pendre Quone[170] Zamorin_, to whom was given, as a present, a minionor small cannon, and a barrel of powder; on which he promised, if he wonthe fort of Cranganore, to give it up to the English. [Footnote 170: Named _Underecon Cheete_ in a subsequent article. --E. ] The 10th we received the Zamorin's letter of agreement for ourprivileges, with many fair protestations of love. We sailed the sameday, passing before Cochin, which we could see distinctly. Next day wehad a view of the town and castle of Coulan, where was a ship riding atanchor under the guns of the castle, which we boarded and brought forthwithout any hurt from the guns, all the crew having fled ashore. Thiswas a Portuguese ship of four or five hundred tons, lately arrived fromBengal and Pegu, laden with rice, grain, Bengal cloths, butter, sugar, gum lack, hard wax, drugs, and other things. The 12th we espied anothership, to which we gave chase, and came up with about midnight, when shesurrendered at the first shot. [171] I sent for her chief men on board myship, the others being three or four miles a-stern, and set some of mypeople on board the prize, with strict charges to hurt no person. Therewere in this ship eighteen or twenty Portuguese, and about eightyothers, men, women, and children. Her chief loading was rice, butter, sugar, lack, drugs, and Bengal cloths. We offered these people our firstprize, with victuals to carry them ashore, which they refused, asfearing to be ill-used by the Malabars, having lately escaped withdifficulty from a fleet of theirs of fourteen sail. Next day we landedthem where they desired, and allowed them to go away unsearched formoney or jewels. We had now three English ships[172] and three prizes. [Footnote 171: These prizes were taken from the Portuguese in partsatisfaction for their unjust vexations and hostilities at Surat andother places. --_Purch. _] [Footnote 172: No notice is taken of the fourth ship, the Lion, probablyleft at Surat; indeed, the whole of this relation is exceedingly vagueand unsatisfactory, the name even of the general never being oncementioned. --E. ] The 14th we arrived at _Brinion_, in lat. 8° 30', where we took out ofthe first prize what we thought useful, and then set her adrift. At_Brinion_ there is a small town in a round bay, which may be known by along white beach to the north, and to the south is all high land, havinga red cliff two leagues to the south, close to the sea. From thence tocape Comorin is sixteen leagues, the course being S. E. By S. Along abold free coast. The inhabitants of Brinion[173] are no way subject tothe Portuguese. The 1st of April the island of Ceylon bore E. By S. Seven leagues off. On the 10th the Peak of Adam bore north. I this daytook my leave of the general, the Dragon and Pepper-corn being bound forAcheen, while I, in the Expedition, went for Priaman, Tecoo, and Bantam. [Footnote 173: In 8° 22' N. At the distance indicated from cape Comorin, is a place called Billingham, which may possibly be the Brinion of thetext. --E. ] It is good to remain in Brinion till the end of March, when the easterlymonsoon ends, and not to pass cape Comorin sooner, on account of calms, and because the southerly current sets towards the Maldives. All whocome from the west for Priaman and Tecoo, ought to continue so as tohave sufficient day-light for passing between _Nimptan_[174] and theother adjacent islands, the best channel being to the north of thatisland. On the 30th of April I met the Advice going for Tecoo; but, atmy request, she returned for Bantam, whence she was sent to Japan. Iarrived at Bantam on the 1st of May, where I found the Hosiander newlyarrived from Japan, and the Attendance from _Jambo_, most of their menbeing sick or dead. I here learnt the death of Captain Downton, and ofthe arrival of Captain Samuel Castleton with the Clove and Defence, which, with the Thomas and Concord, were gone to the Moluccas, theThomas being appointed to proceed from thence to Japan. [Footnote 174: Pulo Mintaon, off the S. W. Coast of Sumatra, nearly underthe line, is probably here meant. --E. ] The 19th of May I sailed from Bantam, and the 10th June I put intoTecoo. The 3d July I hove my ship down on the careen to sheath her. Itis of great use to double sheath such ships as go to Surat, as thoughthe outer sheathing may be eaten like a honey-comb by the worms, theinner is not at all injured. It were also of great use to have therudder sheathed with thin copper, [175] to prevent the worms from eatingoff its edges, which is very detrimental in steering, and cannot beeasily remedied, being so deep in the water. The natives of Sumatrainhabiting Priaman are barbarous, deceitful, and continually cravingpresents or bribes; and sometimes I have been in imminent hazard ofbeing murdered, a hundred of them drawing their crisses upon us at once, because we refused to let them have our goods on trust, or at prices oftheir own making. The 20th, Thomas Bonnar, master of the Expedition, died, and was succeeded by John Row, who was the third master in thisvoyage. [Footnote 175: We had formerly occasion to notice a ship sheathed withiron at Japan, and this is the first indication or proposal for usingcopper in that way. Iron sheathing has never been adopted into Britishpractice, while copper sheathing is now universal. Captain Peyton doesnot appear to have been aware that copper sheathing is incompatiblewith iron fastenings, which indeed was only learnt long after, by woefulexperience, and the loss of many ships and men. In consequence of astrong predisposing chemical afinity, exerted by the contiguity of thecopper and iron in the sea water, the muriatic acid corrodes the ironbolts and other fastenings, all of which are now made of copper in shipsthat are to be copper sheathed. --E. ] The 26th, the Dragon and Pepper-corn arrived from Acheen, where they hadpurchased pepper, carried there from Tecoo in large junks and praws, which navigate between these places, but never out of sight of land. Theking of Acheen commands the people of Tecoo to bring their pepper to hisport, and allows none to purchase it there, but those who barter theirSurat goods at such rates as he pleases to impose. Often likewise, hesends to Priaman and Tecoo the Surat commodities procured by him in thatmanner, obliging the merchants there to buy at rates by him imposed, andno person is allowed to buy or sell till his goods are sold. This makesour trade with them the better. [176] _Jambo_ is on the east side ofSumatra, and yields a similar large-grained pepper with what is procuredat Priaman, but is not under the dominion of the king of Acheen, as areBaruse, Passaman, Tecoo, Priaman, Cottatinga, and other places on thewestern side of that island. _Baruse_ is to the north of Passaman, andyields considerable quantities of benzoin; _Cottatinga_ yields gold, andthe other places pepper. Our general brought the king of Acheen's letterto these places, where the chief men received it with great submission, each of them kissing it and laying it on his head, promising to obey itsinjunctions, yet all failed in performance. It were proper, in theseletters from the king, to procure all the particulars of the trade to beinserted. I set sail from Tecoo for Bantam on the 4th September. [Footnote 176: It is so expressed in the Pilgrims; yet it would seemthat such arbitrary proceeding in the sovereign, assuming the characterof merchant, would be destructive of all trade. --E. ] The best gold, and the largest quantity, is to be had at the high hillof Passaman, where likewise is the best, cheapest, and most abundantproduce of pepper. But the air is there so pestiferous, that there is nogoing thither for our nation without great mortality among the men. Fortunately this is not necessary in procuring pepper, as the Suratcommodities at Tecoo are sufficiently attractive. I have even observedmany of the natives to labour under infectious diseases, the limbs ofsome being ready to drop off with rottenness, while others had hugewens or swellings under their throats, as large as a two-penny loaf;which they impute to the bad water. [177] Though a barbarous people, theyare yet acquainted with the means of curing their diseases. The peopleof Tecoo are base, thievish, subtle, seeking gain by every kind offraud, or even by force when they dare; using false weights, falsereckonings, and even attempting to poison our meats and drinks whiledressing, and crissing our men when opportunity serves: But it is to behoped they may be inforced to keep better order, by the influence andauthority of the king of Acheen. At Acheen our Portuguese prizes weredisposed of, and shared according to the custom of the sea, a sixth partbeing divided among the captors, and the rest carried to the account ofour employers. There were only five left in the factory. Many of our menwere sick, owing to their immoderate indulgence in drinking arrack. [Footnote 177: The _goitre_ was long ignorantly imputed in Europe todrinking snow water; but is now well known only to affect theinhabitants of peculiar districts, as Derbyshire in England, and theValais in Switzerland, and this district in Sumatra, where certainmineral impregnations render the water unwholesome. --E. ] When at Bantam, in October 1616, there were four English ships, and fiveHollanders at Jacatra, which raised the price of pepper; and that themore, because the Dutch boasted of having brought this year in readymoney 1, 600, 000 dollars, which is probably a great exaggeration to braveour nation. Their last fleet of six ships took two or three ships of thePortuguese, of which they made great boasts. They endeavour to depressour nation by every manner of abuse throughout the Indies, actingtowards us in a most unfriendly and unchristian manner. Even in Bantam, where they acknowledge our equal right, they threaten to pull our peopleout of our factory by the ears, sometimes picking quarrels with them inthe streets, and even imprisoning them; and when they themselves havecaused an uproar, complaining to the king of Bantam of our unquietness, and bribing him to take their parts. He receives their money, and tellsus of their dealings, taking advantage of this disagreement to fleeceboth sides. Even at Pulo-way, an island freely surrendered to the kingof England, they abused our people, leading them through the streetswith halters round their necks, carrying an hour-glass before them, andproclaiming that they were to be hanged when the sand was run out. Andthough they did not actually proceed to that extremity, they kept themthree or four days in irons, and afterwards sent them aboard the Concordand Thomasine, under a forced composition never to return. Likewise, atthe return of the Hosiander from Japan, which brought thirty tons ofwood for them, free of freight and charges, they reported she would havereturned empty, but for their timber; which also they might have said ofmy ship, which brought for them, from Surat to Bantam, thirty-one_churles_ of indigo and a chest of pistoles, freight-free. Captain Castleton went to the Moluccas with four ships, the Clove, Defence, Thomas, and Concord, that he might be better able to defendhimself against the Hollanders; yet, being threatened by eleven of theirships, they returned without doing much business, having only a fewcloves in the Clove. The captain died there of the flux; and the badsuccess of that expedition, together with other faults, was laid to hischarge. The Trades-increase was twice set on fire by the Javans, and thefire quenched by our people; but on a third attempt, she was fired in somany places at once, that it was impossible to save her. The Darling waslaid up at Patane, in June 1615, by order of Mr Larkine and the factory, as incapable of repair. Herrold, her master, was reported of having adesign to carry her off to the Portuguese; and, being prevented, he wenthimself. The Thomasine was cast away, in September 1615, upon a shoal inthe night, seventeen leagues W. From Macasser, while returning from theMoluccas. On this occasion her goods were lost, which were not of muchvalue, but they saved the money, being 2000 dollars, and all theirprovisions, remaining fourteen days on a desolate island, where theyfitted up their boat, which brought themselves and their money toBantam. All their goods and other things were left behind, and seized bythe king of Macasser, who refused to make restitution. At Jacatra theHector sunk in three fathoms water while careening, her keel beingexceedingly worm-eaten. The Concord is there also laid up, so rottenand leaky that they had to take out her provisions, and let her sinkclose to the shore. The Hosiander, on the 15th October 1616, wasappointed to sail for the Coromandel coast. The factories which are at present established for our company in theEast Indies, so far as I could hear, are these: Bantam, Jacatra, Ahmedabad, Agra, Agimere, Burhanpoor, Calicut, Masulipatam, Patepulli, Patane, Siam, Banjermassen, Succodania, Macasser, Acheen, Jambo, Tecoo, Banda, and Firando in Japan. At Bantam, Mr George Barclay was chief, with John Jordan, George Ball, Ralph Copendale, and several otherfactors and assistants. The principal purpose of the factory at Acheen, is to solicit for our better proceedings at Priaman and Tecoo. The placeis unwholesome, more especially for such as indulge in the use of hotfiery drinks, as _arack_ and _aracape_, which bring many to untimelygraves; and throw discredit on the voyage. It is not to be imagined athome, how unruly are the common men abroad, never being satisfied unlesswhen their brains are reeling with liquor. Even the king of Acheen issaid to have a strange habit of getting drunk when the English resort tohim, as if thereby to do them honour, and it seems dishonourable to themnot to conform with him, in sitting in the water, drinking hard, andmany other strange customs. He is very tyrannical and cruel to hissubjects, daily cutting off the hands, arms, and legs of many, on verysmall and frivolous causes; or causing them to be thrown to theelephants, he himself commanding a sagacious elephant to toss theculprits so high and so often, as either to bruise or kill them, according to his caprice at the time. No one that arrives at his portmay land without his _chop_ or licence. On one occasion, a Dutch generalcame on shore without his licence, by desire of the principal factor, who presumed on his favour with the king. When the general came to thepalace-gate, where another chop is necessary, the king found thisirregularity to have proceeded from the presumption of the resident, whom he sent for and laid before the elephant, who tossed him threetimes, but so gently as not to bruise him much, giving him thus awarning how he should neglect the king's commands another time. TheDutch general stood by the while, fearing to come in for his share ofthis strange discipline; but the king forgave him, as ignorant of thelaw. The poor factor, being called into the king's presence, humblyacknowledged his punishment to have been merited, yet fled with the restof the factory at the departure of the ships; on which the king placedus in their house. We sailed from Bantam, homeward bound, on the 1st November 1616. The 5thJanuary 1617, I was unable to weigh our anchor, owing to the violenceof the wind, to follow the Dragon to Penguin island. Ships that go roundthe Cape of Good Hope from India, at this season of the year, ought notto anchor short of Saldanha road, [Table Bay, ] but ought to bear toleeward for Penguin island, and anchor there with two anchors at once, till the wind serve. In December, January, and February, the S. S. E. Windblows there with great violence from new to full moon. Yet I hold itdangerous to neglect this place, trusting to refreshments at St Helena, a certainty for an uncertainty; as the obscurity of the sun and moon, owing to thick mists at this season, may disappoint the most experiencednavigators, and occasion the loss of ship, cargo, and men. While at theCape, Corey came down with three sheep, and promised more, but went awayin great haste to his wife and family, who dwelt now farther from thebay than formerly. It appears that the Hollanders had frightened thenatives, by landing and going up the country with above an hundred menat once. Owing to this, our chief refreshment here was fresh fish. The 9th April 1617, we passed through great quantities of sea-weeds, called _seragasso_, which float in long ridges or rows along with thewind, and at considerable distances from each other. This plant has aleaf like samphire, but not so thick, and carries a very small yellowberry. It reaches from 22° 20' to 32° both of N. Latitude. We anchoredin the Downs on the 29th of May 1617. 3. _Brief Notice of the Ports, Cities, and Towns, inhabited by, andtraded with, by the Portuguese between the Cape of Good Hope and Japan, in_ 1616. The river of _Quame_, or _Cuamo_, on the eastern coast of Africa, wherethey are said to trade yearly for gold, elephants teeth, ambergris, andslaves. _Mozambique_, an island on the same coast, where they trade forgold, ambergris, and slaves, in barter for iron, lead, tin, and Cambaycommodities, _Magadoxo_, which has abundance of elephants teeth, someambergris, and various kinds of drugs. From these ports they tradeyearly to Cambay, the Red Sea, and other places, observing the monsoons, which blow W. In April, May, June, July, August, and part of September, and the E. Monsoon prevails an the other months. A few days between thecessation of one monsoon and the commencement of the other, the windsare variable, attended by calms, but become regular in a few days. Tothe east of Sumatra, however, the two monsoons continue only five monthseach way, the two intermediate months having variable winds. _Ormus_ in the gulf of Persia, whence the Portuguese trade to Persia, Diul-sinde, Arabia, &c. They fetch much pearl from Bassora;[178] andthey load a ship or two with Persian commodities for Diul-sinde, wherethey arrive between the end of August and middle of September, takinglikewise with them great store of dollars. Ormus is their best place inthe Indies except Goa. At _Muskat_ they have a fort and some smalltrade, keeping the natives in such awe by land and sea, that they darenot trade without their licence, and this practice they follow in allparts of India where they are strong. _Diul-sinde_ on the Indus in thedominions of the Great Mogul. _Diu_, where they have a strong castle. Damaun, where they have a castle, and are said to have an hundredvillages under their authority. _Basseen_, or _Serra de Bazein_, alittle south from _Damaun_, and bordering on the Deccan; between whichand _Chaul_ they have three ports, _Gazein, Banda_, and _Maia_. _Chaul_is a great city with a castle. At _Dabul_ they have a factory, but nofort. [Footnote 178: This is a mistake for the isle of Bahrein. --E. ] _Goa_ is their metropolitan city in India, which stands in a smallisland, being the seat of their viceroy, and the anchoring place oftheir caracks. _Onore_ has a small fort. _Barcellore_, a town andcastle, yields pepper, ginger, and many kinds of drugs. _Mangalore_, atown and castle. _Cananore_, a city and castle, yielding similarcommodities with Barcellore. From _Calicut_ they have been expelled bythe Zamorin, who endeavours to do the same at _Crangator_, [Cranganore, ]where they have a fort. _Cochin_ is a strong city and castle, pleasantlysituated on the sea in a wholesome air, with a fine river for thereception of ships. _Coulan_, a town with a small castle; near which isa village named St Lawrence, chiefly inhabited by friars and jesuits. _Quiloan_, a small city with a castle. _Tuckatra_, a town and castle, the inhabitants being mostly Christians. _Manaar_ is on the island of Ceylon, between Cape Comorin andPoint-de-Gale, where they have a town inhabited by Portuguese. In thisisland also they have _Columbo_, and many other small places, havingconquered most of the island, which yields cinnamon and various drugs. _Negopatnam_ is a city of great trade, on the coast of Coromandel, wherethey have only a factory. St Thomas, or _Meliapoor_, is a walled towninhabited by the Portuguese. In Bengal, up the river Ganges, they have atown, besides some factories and many small habitations. They have afactory in Pegu, another in Aracan, and one in the river of Martaban. Also at _Junkceylon_ they have a great factory, whence they fetchconsiderable quantities of tin to the Malabar coast. _Malacca_ is a strong city and castle belonging to the Portuguese, andthe centre of a great trade in those parts of India. From this place theking of Acheen has long sought to root them out, and has burnt andplundered some of their ships this year, 1619. At _Macao_, an island onthe coast of China, they have a city with a castle, where they are saidto carry on much trade with the Chinese. They have a factory in Japan, but neither town nor fort; and trade thence with the coast of China. TheDutch are said to make much spoil of the vessels employed on this trade, Portuguese, Chinese, and others, accounting all fish that fall intotheir net. SECTION V. _Notes, concerning the Proceedings of the Factory at Cranganore, fromthe Journal of Roger Hawes. [179]_ [Footnote 179: Parch. Pilgr. I. 608. --Hawes sailed in the fleet underKeeling, in 1615, which carried out Sir Thomas Roe, already related inSect. IV. Of this chapter; and the present short article almostexclusively relates to the new factory at Cranganore on the Malabarcoast, in which Hawes was left as one of the factors. This is a veryimperfect and inconclusive article, yet gives some idea of the mannersand customs of the Malabars. --E. ] On the 4th of March 1615, we chased a Portuguese frigate, which ran intoa creek and escaped. While on our way towards Cape Comorin, a Tony cameaboard of us, with messengers from the Zamorin to our general, CaptainWilliam Keeling. Next day, the governor sent a present, and entreatedthe general to proceed to Cranganore, which we did next day, taking withus the messengers sent from the Zamorin, who requested the general tocome on shore to speak with him. But, while he was doing so, somefrigates came and anchored near the shore, by which he was constrainedto go on board the Expedition, Captain Walter Peyton. On this occasionsome shots were exchanged, but little harm was done. The general wentashore on the 8th, accompanied by Mr Barclay, the cape merchant, andseveral others. They were well used, and agreed to settle a factory inthe dominions of the Zamorin, the following being the articles agreedupon:-- _"UNDERECON CHEETE, Great Zamorin, &c. To JAMES, King of Britain, &c. _Whereas your servant and subject, William Keeling, arrived in my kingdomat the port of Cranganore, in March 1615, with three ships, and at myearnest solicitation came ashore to see me; there was concluded by mefor my part, and by him for the English nation, as followeth. "As I have ever been at enmity with the Portuguese, and propose alwaysso to continue, I do hereby faithfully promise to be and to continue infriendship with the English, both for myself and my successors: And, ifI succeed in taking the fort of Cranganore, I engage to give it to theEnglish, to possess as their own, together with the island belonging toit, which is in length along the sea-coast nine miles, and three inbreadth; and I propose to build therein a house for my own people, tothe number of one hundred persons. "I shall hereafter endeavour, with the aid of the English, to conquerthe town and fort of Cochin, which formerly belonged, to my crown andkingdom, and shall then deliver it to the English as their own. Providedthat the charges of its capture be equally borne by both parties, onehalf by me, and the other half by the English nation; and in that case, the benefit of the plunder thereof, of whatsoever kind, shall belonghalf to me, and half to the English. And thereafter, I shall claim noright, title, or interest in the said town, precincts, or appurtenanceswhatsoever. " "I also covenant for myself, my heirs and successors, that the wholetrade of the English, in whatsoever commodities, brought in or carriedout, shall be entirely free from all custom, imposition, tax, toll, orany other duty, of any quality or description. " "To these covenants, which the shortness of time did not permit toextend in more ample form, I, the Zamorin, have sworn to perform, by thegreat God whom I serve, and not only for myself but for my successors;and in witness thereof have laid my hand upon this writing. [180] And thesaid William Keeling promises to acquaint the king his master with thepremises, and to endeavour to procure his majesty's consent thereto. " [Footnote 180: This probably alludes to a custom mentioned in one of ourearlier volumes, of imprinting the form of the hand, smeared with ink, on the paper, instead of signature or seal. --E. ] This being agreed upon, a stock was made out for a factory, such as theshortness of time would permit, and three factors were appointed. Thesewere, George Woolman, chief, Peter Needham, second, who was one of thegeneral's servants, and I, Roger Hawes, third; together with a youth, named Edward Peake, as our attendant, who was to learn the language. John Stamford, a gunner, was likewise left to assist the Zamorin in hiswars. On the 10th the ships departed, leaving us and our goods in a_shrambe_ at the water side, together with a present for the Zamorin. Wecontinued there till the 13th, at which time the last of our goods werecarried to the Zamorin's castle; whose integrity we much suspected, after having thus got possession of our goods. On the 20th, he insistedto see Mr Woolman's trunk, supposing we had plenty of money. Needham hadtold him we had 500 rials; but finding little more than fifty, hedemanded the loan of that sum, which we could not refuse. He offered usa pawn not worth half; which we refused to accept, hoping he would nowallow us to proceed to Calicut, but he put us off with delays. Helikewise urged us to give his brother a present. On the 28th, the Zamorin came into the apartment where we were, and gaveMr Woolman two gold rings, and one to each of the rest; and next day heinvited us to come to his tumbling sports. That same night, Stamfordwent out with his sword in his hand, telling the boy that he wouldreturn presently. The next news we had of him was, that he was in thehands of the Cochin nayres. He had lost His way while drunk, and meetingwith some of them, they asked where he wished to go; he said to theZamorin, to whom they undertook to conduct him, and he knew not that hewas a prisoner, till he got to Cochin. This incident put us in greatfear, but the Zamorin gave us good words, saying he was better pleasedto find him a knave now, than after he had put trust in him. We had leave in April to depart with our goods to Calicut, where wearrived on the 22d of that month, and were well received; but had toremain in the custom-house, till we could get a more convenient house, which was made ready for us on the 6th of May, with promise of a betterafter the rains. We were very desirous, according to our orders fromthe general, to have sent a messenger with his and our letters toSurat, to acquaint our countrymen that we were here; but the governorwould not consent till we had sold all our goods. On the 18th of June, one was sent. On the 26th, part of our goods were sold to the merchantsof Calicut, by the governor's procurement, with fair promises of partpayment shortly. But it is not the custom of the best or the worst inthis country to keep their words, being certain only in dissembling. MrWoolman was desirous of going to Nassapore to make sales, but thegovernor put him off with divers shifts from time to time. The 3d July, our messenger for Surat returned, reporting that he had been set uponwhen well forwards on his way, and had his money and letters taken fromhim, after being well beaten. Among his letters was one from CaptainKeeling to the next general, the loss of which gave us much concern; yetwe strongly suspected that our messenger had been robbed by his ownconsent, and had lost nothing but his honesty. A broker of Nassaporetold Mr Needham, that our dispatches had been sold to the Portuguese, and when the governor heard of this, he hung down his head, as guilty. We here sold some goods to merchants of Nassapore. Mr Woolman died on the 17th of August. We could not procure payment ofour promised money, and were told by our broker, that some one of ourdebtors would procure a respite from the governor, by means of a bribe, on which the rest would refuse till they all paid. On the 24th, theZamorin's sister sent us word, that she would both cause our debtors topay us, and to lend us any money we needed; but we found her as false asthe rest The queen mother also made us fair promises, and several othersmade offers to get letters conveyed for us to Surat; but all their wordswere equally false. Thus wronged, Mr Needham farther wronged himself byhis indiscretion, threatening, in presence of a nayre who attended us, and who revealed his threats, that he would go to the king of Cochin, making shew of violent revenge to put the governor in fear. He behavedoutrageously likewise to a _scrivano_, [181] who is the same as a justicewith us, taking him by the throat, and making as if he would have cuthim down with his sword, for detaining some of our money which he hadreceived. Our broker also told Mr Needham, that it was not becoming togo up and down the streets with a sword and buckler; and indeed hiswhole conduct and behaviour more resembled those we call_roaring-boys_, [182] than what became the character of a merchant. Formy admonitions, he requited me with ill language, disgracing himself andinjuring the affairs of the company. [Footnote 181: This term is obviously Portuguese, and cannot be theproper appellation for a judge on the Malabar coast. --E. ] [Footnote 182: This character is now only to be met with in some of ourold plays such as Captain Bobadil in Every Man in his Humour. --E. ] A Dutch ship, which had been trading in the Red Sea, arrived here on the23d of September, with the intention of settling a factory, and theywere referred by the governor to the Zamorin, promising to carry aletter for us, but went without it; so that our delays continued. MrNeedham went himself to the Zamorin on the 4th November, and returned onthe 25th, having got a present of a gold chain, a jewel, and a goldarmlet, with orders also from the king to further our purposes; but theperformance was as slow as before. The 20th December, a Malabar captainbrought in a prize he had taken from the Portuguese, and would havetraded with us; but we could not get in any of our money, due longbefore. We also heard that day of four English ships being at Surat. Thegovernor and people continued their wonted perfidiousness; the formerbeing more careful in taking, and the latter in giving bribes, than inpaying our debts. We used a strange contrivance of policy to get in someof these; for, when we went to their houses, demanding payment, andcould get none, we threatened not to leave their house till they paidus. We had heard it reported, that, according to their customs, theycould neither eat nor wash while we were in their houses; and by thisdevice we sometimes got fifty _fanos_ from one, and an hundred fromanother. They would on no account permit us to sleep in their houses, except one person, with whom we remained three days and nights, withthree or four nayres. They were paid for watching him, but we gotnothing. The nayre, who had been appointed by the king to gather in ourdebts, came to demand a gratuity from us, though he had not recoveredany of our money. He would go to the debtor's houses, taking three orfour _fanos_, and then depart without any of our money. On the 9th of January, 1616, Mr Needham went to demand payment of adebt, and being refused permission to pass by a nayre who struck him, ashe says, he gave the nayre a dangerous wound in the head with his sword, of which it is thought he cannot recover, and others of the natives werehurt in the fray. Word was presently brought to us to shut up our doors, lest the nayres should assemble to do us some mischief, as feuds orkindred-quarrels and murders are common among them, having no other lawor means of vengeance. Our nayre with his kindred, to the number ofthirty or more, with pikes, swords, and bucklers, guarded Mr Needhamhome, on which occasion we had to give a gratuity. Our house had to beguarded for three or four days and nights, none of us daring to go outinto the streets for money or other business for a week, though beforewe used to go about in safety. After that, our broker advised us neverto go out, unless attended by a nayre, as they had sworn to put one ofus to death, in revenge for him who was slain. The 20th, the Portuguese armado of thirty-four sail, passed by from thesouth, of which fourteen were ships, and the rest frigates or grabs. They put into the harbour, in which three Malabar frigates lay atanchor, and a hot fight ensued, in which the Portuguese were forced toretreat with disgrace, having only cut the hawser of one of thefrigates, which drove on shore and was stove in pieces. This belonged tothe governor, who was well served, for he remained like a coward in thecountry, keeping four or five great guns that were in the town lockedup, except one, and for it they had only powder and shot for twodischarges. Before the fight ended, some 4000 nayres were come in fromthe country, and several were slain on both sides. Nine or tenPortuguese were driven ashore, and two or three of the chiefs of thesewere immediately hung up by the heels, and being taken down after twodays, were thrown to be devoured by wild beasts. On the 28th of January, we were told by a Pattemar, that the governorwas only our friend outwardly, wishing rather to have the Portuguese inour room, as we did no good in the country, bringing only goods to sell, whereas the Portuguese did good by making purchases. The 8th of Februarywe had letters from Surat; and on the 4th of March, the Zamorin wrote tous, that if our ships came, he wished them to come to Paniany, and thatwe need not be anxious for our money, as he would pay us, even if hewere forced to sell his rings. SECTION VI. _Journal of Sir Thomas Roe, Ambassador from King James I, to ShahJehanguiro, Mogul Emperor of Hindoostan_. [183] INTRODUCTION. There are two editions of this journal in our older Collections ofVoyages and Travels, but both exceeding defective and imperfect. The_first_ of these is in the Pilgrims of Purchas, which is said to havebeen "_Collected out_ of the Journal of Sir Thomas Roe, Knight, LordAmbassador from his Majesty of Great Britain, to the Great Mogul. " It isevidently to be considered as an _abridgement_ made by Purchas, which, indeed, he fully acknowledges in a postscript, in the followingterms:--"Some readers may perhaps wish they had the whole journal, andnot thus contracted into _extracts_ of those things out of it which Iconceived more fit for the public. And for the whole, myself would havewished it; but neither with the honourable Company, nor elsewhere, couldI learn of it, the worthy knight himself being now employed in likehonourable embassage from his majesty to the _Great Turk_. " Besides thatit is a mere abridgement, often most confusedly, and almostunintelligibly tacked together, this article in The Pilgrims breaks offabruptly in a most interesting part of the narrative, which we have nowno means to supply. The full title of this article in The Pilgrims is asfollows:--"Observations collected out of the Journal of Sir Thomas Roe, Knight, Lord Ambassador from his Majesty the King of Great Britain, tothe Great Mogul. Consisting of Occurrences worthy of Memory, in the way, and at the Court of the Mogul; together with an Account of his Customs, Cities, Countries, Subjects, and other Circumstances relating to India. " [Footnote 183: Purch. Pilgr. I. 535. Churchill's Collect. I. 617. ] The _other_ edition of this journal is in the collection published bythe Churchills, of which we quote from the third edition of 1744, reprinted by Lintot and Osburn, booksellers in London. Of this editionthe editor of that collection gives the following account:--"Sir ThomasRoe has before appeared in print, in part at least, in the collection ofPurchas, since translated into French, and published in the first volumeof the collection by Thevenot. He now comes again abroad withconsiderable additions, not foisted in, but taken from his own originalmanuscript, of which it would appear that Purchas only had an imperfectcopy. These additions, it is true, are not great in bulk, but they arevaluable for the subject; and several matters, which in the othercollection are brought in abruptly, are here continued in a moremethodical manner. " After an attentive comparison of these two former editions, it obviouslyappears that the edition by Purchas, in 1625, is in general morecircumstantial and more satisfactory than that of Churchill, in 1744, notwithstanding its superior pretensions, as above stated. Yet, onseveral occasions, the edition in Churchill gives a more intelligibleaccount of particulars, and has enabled us, on these occasions, torestore what Purchas, by careless abbreviation, had left an obscure andalmost unintelligible jumble of words. The present edition, therefore, is formed upon a careful collation of these two former, supplying fromeach what was defective in the other. On the present occasion, thenautical and other observations made by Sir Thomas Roe during the voyagefrom England to Surat, are omitted, having been already inserted intothe account of that voyage by Captain Peyton. It were much to be desired that this first account of the politicalintercourse between Britain and Hindoostan could have been given at fulllength, more especially as that extensive, rich, populous, and fertilecountry is now almost entirely reduced under the dominion of the Britishcrown; and as Sir Thomas Roe, even in the garbled state in which we areforced to present his observations, clearly shews the inherent vices ofthe Mogul government, through which it so rapidly fell into anarchy, andwas torn in pieces by its own cumbrous and ill-managed strength. Perhapsthe archives of the East India Company are still able to supply thisdeficiency in the history of its original establishment; and it weresurely worthy of the more than princely grandeur of that greatcommercial company, to patronise the publication of a collection of thevoyages, travels, negotiations, and events which have conduced to raiseit to a degree of splendour unexampled in the history of the world. Theimportance of this first embassy from Great Britain to the Great Mogul, and the vast consequences, both commercial and political, which havesince arisen from that early intercourse, have induced us to give thefollowing additional information respecting the mission of Sir ThomasRoe, from the Annals of the East India Company, vol. I. P. 174, _etsequ. _, which will in some measure supply the defects in this journal, as published by Purchas and Churchill. --E. * * * * * "The information which the Court [of Committees or Directors of theEast India Company] had received, in the preceding season, [1613-14]induced them to apply to the king to grant his royal authority that anambassador should proceed in his name to the Great Mogul. King James, incompliance with the wishes of the Company, on the 14th January, 1614-15, granted his commission to the celebrated Sir Thomas Roe, "to beambassador to the Great Mogul, or king of India, " the company agreeingto defray the expence, in consideration, that, under their exclusiveprivileges, they were to acquire such benefits as might result from thismission. "Sir Thomas Roe sailed from England in March 1615, on board the Lion, Captain Newport, and arrived at Surat, whence he proceeded to theMogul's court at Agimere, which he reached in December, 1615; and on the10th January, 1616, was presented to the Mogul as ambassador from theking of England, when he delivered the king's letter and presents. Ofthese, an English coach was the chief article, and with it the Mogul waspleased to express his satisfaction, and to give the ambassador agracious reception. From the company's agents having already been tooprofuse in their presents to the ministers and favourites, Sir Thomasfound that the articles which he carried out as presents were not sohighly estimated as he expected; he therefore informed the court thatnothing less than valuable jewels would be deemed worthy of acceptance;and at the same time he advised that 'four or five cases of red wine'should be sent as presents to the king and prince, as, in his own words, 'never were men more enamoured of that drinke as these two, and whichthey would more highly esteem than all the jewels in Chepeside. ' "In describing his own situation, he stated that the natives could notcomprehend what was meant in Europe by the rank or quality of anambassador, and that in future it would be preferable to employ an agentonly, who could bear these affronts without dishonour, which anambassador, from, his rank, could not encounter. He complains also, that, from want of an interpreter, he had experienced much difficulty inexplaining to the Mogul, and to his ministers, the object of hismission; in particular, the grievances which the English had sufferedfrom the governor of Ahmedabad, because the native brokers, whom he wasobliged to employ, were afraid to interpret literally, lest they shouldeither incur the king's displeasure, or be disgraced by his ministers. In his application for redress from the governor of Ahmedabad, hediscovered that this officer was supported by sultan Churrum, theMogul's eldest-son, [184] and Asaph Khan, the favourite. By perseveranceand firmness, however, the ambassador at length obtained the relief hesolicited. [Footnote 184: Sultan Chesuro appears to have been the eldest son ofJehanguire, but held in confinement for having endeavoured to supplanthis father in the succession, and Churrum seems only to have been thethird son. --E. ] "On the 24th January, 1616, Sir Thomas had a second audience of theMogul, at which he complained of the injuries the English had sustainedfrom the arbitrary conduct of the governor of Surat, and so effectualwere his remonstrances, that this officer was dismissed. The ambassadorthen proposed to renew the articles of the _phirmaund_, or treatybetween the Mogul and the English nation, and solicited to have thetreaty ratified by the signatures[185] of the Mogul and Sultan Churrum, which being procured, the treaty was concluded. [186] [Footnote 185: This expression is rather ambiguous, as the ratificationsof such papers in India were by the seals of the princes, and not whatwe understand by the term used in the text--E. ] [Footnote 186: It has not been thought necessary to insert the substanceof this treaty as contained in the Annals, as it is given in theJournal. --E. ] "The dispatches of Sir Thomas, of this year, concludedwith recommending to the company, as a commercial speculation, to sendout annually a large assortment of all kinds of toys, which would find aready sale at the great festival of _Noroose_, [the new year] in themonth of March. "In 1616 we discover a jealousy in the factory at Surat, of Sir ThomasRoe, notwithstanding his efforts and success in obtaining phirmaundsfrom the Mogul favourable to the factories at Surat and Ahmedabad, andin general for the encouragement of English trade in the Moguldominions; for the factors represented to the court that a merchant oragent would be better qualified for a commercial negociator than aking's ambassador; and, in support of this opinion, referred to thepractice of the king of Spain, who on no occasion would send anambassador, but always a commercial agent; and stated that Sir ThomasRoe, besides, considered himself to be vested with the exercise of acontrolling power over the commercial speculations of the Surat factory, and held himself to be better qualified to judge of the Englishinterests by combining the political relations which he wished tointroduce between the Mogul and the king of England, than by forwardingany projects for trade which the factory might devise as applicable tothe Mogul dominions. "In this year he reported that he had returned thanks to Sultan Churrumfor the protection which he had afforded to the English in relievingthem from the extortions of Zulfeccar Khan, the late governor of Surat, and had remonstrated against the partiality which had been shown to thePortuguese; representing to the Mogul that the king of Portugal hadassumed the title of king of India, and that the Portuguese trade couldnever be so beneficial as that of England, as the English annuallyexported from India calicoes and indigo to the amount of 50, 000 rials. To strengthen this remonstrance, Sir Thomas offered to pay to the sultan12, 000 rupees yearly, on condition that the English should be exemptedfrom the payment of customs at the port of Surat; and then gave it ashis opinion, that the plan of the agency at Surat, of keeping permanentfactories at Surat, and other parts of the Mogul dominions, ought to beabandoned, as it would be preferable to make the purchases of goodsinland, by the natives, [particularly the indigo from Agra, and theBengal goods] who could obtain them at reasonable rates. But if thecourt were of opinion that English factors ought to be stationed atAgra, he recommended sending the goods in carts rather than on camels. He concludes this part of his report by advising that agents shouldreside at Cambay and Baroach, because the best cloths in India could beprocured at these towns. "Though Sir Thomas Roe appears to have procured a phirmaund through themeans of Noor-Mahal, the favourite sultana or empress, for the generalgood treatment of the English at Surat, and had desired that anassortment of English goods, perfumes, &c. Should be forwarded to him aspresents to her and to her brother, Asaph Khan, he yet describes, in1618, the governor of Surat as reluctant to shew that favour to theEnglish which the phirmaund had enjoined. It therefore became a questionwith him, as the governor of Surat would not allow the English tostrengthen or fortify their factory for the protection of their goodsand servants, whether it might not be expedient to remove to some otherstation, where the means of self-defence might be more practicable. Atone time he thought of Goga, and subsequently of Scindy; but, after areview of the whole, decided that it would be more expedient to remainat Surat, though, from the character of the natives, and the instabilityof the Mogul government, all grants of privileges must be considered astemporary, and any agreement or capitulation which might be procured, ought not to be depended on as permanent. He concludes, that, though ageneral phirmaund for trade in the Mogul dominions had been obtained, and of course a foundation laid for the English intercourse with therich provinces of Bengal, yet the attempt to enter on that trade wouldbe unwise, from being in the exclusive possession of the Portuguese. "Sir Thomas Roe returned from the embassy to Surat in the spring of1618-19, when it appears that the opposition in opinion between him andthe factors at that place had subsided, as the efforts of both wereunited to establish a distinct system for the trade of the English atSurat. It has been already stated that Sir Thomas Roe had procured aphirmaund to the English from the Mogul, for the establishment of ageneral trade in his extensive dominions, but that the relaxed situationof the government, which always, under the administration of the Moguls, preceded an expected succession to the throne, had rendered the governorof Surat, at this juncture, less obsequious to the orders of hissovereign than the absolute nature of the constitution would otherwisehave prescribed. Under these circumstances, and to improve upon thegeneral treaty already mentioned, Sir Thomas Roe made proposals toSultan Churrum to enter into an alliance for resisting the pretensionsof the Portuguese. After long discussions with that prince, this treatywas concluded, and the following are its leading articles. "That the governor of Surat should lend ships to the English, to beemployed in the defence of that port. The English, however, to be onlyallowed to land ten armed men at one time; but the resident merchants tobe allowed to wear arms. That the English should be allowed to build ahouse in the city, but distant from the castle. [187] That the governorof Surat should receive the ambassador and his suite with marks ofhonour. That the English should enjoy the free exercise of theirreligion, and be governed by their own laws. That in any dispute betweenthe English and the natives; reference was to be made to the governorand his officers, who should decide speedily and justly; but disputesamong themselves were to be decided by their own factory. That libertyof trade was to be allowed the English, in its fullest extent, onpayment of the usual duties on landing the goods, from which pearls, jewels, &c. Were to be exempted. That freedom of speech was to beallowed to the English linguists and brokers, in all matters regardingthe trade of their employers. And, lastly, That all presents intendedfor the court were to be opened and examined at the customhouse ofSurat, and then sealed and given back to the English, and to passduty-free; but, in case these presents were not made, then thesearticles were to become liable to pay duty. [Footnote 187: Though not so expressed in the Annals, this appears tohave been a _fortified_ house; as, on an occasion, when Surat was takenand plundered by an armed force belonging to Sevagee, the firstsovereign of the Mahrattas, the English were able to defend theirfactory from injury. --E. ] "During his residence in India, Sir Thomas Roe had likewise used hisbest endeavours to promote the trade of the English with the ports ofPersia, in which considerable opposition was experienced from thePortuguese, who tried every expedient to engross the Persian trade tothemselves, and to exclude the English from any participation. In thisopposition Sir Robert Shirley had been implicated, who had gone toEurope in 1615, on a mission from the king of Persia, to form a contractwith the king of Spain, then sovereign of Portugal, not only to sell tohis subjects the whole of the Persian silk, but to grant them licence tofortify the sea-ports of Persia for the protection of their shipping andfactories. Mr Connock, the English agent in Persia, under thesecircumstances, recommended the necessity of applying to king James, andsubmitting to his consideration the danger of allowing the Portuguese toenjoy the exclusive possession of that trade, which would render themthe most powerful European nation in the East Indies. In the mean time, he represented to the king of Persia the necessity of seizing the islandof Ormus from the Portuguese, under the protection of which the Persiandominions could be supplied by the English with all kinds of Indiancommodities. "In this critical situation of the company's agents at Ispahan, anambassador arrived from the king of Spain, in June 1617, authorised toadjust and settle the contract which Sir Robert Shirley had projected. The English agent, in consequence, urged the factory at Surat todispatch the whole of the company's ships to Jasques for the defence ofthat port, as the Portuguese fleet had rendezvoused at Muscat, and haddetermined to blockade the passage into the Persian gulf against theEnglish trade. These events induced Sir Thomas Roe to grant acommission, and to give instructions to the company's agent at Ispahan, authorising him to treat with the king of Persia, in the name of theking of England. "In 1618, Captain Shillings, of the company's ship Ann, went to Mokha, and obtained a phirmaund from the governor, by which the English wereallowed free trade, and protection to their persons and property, oncondition of paying three per cent. On merchandize, and three per cent. On the prices of all goods exported by them from Mokha. On receivinginformation of this event, Sir Thomas Roe addressed a letter to thegovernor of Mokha, requesting that these privileges might be confirmedby the Grand Signior, and promising, on the part of the English, thatall kinds of European goods should be regularly brought to Mokha, andthat the English should defend that port against all enemies, andparticularly against the Portuguese. "This appears to have been the last transaction of Sir Thomas Roe in theEast Indies. In his voyage home he touched at Saldanha bay [Table bay]in May, 1619, where he met, and held a conference with the Dutch admiralHoffman, who commanded the outward-bound fleet from Holland of thatseason. From this officer he learned that the respective governments inEurope, alarmed at the commercial jealousies and animosities betweentheir subjects in the East Indies, had appointed commissioners to takethat subject into consideration. It was therefore, with a becoming senseof duty, agreed between them that each should address a letter to thechiefs of their respective factories in India, recommending to them toabstain from any opposition or violence against each other, till eachhad received specific instructions from their superiors, or should beinformed of the result of the conferences between the commissioners ofthe two nations in Europe. " §1. _Journey from Surat to the Court of the Mogul, and Entertainmentthere, with some Account of the Customs of the Country_. I landed at Surat on the 26th September, 1615, and was received in anopen tent by the chief officers of the town, well attended. On thisoccasion I was accompanied by the general, and principal merchants, Captain Harris being sent to make me a court of guard with an hundredshot, and the ships, all dressed out to the best advantage, saluted mewith their ordnance as I passed. There was much controversy aboutsearching my servants, but at length they passed free to the city, wherewe had a house provided for us. We continued there to the 30th October, suffering much vexation from the governor, who forcibly caused searchmany of our chests and trunks, taking away what he thought fit. The 30th October I departed from Surat, and that day travelled only fourcoss to _Sumaria_. [188] The 1st November I went eleven miles to avillage. The 2d, to _Biarat_, twenty-one miles, where there is a castle, this town being on the borders of the kingdom of Guzerat, subject to theMogul, and belonging to _Abraham Khan_. The 3d I entered the kingdom of_Pardaff shah_, [189] a pagan lord of the hills, who is subject tonobody; and at the end of fifteen miles we lodged in the fields, besidea city of note, called _Mugher_. The 4th we travelled nine miles by arocky way, and lay in the fields, beside a village called Narampore. The5th, fifteen miles, and lay in the fields. The 6th, twenty miles, to acity called _Nundabar_, in the kingdom of _Brampore_, [Burhanpoor] whichis subject to the Mogul. At this place we first procured bread, afterleaving Surat, as the Banians, who inhabit all the country through whichwe had travelled, make only cakes instead of bread. The countrypeculiarly abounds in cattle, as the Banians never kill any, neither dothey sell any for being slaughtered. One day I met at least 10, 000bullocks loaded with grain, in one drove, and most other days I sawsmaller parcels. [Footnote 188: In this journal the names of places are exceedinglycorrupted, and often unintelligible. Such as admitted of beingcorrected, from the excellent map of Hindoostan, by Arrowsmith, havetheir proper names placed within brackets. --E. ] [Footnote 189: In the miserable map of Hindoostan, accompanying thisjournal in the Pilgrims, this prince is called Partap-sha. --E. ] The 7th we went eighteen miles to _Ningull_. The 8th, fifteen to_Sinchelly_, [Sindkera. ] The 9th, other fifteen to _Tolmere_, [Talnere. ]And the 10th, eighteen to _Chapre_, [Choprah] where we pitched our tentswithout the town, and the king's officers guarded us all night withthirty horse and twenty shot, for fear of out being attacked by robbersfrom the mountains, as I refused to remove into the town. The 11th wetravelled eighteen miles, eighteen on the 12th, and fifteen on the 13th, which brought us to _Brampore_, [Burhanpoor] which I guessed to be 223miles east from Surat. [190] The country is miserable and barren, thetowns and villages only built of mud. At _Bartharpore_, [191] a villagetwo miles short of Burhanpoor, I saw some of the Mogul ordnance, most ofwhich is too short, and too open in the bore. On coming to Burhanpoor, the _cutwall_ met me, well attended, having sixteen stand of colourscarried before him, and conducted me to a _serai_ appointed for mylodging. He took leave of me at the gate, which had a handsome stonefront; but, when in, I had four chambers allotted for me, no bigger thanovens, with vaulted roofs and bare brick walls, so that I chose to lodgein my tent. I sent word to the cutwall, threatening to leave the town, as I scorned such mean usage, but he desired me to be content tillmorning, as this was the best lodging in the city, which I afterwardsfound to be the case, as it consists entirely of mud cottages, exceptingthe houses inhabited by _Sultan Parvis_, the Mogul's second son, that of_Khan Khanan_, and a few others. Sultan Parvis here represents the kinghis father, living in great state and magnificence, but Khan Khanan, whois the greatest subject of the empire, is at the head of a large army, in which are 40, 000 horse, and governs every thing, the prince onlyhaving the name and pomp allowed him. [Footnote 190: The particulars of the journey in the text amount to 214miles. --E. ] [Footnote 191: Perhaps Babaderpore, but it is twelve or fifteen milesshort of Burhanpoor. --E. ] On the 18th, both to satisfy the prince who desired it, and whom I wasnot willing to displease, and to see the fashions of the court, andbecause it was proposed to establish a factory here, where sword-bladeswere in great request for the army, and sold well, I went to visit theprince, to whom, I carried a present. I was conducted by the cutwall, and in the outer court of the palace I found about an hundred horsemenunder arms, who formed a line on each side, being all gentlemen waitingto salute the prince on his coming forth. In the inner court the princesat in a high gallery encircling the court, having a canopy over head, and a carpet spread before him, appearing in much, yet barbarous state. Going towards him through a lane of people, an officer came and told methat I must touch the ground with my head, and with my hat off. Ianswered, that I came to do the prince honour by visiting him, and wasnot to be subjected to the custom of slaves. So I walked on till I cameto a place railed in, just under where he sat, where there was an ascentof three steps; and having there made him a reverence, to which heanswered by bending his body, I went within the rails, where stood allthe great men then in the town, holding their hands before them likeslaves. This place, as mentioned before, was covered over head by a richcanopy, and all the floor was spread with carpets. It resembled a largestage, and the prince sat on high, like a mock king in a theatre. On entering, as I had no place assigned me, I went right forwards, andstood before him at the bottom of the three steps, on which stood hissecretary, readily to convey to him any thing that is said or given. Itold him that I was ambassador from the king of England to his father;and, while passing his residence, I could not but in honour visit hishighness. He answered that I was welcome, and asked me many questionsabout the king my master, to which I gave fit answers. While standing inthat manner at the foot of the steps, I asked leave to come up and standbeside him; but he said, even if the king of Persia, or Grand Turk, werethere, such a thing could not be allowed. To this I replied, that I mustbe excused for believing he would, in such a case, come down and meetthem at his gate; and that I required no higher privilege than wasallowed to the ambassadors of these sovereigns, with whom I consideredmyself entirely equal. He declared I should have that privilege in allthings. I then demanded to have a chair, to which it was answered, thatno person was ever allowed to sit in that place, but I was desired tolean against a pillar covered over with silver, which supported thecanopy. I then requested his favour for an English factory to beestablished at Burhanpoor, which readily granted, and gave immediateorders to the _Buksh_ to draw up a _firmaun_, license, for their comingand residence. I also requested an order for carriages for conveying thepresents for the king his father, which he gave in charge to the cutwallto see provided. I then made him a present, which he took in good part. After some other conference, he said, though I might not come up towhere he then sat, he would go to another place, where I might come tohim with less ceremony. But one part of the present I made him happenedto be a case of cordials, of which he tasted so freely by the way, that, after waiting some time, I heard he had made himself drunk, and one ofhis officers came to me with an excuse, desiring me to go home then, andcome some other time to see him. But that very night I was taken ill ofa fever. The 27th of November, though, still sick, I was carried, from Burhanpoorthree coss to _Raypora_; the 28th, fifteen c. To _Burgome_, [Burgaw];the 30th, seven c. December the 1st, ten c. To _Bicangome_; the 2d, seven c. The 3d, five c. The 4th, eleven c. To _Ekbarpoor_, which standson a good river, [the Nerbudda] which runs into the sea near _Buroach_. The 5th, I passed the river _Nerbuddah_. The 6th, I travelled eight c. And lay in a wood, not far from the king's famous castle of _Mandoa_, [Mundu] which stands on a steep hill, of great extent, the walls beingfourteen c. In circuit, this castle being of wonderous extent and greatbeauty. The 7th, I proceeded ten c. The 8th, eight c. The 9th, ten c. The 10th, twelve c. The 11th, sixteen c. The 12th, fourteen c. The 13th, six c. The 14th we halted to take rest. The 15th, six c. The 16th, sixc. The 17th, twelve c. The 18th, five c. When we arrived at _Cytor_, where I was met by Mr Edwards accompanied by Thomas Coryat, who hadtravelled to India on foot. _Cytor_, [Chitore] is an ancient town in ruins, situated on a hill, butshews the remains of wonderful magnificence. There are still standingabove an hundred temples, all of carved stone, with many fair towers anddomes, supported by many enriched pillars, and innumerable houses, butnot a single inhabitant. The hill, or rock rather, is precipitous on allsides, having but one ascent cut out of the rock in a regular slope; inwhich ascent there are four several gates before reaching the gate ofthe city, which last is extremely magnificent. The top of the hill, about eight coss in circuit, is inclosed all round with walls, and atthe S. W. End, is a goodly old castle. I lodged close by a poor villageat the foot of the hill. This city stands in the country of the _Rama_, [192] a prince newlysubdued by the Mogul, or rather brought to submit to pay tribute andacknowledge subjection; and _Cytor_ was reduced by _Akbar Shah_, thefather of _Shah Jehan-Guire_, the present king of the Moguls. ThisHindoo raja is lineally descended from _Porus_, the valiant Indiansovereign who was conquered by Alexander the Great; so that I supposethis city to have been one of the ancient seats of Porus, though Delly, much farther north, is reported to have been the chiefest, a famousplace, though now only in ruins. Near that stands a pillar erected byAlexander the Conqueror, with a Greek inscription. The present Mogul andhis ancestors, descendants of Tamerlane, have reduced all the ancientcities to ruin, dispeopling them and forbidding their restoration; Iknow not wherefore, unless that they would have no monuments ofgreatness remain, beyond their own commencement, as if they and theworld were co-equals in antiquity. [Footnote 192: This is probably an error of the press in the Pilgrimsfor the _Ranna_. --E. ] The 19th I proceeded twelve c. On my journey; the 20th ten c. The 21stten c. The 22d nine c. The 23d ten c. And arrived at _Ajimere_. Thefirst six days journeys from Burhanpoor towards Ajimere were west, ornorthwest, to get round the hills; but after that northwards, so thatthese two places bear nearly N. By W. And S. By E. From each other: thewhole distance being 209 cosses, [193] which I judge to be 418 Englishmiles; the cosses here being longer than near the sea. [194] On myarrival at Ajimere I was so ill as to keep my bed; but on the 10thJanuary, 1616, at four in the afternoon, I went to the _Durbar_, whichis the place where the Mogul sits in public daily to entertainstrangers, to receive petitions and presents, to issue commands, and tosee and be seen. Before proceeding to give an account of my reception, it may be proper to digress a little, that I may give some account ofthe customs of the court. [Footnote 193: The particulars in the text only amount to 200 cosses;but the extent of one day's journey is omitted, which may explain thedifference. --E. ] [Footnote 194: The coss at Surat is repeatedly explained, in Purchas andChurchill, to be 1-1/2 English mile, while that of Hindoostan Proper israted at two miles. --E. ] No men, except eunuchs, are permitted to come within the privatelodgings or retiring rooms of the royal palace, within which his womenkeep guard with warlike weapons, and there likewise they execute justiceupon each other for offences. Every morning, the Mogul comes to awindow, called the _jarneo_, [195] which looks into the plain or openspace before the palace-gate, where he shews himself to the commonpeople. At noon he returns to the same place, where he sits some hours, amusing himself with seeing fights of elephants and other wild beasts, the men of rank then at court attending below within a railed space. Hethen retires to sleep within the female apartments. In the afternoon hecomes to the before-mentioned Durbar. At eight in the evening, aftersupper, he comes down to a fair court, called the _guzalcan_, in themidst of which is a throne of freestone, on which he sits, yetsometimes below in a chair of state, at which time only men of highquality are admitted into the presence, and even of these only a fewhave that privilege, unless by special leave. He here discourses veryaffably on all subjects with those around him. No business is transactedwith him, concerning affairs of state and government, or respecting warand peace, but at one or other of these two last-mentioned places, where, after being publicly propounded and resolved upon, it isregistered by attendant secretaries, and any one, who has the curiosity, may see the register for two shillings; insomuch that the common peopleknow as much of the affairs of state as the ministers and counsellors ofthe king, and every day the king's acts and resolutions are circulatedas news, and are freely canvassed and censured by every rascal. Thiscourse of proceeding is unchangeable, except when prevented by thesickness of the king, or in consequence of his getting drunk, which mustalways be known. Thus, though all his subjects are slaves, he lives in astate of reciprocal bondage, being so tied to the observance of thesehours and customs, that if he were unseen one day, and no sufficientexcuse given, the people would mutiny; and no excuse will sanction hisabsence for two days, unless the gates are opened, and he be seen bysome for the satisfaction of the rest. Every Tuesday, he sits injudgement at the _jarneo_, [196] where he attends to the complaints ofhis meanest subjects, listening patiently to both parties; and wherelikewise he sometimes sees, with too much delight in blood, executionperformed on offenders by his elephants. _Illi meruere, sed quid tu utadesses_? [Footnote 195: in subsequent passages, this is called the Jarruco. --E. ] Before going to the durbar, I had required to be allowed the customs ofmy own country, which were freely granted. At the durbar, I was leddirectly before the king, at the entrance of an outer rail, where twonoble slaves came to conduct me nearer. On entering the outer rail, Imade a profound reverence, at my entry within an interior rail I made asecond reverence, and a third when I came directly under where the kingsat. The place in which the durbar is held is a great court, to whichall sorts of people resort. The king sits in a small raised gallery;ambassadors, great men belonging to the court, and strangers of quality, are within the innermost rail directly under him, that space beingraised from the ground, covered overhead with canopies of silk andvelvet, and laid underfoot with good carpets. The meaner men, representing what we would call gentry, are within the outer rail; thecommon people being on the outside of all, in a base court, so that allmay see the king. The whole of this disposition hath much resemblance totheatrical representation. The king sitting as in a gallery, the greatmen raised as actors on a stage, and the vulgar below in a pit gazing atthe show. The king, on my presentation, interrupted the dull formalityof my interpreter, bidding me welcome to the brother of the king mymaster. I then delivered a translation of the king's letter, and then mycommission, on both of which he looked curiously; and afterwards on mypresents, which were well received. He asked some questions; and, with aseeming regard for my health, offered to send me his own physicians, advising me to keep the house till I recovered strength, and that Ishould freely send to him in the meantime for any thing I needed, withassurance that I should have whatever I desired. He dismissed me withmore signs of grace and favour, if I were not flattered by theChristians, than ever were shewn to any ambassador from the Turks orPersians or any other nation. [Footnote 196: This place, formerly described as a window looking to theesplanade in front of the palace, called _jarneo_ in Purchas, is called_jarruco_ in Churchill. --E. ] On the 14th I sent to offer a visit to Sultan _Churrum_, [197] the thirdson of the Great Mogul, but first in favour. Hearing that he was anenemy to all Christians, I therefore feared some affront; yet he sent meword that I should be received with all due respect, and should have asmuch content as I had already from his father. This prince is lord ofSurat, our chief residence in the empire, and his favour, therefore, wasimportant for our affairs. I went accordingly to visit him on the 22d atnine in the morning, at which time he sits in public, in the same manneras his father, to dispatch his business, and to be seen of hisfollowers. His character was represented to me as naturally proud, sothat I was in some fear for my reception; but, on hearing of my arrival, instead of coming out to his public durbar, he sent one of his principalofficers to conduct me into a good inner room, never before done to anyone. The officer here entertained me with discourse concerning mymission for half an hour, till the prince was ready; who now came forthand used me better than his promise. I delivered him a present, but notin the name of his majesty, as it was too mean for that purpose; butexcused the omission, by saying, That my sovereign could not know of hisbeing lord of Surat, which had been so lately conferred upon him; but Ihad no doubt the king of England would afterwards send him one moresuited to his high rank, the one now presented being only sent by theEnglish merchants, who humbly commended themselves to his favour andprotection. He received all in very good part. After stating somegrievances and injuries suffered by the English at Surat, from hisgovernors, and of which I had forborne to complain to the king fromrespect to him, he promised me speedy and effectual justice, and toconfirm our security in any way I might propose. He professed to beentirely ignorant of any past transactions there, as stated by me, except as informed by Asaph Khan; and especially denied having given anyorder for our dismissal, which the governor had falsely alleged, and forwhich he should dearly pay. He then dismissed me, full of hopes to haveour decayed state and reputation rectified, making me a promise of aneffectual firmaun for our trade and secure residence at Surat. [Footnote 197: In the Pilgrims, this prince is uniformly named Corone;but the name in the text has been adopted from the authority of Dow'sHistory of Hindoostan. He succeeded to his father in 1627, when heassumed the name of Shah Jehan; and was, in 1659, dethroned andimprisoned, by his third son, the celebrated Aurungzebe, who assumed thename of Alumguire. --E. ] The 24th, I went again to the royal durbar to visit the king; who, onseeing me far off, beckoned with his hand, that I should not wait theceremony of asking leave, but come up to him directly, and assigned me aplace near himself, above all other men, which I afterwards thought fitto maintain. On this occasion I gave a small present; as it is thecustom for all who have any business to give something, and those whocannot get near enough to speak, send in or hold up their gift, which healways accepts, be it only a rupee, and demands to know their business. He held the same course with me; for having looked curiously at mypresent, and asked many questions respecting it, he demanded to knowwhat I wanted of him. I answered that I wanted justice. For, on theassurance of his firmaun, which had been sent to England, the king mymaster had not only given leave to his subjects to make a long anddangerous voyage to his dominions with their goods, but had deputed me, as his ambassador and representative, to congratulate and compliment hismajesty on the amity so happily commenced between two so mighty nations, and to confirm the same. Yet I found that the English, who were settledat Ahmedabad, were injured and oppressed by the governor in theirpersons and goods, being fined, subjected to arbitrary exactions, andkept as prisoners; while at every town new customs were demanded fortheir goods on their passage to the port, contrary to all justice, andin direct contravention of the formerly conceded articles of trade, ascontained in his majesty's firmaun. To this he answered, that he wassorry to hear of such things, which should be immediately rectified; andhe gave orders for two firmauns to be immediately extended according tomy desire. By one of these, the governor of Ahmedabad was commanded torestore the money he had exacted from Mr Kerridge, and to use theEnglish in future with all favour. By the other, all customs required onany pretence by the way were abolished, and all such as had been takenwas ordered to be restored. Finally, he desired me, if these gave notspeedy and effectual remedy, that I should renew my complaint againstthe disobeyer, who should be sent for to answer for his conduct; and sodismissed me. The 1st of March, I rode out to see a pleasure-house belonging to theking, two miles from Agimere, which had been given him by Asaph Khan. Itwas situated between two vast rocks, by which it was so sheltered thatscarcely could the sun be any where seen. The foundations and some roomswere hewn out of the solid rock, the rest being built of freestone. Close adjoining was a handsome small garden, with fine fountains, withtwo great _tanks_ or ponds of water, one being thirty steps higher thanthe other. The way to this retreat is so narrow that only two personscould go abreast, and is almost inaccessible, being very steep andstony. It is a place of much melancholy, yet of great security anddelight, abounding in peacocks, turtle-doves, wild fowl, and monkies, which inhabit the rocks impending on every side around. The 2d of March began the feast of _Norsose_ in the evening. This is thefestival of the new year, the ceremonies of which begin on the first newmoon after, which this year fell together. It is kept in imitation ofthe Persian feast of that cause, signifying in that language _ninedays_, as anciently it continued only for that number; but these are nowdoubled. On this occasion, a throne is erected about four feet high inthe _durbar court_; from the back of which, to the place where the kingcomes out from the inner apartments, a space of fifty-six paces long byforty-three broad is railed in, and covered over by _semianes_, orcanopies, of cloth of gold, velvet, and rich silk, all joined overhead, and held up by canes covered with similar stuffs. At the upper orwest end, were set out the pictures of the king of England, the queen, the Princess Elizabeth, the Countesses of Somerset and Salisbury, and ofa citizen's wife of London. Below, there was a picture of Sir ThomasSmith, governor of the East India Company. The whole floor was laid withrich Persian carpets of large size, and into this place come all thegreat men to wait upon the king, except a few, who were within a smallerrailed space, right before the throne, appointed to receive hiscommands. Within this square there were set out many small houses, oneof which was of silver, and other curiosities of value. On the leftside, Sultan Churrum had a pavilion, the supporters of which werecovered with silver, as were also some others of those near the king'sthrone. This was of wood and of a square form, inlaid with mother ofpearl, resting on four pillars covered with cloth of gold; and overheadwas a fringed drapery like a vallence of network, all of real pearls, whence hung down pomegranates, apples, and pears, and other fruits, allof gold, but hollow. Within that pavilion, the king sat on cushions, very rich in pearls and other jewels. All round the court before thethrone, the principal men had tents or pavilions, mostly lined withvelvet, damask, and taffety, and some few with cloth of gold, in whichthey were stationed, making shew of their wealth. Anciently, the kingsused to go to every tent, taking away whatever pleased him best: But nowthe custom is changed, as the king remains on his throne, and receivesthere such new-year's-gifts as are brought to him. He makes hisappearance every day, and retires at the usual hours of the durbar; andin the interval all sorts of great gifts are made to him, which are verygreat and almost incredible, though not equal to report. At the close ofthis feast, in recompence for these gifts, the king advances some of hiscourtiers, making additions to their charges of horse, according to hispleasure. On the 12th[198] I went to visit the king, and was brought immediatelybefore him to deliver my present, which gave him much satisfaction. Hethen appointed me to come within the rail, that I might stand besidehim; but not being allowed to step up on the raised platform on whichthe throne was placed, I could see little, as the railing was high, andcovered with carpets. But I had permission to view the inner room atleisure, which, I must confess, was very rich; but consisted of so manyarticles, all unsuitable to each other, that it seemed patched work, rather than magnificent, as if it aimed to shew all; as if a lady, amongher plate on a magnificent cupboard, should exhibit her embroideredslippers. This evening, the son of the Raima, the new tributary formerlymentioned, was brought before the king, with much ceremony, being sentby his father with a present. After kneeling three times, and knockinghis forehead on the ground, he was brought within the inner rail, whenthe king embraced his head. His gift was an Indian tray or voider fullof silver, upon which was a carved silver dish full of gold. He was thenconducted to pay his respects to the prince. This evening, someelephants were shewn, and some music girls sang and danced. --_Sictransit gloria mundi_. [Footnote 198: It may be proper to observe, that Churchill's editiongives the commencement of this festival on the 11th, and says Sir Thomaswent to the durbar next day. --E. ] The 13th at night, I went again to wait upon the king at the _Guzalcan_, at which is the best opportunity for transacting business, and took withme my Italian interpreter, determined to walk no longer in darkness, butto prove the king, as I had hitherto been delayed and refused on allhands. I was sent for in, along with my old broker, but my Italian waskept out, because Asaph Khan mistrusted I might say more than he waswilling should come to the king's ears. On coming to the king, heappointed me a place to stand just before him, and sent to ask me manyquestions respecting the king of England, and about the present I hadmade him the day before. To some of these I made answers; but I atlength said, that my interpreter was kept out, and as I could not speakPortuguese, I wanted the means of satisfying his majesty. On this, though much against the wish or Asaph Khan, my Italian interpreter wascalled in. I then made him tell the king that I requested leave to speakto him, to which he answered, willingly. On this, the son-in-law ofAsaph Khan pulled away my interpreter by force, and that faction sohemmed in the king, by gathering round him, that I could scarcely seehis majesty, nor could my Italian approach. Upon this, I ordered theItalian to speak aloud, that I craved audience of the king; whoimmediately called me before him, and the others made way. Asaph Khanstood on one side of my interpreter, and I on the other: I to inform himwhat to say, and the other to awe him by winks and signs. I desired him to say, that I had now been two months at court, one ofwhich I had spent in sickness and the other in compliments, and hadeffected nothing of all on which I had been sent by the king my master;which was to conclude a firm and lasting treaty of peace and amitybetween the two sovereigns, and to establish a fair and secure trade andresidence for my countrymen in his majesty's dominions. He answered thatthis was already granted. I replied, it was so; but that it stilldepended upon so slender a thread, and such weak conditions, as to bevery uncertain in its continuance. That an affair of so high importancerequired an agreement dear and explicit in all points, and a more formaland authentic confirmation than it now had, by ordinary firmauns, whichwere merely temporary commands, and respected accordingly. He asked mewhat presents we would bring him? To which I answered, the league wasyet new and weak; that many curiosities were to be found in our country, of rare value, which the king of England would send; and that ourmerchants would search for such things in all parts of the world, ifthey were made sure of a quiet trade and secure protection on honourableconditions, having been hitherto subjected to manifold wrongs. He askedme what kind of curiosities I meant, and whether these were jewels orprecious stones? To this I answered, that we did not deem such thingsfit to be sent back from Europe to India, of which he was the principalsovereign, as they were common here in India, and of much higher pricewith us in Europe: But that we would endeavour to find such things forhis majesty as were rare and uncommon in his dominions; such asexcellent specimens of painting, carving, enamelling, figures in brass, copper, and stone, rich embroideries, stuffs of gold and silver, and thelike. The king said that these things were all very well, but that he wishedto have an English horse. I answered, that this was utterly impossibleby sea, and that the Turks would not allow of any being sent by land. Inreply, he said he thought it not impossible by sea; and, when Irepresented the dangers from storms, he said if six were sent in oneship, one of them surely might live, and though it came lean, it mightbe here made fat. I then told him, I feared it could not be done by solong a voyage; yet, for his majesty's satisfaction, I should give duenotice of his desire. He then asked to know what were my demands? I answered, That his majestywould be pleased to sanction by his royal signature, certain reasonableconditions which I should propound, in confirmation of a league ofpeace and amity, and for the security of our nation in their residenceand trade in his dominions; as they had hitherto been often wronged, andcould not continue on their present terms, of which I forbore to makeany specific complaint, because I hoped to procure amendment from hismajesty. At these words, Asaph Khan offered to pull away my interpreter, but I held him fast, while Asaph Khan continued to make signs to him notto interpret my words. On this the king became suddenly very angry, pressing to know who had wronged us, and seemed in such fury, that I wasunwilling to follow it out, and spoke in broken Spanish to myinterpreter, desiring him to say, That I would not trouble his majestywith what was past, but would seek justice of the prince his son, whosefavour I doubted not to obtain. Not attending to what my interpretersaid, but hearing the name of his son, the king mistakingly conceived Iaccused him; and hastily saying _mio filio! mio filio_! he called forthe prince, who came in great fear, humbling himself. Asaph Khantrembled, and all those present were amazed. He chid the prince roundly, and he excused himself. But as I perceivedthe king's error, I made both the king and prince understand themistake, by means of a Persian prince who offered himself asinterpreter, as my Italian understood Turkish better than Persian. Bythis means I appeased the king, saying that I in no respect accused theprince, but wished to inform his majesty that I should appeal to theprince's justice, in regard to the past wrongs our nation had sufferedin those places which were under his government. The king then commandedthe prince, that he should give as effective justice. In hisjustification, the prince said that he had already offered me a firmaun, which I had refused. The king asked me the reason of this. To which Ianswered, that I humbly thanked the prince, but he knew that itcontained a condition I could not accept; and besides, that I wished topropound our own demands, in which I would insert all the desires of theking my master at once, that I might not daily trouble his majesty andthe prince with complaints. And, when the conditions on both sides weremutually agreed upon, I would reciprocally bind my sovereign, to mutualoffices of friendship, and to such reasonable conditions for the benefitof his majesty's subjects as he might propose: All of which being drawnup in tripartite, I hoped his majesty would graciously sign one, his sonthe prince another, and I would confirm the third in the name of mysovereign, in virtue of my commission. The king pressed to know what was the condition in the prince's firmaunwhich I had refused, which I stated. So we fell into earnest disputebefore the king, with some heat. Mukrob Khan interposed, saying he wasadvocate for the Portuguese, and spoke slightingly of us, alleging thatthe king ought to grant no articles to us that were unfavourable forthem. I answered, that I did not propose any against them, but only inour own just defence, and that I had not conceived he was so great afriend to the Portuguese. On this the jesuit and all the Portuguesefaction struck in, so that I explained myself fully concerning them; andas I offered a conditional peace, so I valued the friendship of thePortuguese at a very low rate, and their enmity at a still lower. Aftersome time, having explained my demands, the king said my proposals werejust and my resolution noble, and bade me clearly propound theconditions I desired. Asaph Khan, who had stood silent during all thisdebate, and who now wished to end it, as we were warm, now interposed, saying, If we talked all night, it could only come to this at last, thatI should draw my demands in writing and present them; which, if foundreasonable, would be granted by the king. The king said he certainlywould do so; and at my request the prince engaged to do so likewise. Theking then rose to go away, but on my request he turned round, and Idesired my interpreter to say, That I came the day before to see hismajesty and his greatness, and the ceremonies of the feast, on whichoccasion I was placed behind him, in an honourable place certainly, butwhere I could not see around; and therefore humbly requested his majestywould be pleased to let me stand on the platform beside his throne. Inanswer to this, he commanded Asaph Khan to let me choose my own place infuture. In the morning of the 14th, I sent a messenger to Asaph Khan, lest he orthe prince might have misunderstood me, by reason of the king's mistake, and had supposed I had complained against either of them, which I didnot, neither did I so intend; yet I was willing to let them see that Idid not entirely depend upon Asaph Khan, by whom I had hitherto done mybusiness with the king; but, if he should continue his manner of onlydelivering to the king what he himself pleased, and not what I said, Iwould find another way. My message was intended to clear up any suchdoubts, if they remained, and to entreat he would move the prince tofavour my demands respecting our residence and trade at Surat. Hisanswer was, that neither the prince nor he had any reason to suspect Iintended to complain against them, the error being sufficiently obvious;and that, for his part, he had ever been disposed to favour the English, and would so continue. The 15th I went again in the evening to see the ceremonies of the_Norose_; and according to the Mogul's order, I chose my place ofstanding on his right hand, and on the raised platform, the prince andthe son of the Ranna standing on the other side. I here had a full viewof every thing that was to be seen; viz. The presents, and theexhibition of the elephants, horses, and dancing girls. The 23d, the Mogul condemned one of his own nation on suspicion offelony; but as he was one of the handsomest men in India, and the proofwas not very clear against him, instead of condemning him to death, hesent him in irons to me as a slave, to be disposed of as I pleased. Thiswas looked upon as a great favour, and I accordingly returned thanks;yet added, that we had no slaves in England, not thinking it lawful tomake the image of God like unto a beast, but that I should employ him asa servant, and should restore him to liberty if he behaved well. Theking was well pleased with this message. I went to the _Guzalcan_ on the 26th, and it delivered in the articleswhich I had drawn up, which were referred to Asaph Khan for hisconsideration and report. Some time after, Asaph Khan sent a message, desiring me to remove from the place I occupied near the king, because Istood alone, which was not the custom. I refused at the first; but, ashe still insisted I should rank myself among the nobles, I removed tothe other side, where the prince and young Ranna were. This still moredispleased Asaph Khan, who persuaded the prince to complain of me to theking, which he did. On hearing their complaint and my answer, that I hadchanged my place by order of Asaph Khan, the Mogul said I had done well, and they were wrong to pretend to displace me. So I kept my place inquiet. The following is the substance of the articles delivered to theGreat Mogul, which were delayed and opposed: But the conclusionrespecting them will be seen hereafter. _Proposed Articles of Treaty, between the Great Mogul and the King ofGreat Britain_. 1. There shall be perpetual peace and amity between the king of GreatBritain and his majesty the emperor of India. --2. The subjects ofEngland shall have free trade in all the ports of India. --3. Thegovernors of all sea ports shall make public proclamation of thisagreement three several times, upon the arrival of any Englishships. --4. The English merchants and their servants, shall not be liableto search, or to any ill usage. --5. No presents sent to the Mogul shallbe opened. --6. The goods belonging to the English shall not be stoppedmore than twenty-four-hours at the custom-houses; where they shall onlybe sealed, and sent to the house or factory of the merchants, to bethere opened and rated within six days afterwards. --7. No governor shalltake any goods by force, nor unless upon payment at the owner's price;neither shall any be taken away under pretence of being for the king'sservice. --8. The English merchants shall not be hindered from sellingtheir goods to whom they please, nor from sending them to otherfactories; neither shall they pay any more in this case than has beenalready paid at the port of entry. --9. Whatever goods the English maypurchase in any part of the dominions of the Mogul, shall be allowed tobe transmitted to the ports, without any hindrance or molestation, andshall pay no other duty than may be agreed upon at the port ofshipping. --10. No goods already entered at a port shall be again opened, the English shewing a certificate of their numbers, qualities, andconditions, from the governor or other proper officers of the placewhere they were purchased. --11. No confiscation shall be made of thegoods or money belonging to any of the English who may die inIndia. --12. No duties shall be demanded for provisions, purchased duringthe stay of English ships at any of the ports. --13. The servants of theEnglish merchants, whether English or natives, shall not be punished orbeaten for doing their duty. --14. The Mogul shall cause any governor orofficer to be punished for the breach of any of these articles. --15. TheEnglish ships shall permit all others to pass and repass freely, to andfrom the ports in the dominions of the Mogul, except those of theirenemies with whom they are at war: And the English, while ashore, shallconduct themselves quietly and peaceably, as merchants. --16. The Englishshall yearly furnish the Mogul with all such European rarities, andother things, as he may desire, and at reasonable rates. --17. TheEnglish shall pay duty on their commodities, reasonably rated, at threeand a half per cent. And two per cent. On rials of eight or money, andshall not be liable to any other duty or exaction whatsoever. --18. TheEnglish shall be ready to assist the Great Mogul against all hisenemies. And, lastly, The Portuguese shall be admitted to come into thispeace within six months; or, if they refuse, the English shall be atliberty to exercise all hostilities against them. On the 31st of March, the Great Mogul dined at the house of Asaph Khan, all the way from the palace, which was an English mile, being laid underfoot with silks and velvet sewed together, but rolled up as the kingpassed. It was reported that this feast, and the present made on theoccasion, cost six lacks of rupees, which amount to £60, 000sterling. [199] [Footnote 199: According to Thevenot, a _lack_ contains 100, 000 rupees, and a rupee is a French crown and five sols. At which rate, the _sixlacks_ must amount at least to £150, 000 sterling. --_Churchill_. The editor of Churchill's Collection must here have been mistaken theFrench crowns alluded to by Thevenot. The rupees in India are various, and consequently differ in their value; but two shillings may be assumedas a fair average, in which case the computation in the text is quitecorrect. --E. ] I received intelligence on the 26th April, that the prince had made oneof his servants ask the king at the durbar wherefore he gave so greatcountenance to the English as to banish the Portuguese from Surat, whobrought much more profit to the king in rubies, pearls, and other jewels, while the English came there only in search of profit, by the sale ofcloths, swords, knives, and other articles of small value? The kingacknowledged that this was true, yet could not be mended. By this theaffections of the prince were made sufficiently manifest, and I had fairwarning to be on my guard, that I might study to preserve ourselves inthe good graces of the king, in which only we could be safe. I resolved, however, to take no notice of this, except by endeavouring to give theprince a better opinion of our nation. On the 22d of May I went to the king at the durbar, to solicit hisauthority to get back a youth named Jones, who had run away from me toan Italian, who protected him to the disgrace of our nation, by usingthe king's name. The king gave me an order for his delivery; but theprince, who waited every opportunity to injure us, for the sake of hisfavourite, _Zulphecar Khan_, moved the king in private to send for theyouth first, to the Guzalcan, which was done. I had newly broken offfrom conferring with the prince, on account of his partiality toZulphecar Khan, and had sent him word that I would no longer refrainfrom stating our grievances to the king in person, which was the causeof his enmity towards me. When Jones was brought before the king, beinginstigated by the protection and countenance of the prince, he railedagainst me to my face, with the most virulent malice, beseeching theking to save his life; on which the king resolved not to deliver him upto me, but to send him as a prisoner to Surat. But the prince, to braveme, begged to have him for a servant, as the fellow had renounced hiscountry, on which the king did so, in spite of every thing I couldallege. On this the prince gave him 150 rupees, with the pay of twohorsemen, and commanded me not to meddle with him. On the night of the 23d, Jones came and threw himself at my feet, askingpardon for his lies and mad behaviour. I told him I would not now keephim prisoner, as he was the prince's servant; but I would not give himany answer till he had made public reparation for his misbehaviour, asfar as he could. Accordingly, on the next day, he contrived to get tothe _Guzalcan_, and there asked pardon of the king for the lies he hadspoken against me, denying every word he had then spoken, alleging hehad done so to protect himself against me, whom he had offended, andprayed the king to send for me, that he might ask my pardon in public. The king was well pleased, but the prince fell into a rage. I went tothe Guzalcan on the 25th, when the king protested he never believed whatJones had said against me, and that he considered him a villain, yetcould not but protect him, as he had cast himself on his mercy. Joneswas sent for, and asked my pardon on his knees, declaring on oath to theking that he had in every thing belied me, and that he now made thisdeclaration in a voluntary manner, as he durst not return to hiscountry. The king chid him a little, saying to me that neither he norany good man could believe such a slanderer. The prince grew angry, andendeavoured to make Jones stand to what he had said formerly against me;and as Jones refused, the prince basely desired him to restore the 150rupees he had received for bearing witness against me. Jones promised toreturn the money, for which purpose an under-treasurer was sent alongwith him to the house in which he lodged, as I would not suffer him tocome to mine. I was forced to seem content, having no way to seek redress, as I had nopresents to give, and the king never listens to any request unless wellbacked, and will even demand it in plain terms, of which the princetakes advantage, urging that the Portuguese bring rich jewels, rubies, and pearls, and treating our English commodities with great scorn. Onthe 29th of May the Portuguese were admitted to the king with a present, and to sell a ballass ruby, which was said to weigh thirteen _toles_, two and a half of these being equal to an ounce. [200] For this theyasked five lacks of rupees, but the king only offered one lack. AsaphKhan also was an advocate for the Portuguese, who made him a present ofjewels. They had many rich rubies, ballasses, emeralds, pearls, andother jewels, for sale, with which they so much gratified the king andhis great men, that we were for a time eclipsed. The prince and thejesuit fell out about presenting them, which the prince desired, but ithad been promised before to Asaph Khan. I had formerly judged concerningthe credit of the Portuguese at court by report, but I now experiencedthe difference between them and us; for they were sought after by all, while they only bought our commodities as it were by way of giving uscharity. Besides, the Portuguese had an advantage over us in consequenceof their establishments in the neighbourhood, by which they could hindertrade into the Red Sea, being always more at hand to do harm than we, who are only entertained out of a little fear, while our trade andcommodities are little cared for. [Footnote 200: This must be an enormous exaggeration, or error, as inthis case the ruby would have weighed 5 1-5th ounces. --E. ] §2. _Occurrences in June, July, and August 1616, from which theCharacter and Dispositions of the Mogul and his Subjects may beobserved_. The 12th of June a resolution was taken that Sultan Churrum should go tothe wars in the Deccan, and a day was fixed for his setting out on hisjourney, for which all the Bramins were consulted. On this occasion itis reported that Sultan _Parvis_, who is to be recalled, wrote to hisfather the Mogul, that if his elder brother were sent to assume thecommand, he would readily obey; but, if dishonoured by sending this hisyounger brother, he, in the first place, would fall upon him, and wouldafterwards finish the Deccan war. All the captains, such as Khan-Khanan, Mahomed Khan, Khan Jeban, and others, refuse to serve under the commandof Sultan Churrum, who is reputed a tyrant, of whom all men are ingreater awe than of the king, more especially now that he is to have thecommand of the army. Yet the king cannot be persuaded to change hisresolution, so that the departure of the prince, with his favouriteZulphecar Khan is determined to take place at the distance of twenty-twodays; wherefore I must make haste to finish my business, as after hisdeparture with his minion, Zulphecar Khan, I shall have no chance torecover a single penny, nor to get any justice against him. The 18th, the king commanded one of his brother's sons, who had beenmade a Christian out of policy, to bring him into hatred of the people, to touch a lion on the head which was brought in before the king. But herefused it, being afraid, on which the king desired his youngest son totouch the lion, which he did, without receiving any harm. On this theking commanded his nephew to be taken to prison, whence he is neverlikely again to be released. On the 24th a son was born to Sultan Churrum, and being now preparing toset out for the Deccan wars, all men's eyes are upon him, either forflattery, gain, or envy, none for love. He has received twenty lacks ofrupees, equal to £200, 000 sterling, towards his expences, and begins toact with more than his usual liberality. Notwithstanding this shew ofhis father's affection, a khan at court endeavoured to persuade the kingthat this expedition would be productive of danger, as prince Parvis, whose honour would be thereby wounded, would certainly not submitwithout revenge. To this the king answered, "Let them fight, and he whoproves the better captain, shall pursue the war. " The 25th I had an audience of the king, being sent for by Asaph Khan, and was received by his majesty with much courtesy. This Asaph Khan wasmuch in the prince's favour, wherefore I was unwilling to disoblige him, though he had given me several provocations. At this time Mukrob Khan, another of the great men, made me offers of service, being of a contraryfaction to Asaph Khan, but I thought it best to endeavour to makefriends of them both. Among other subjects of discourse, Mukrob told methat the English brought too much cloth and broad-sword blades for saleto India, and hardly any thing else, wherefore he advised they shouldforbear for two or three years, and rather bring the curiosities ofChina and Japan, which would be more acceptable, and to bring fromEngland the best cloth of gold, and the richest silks wrought with goldand silver, and above all things, large quantities of Arras hangings. The 30th I visited Abdalla Hassan, having need of his friendship; and, what is rare in this country, he refused to accept of any present. Abdalla is captain over all the soldiers maintained at court, andtreasurer of all the armies. He entertained me with great civility, andfew compliments, and made me sit beside him to see the soldiers shoot atmarks with their bows and firelocks. Most of them hit the mark with asingle bullet, being about the size of a hand, affixed to a butt. We hadsome discourse together about the manner of using weapons in Europe, after which I took my leave and departed. Most of July passed in soliciting the prince to sign the articles I hadpresented to the king, as mentioned before. On the 13th I sent him threebottles of Alicant, and a letter concerning the difference between usand the Portuguese about trade, offering to take all the customs tofarm, both inwards and outwards, for the use of the company. The prince, according to his usual barbarous custom of transacting all business inpublic, caused my letter to be twice read over to him by his secretary, often interrupting him with discourse, and sent word that he would readit again at night and consider its contents, and that I should have hisanswer through _Mirza Sorocalla_. That night I went to the durbar to visit the king, who, as soon as Icame in, sent Asaph Khan to say that he heard I had an excellent painterin my house, and that he wished to see some of his work. I replied, there was only a young man, a merchant, who drew some figures for hisamusement, in a very ordinary manner, with a pen, but which were farfrom having any claim as paintings. The king said I need not fear histaking any man from me by force, as he would neither do me any injuryhimself, nor suffer any to be done me by others, and desired he mightsee the young man and his work. I answered, I had no fears of injuryfrom his majesty, and, for his satisfaction, should bring the young manto the Guzalcan with such drawings as he might have, which were probablyfigures of elephants, deer, or the like. On this the king bowed hishead, saying, if I desired to have an elephant, or any other thing inhis country, I had only to let him know freely what I wished, and hewould give it me, for he was my friend. I made a low reverence, humblythanking his majesty, and said that elephants were of no use to me, neither was it the custom of any person of our nation, especially of myrank, to ask any thing: Yet, if his majesty were pleased to give me eventhe value of a rupee, I should thankfully accept it as a mark of hisfavour. He answered, that he knew not what I might wish for, but therewere many things in his country rare in mine, and desired I might not bedainty, but speak to him freely, and he would give me such things aswere most acceptable. He then desired me to be merry, for he was thefriend of our nation and of me, and should take care we had no injurydone to us. He then desired me to attend that night at the Guzalcan, andto bring with me the young man who painted pictures. Then Asaph Khanwished me to send for him to come to his house, where also he invited meto go till the time when the king came out again, assuring me I shouldbe welcome, which I agreed to. I had never before been so graciouslytreated by the king as now, which all the great men took notice of, andaccordingly altered their deportment towards me. It so happened that thejesuit acted as my interpreter on this occasion, by the king'sappointment. I went from the durbar to the house of Asaph Khan, according toinvitation, and continued there till the king came out again, when I wasconducted back, accompanied by Mr Hughes, the supposed painter, withwhom the king had some discourse. After this, I shewed the king acurious picture I had of a friend of mine, which pleased him much, andhe shewed it to all his company. The king sent for his chief painter, who pretended he could make as good, which I denied, on which a wager ofa horse was made between Asaph Khan and me in the king's presence, andto please him, but Asaph afterwards retracted. After this, the Mogulfell to drinking some Alicant wine which I had presented him, givingsome of it to those about him, and then sent for a full bottle, anddrinking a cup, sent it to me, saying it soured so fast it would bespoiled before he could drink it, and I had none. This done, he turnedhim to sleep, when all the candles were put out, and I had to grope myway out in the dark. This day, a gentlewoman attendant upon _Noor-mahal_ was taken in theking's house in some improper act with an eunuch, when another animal ofthe same kind, who loved her, slew her paramour. The poor woman was setup to the arm-pits in the ground, with the earth hard rammed around her, being condemned to remain there three days and two nights in thatsituation, without sustenance, her head and arms exposed to the violenceof the sun. If she survived, she was then to be pardoned. The eunuch wascondemned to the elephants. This damsel was found to be worth, inpearls, jewels, and money, sixteen lack of rupees. [201] [Footnote 201: In Purchas this sum is rated in words at sixteen hundredthousand, while in Churchill it is only in figures 160, 000. --E. ] On the 22d, I had letters from Burbanpoor in answer to those I hadwritten to Mohabet Khan, who granted my desire of a firmaun in favour ofour nation, granting them a house near the governor's, strictlycommanding that no person should molest them by sea or land, neither toexact from them any customs, or to give them trouble on any pretence, with entire liberty to buy, sell, and transport any commodities at theirpleasure, without let or hindrance. I received this in a letter fromhimself, full of civility and kindness, far exceeding any I had hithertomet with in India, protesting the highest respect, and his earnest wishto give me every content in whatever I might desire. I caused thisfirmaun to be immediately sent to Surat, so that Broach is now providedas a good retreat from the prince's injuries, and the customs given up, by which £1500 a-year will be saved, besides all manner of searches andextortions. No person doubts the performance of this firmaun, as MohabetKhan careth not for the prince, and feareth no man, neither needeth heany person's favour, being much beloved of the king, and reckoned thesecond man in the empire. He has all his life been liberal of his purse, and honourable in his word, so that he has the good report of all men. In regard to the customs on trade, as the king takes none, and thegovernors convert them to their own profit, he professes to scornabusing the liberties of the king's ports. On the 6th of August I was sent for to the durbar, where I had much talkwith the king, who asked me many questions to satisfy his curiosity, anddesired me to come to the Guzalcan at night, when I should see mypicture so exactly copied, that I should not know the copy from theoriginal. He asked me what reward I would give the painter who had madethe copy so like, to which I answered, I would give fifty rupees, apainter's reward. To which the king replied, that his painter was agentleman, and my proffered reward was too small. I said, that I gavethe picture willingly, esteeming it rare, and had no inclination to makecomparisons or wagers; and that, if his majesty's servant had performedwell, and would not accept my gift, his majesty was most fit to rewardhim. So, after many merry jests, and brags of the arts in his dominions, his majesty asked me how often I drank in the day, and how much, andwhat we drank in England. Mentioning beer, he asked what beer was, howit was made, and whether I could make it here in India. To all of whichserious state questions I answered to his satisfaction. He sent for me again at night, being impatient to triumph in the skilfulexecution of his painter, and shewed me six pictures, all pasted on oneboard, one being my own, and the other five done by his artist, and allso like, that by candle-light I was at some loss to determine which waswhich, being greatly beyond my expectation. At length, by closerinspection, I pointed out my own, and explained the differences betweenit and the copies, which were not apparent to an inexperienced eye. Theking was much pleased that I had not seen the difference at first sight, for which he was full of mirth, and exulted over me. I gave him way, andsatisfied him much by praising his painter, saying, that I saw hismajesty needed no pictures from our country. He then asked me whatreward I would give his painter? To which I answered, I would double myformer offer, and if he came to my house, would give him an hundredrupees to buy a nag. The king took this kindly, but said his painterwould not accept money, but some other gifts which I had beforepromised. I said this was referable to my own discretion. To which heanswered, that this was true, yet he wished I would name it. To this Isaid, I would give him a good sword, a pistol, and a picture. "Then, "said the king, "you confess he is a good workman, send for him to yourhouse, and shew him such rarities as you have, and let him choose one, in return for which you shall have any one of these pictures you please, that you may shew in England we are not so unskilful as you supposed. "He then pressed me to make a choice, which I did, and which the kingwrapped in paper, and placed in a little book of mine, expressing muchexultation at the supposed victory of his painter. I then shewed him apicture I had of his majesty, far inferior to the work I now saw, sayingI had judged from it, supposing it among the best. When told where I gotit, he asked why I bought any such thing? "Have not I the best, and havenot I told you that I would give you any thing you desired?" I thankedhis majesty, but said I held it impertinent for me to trouble him intrifles, especially as a beggar. To this he replied, that it was noshame to ask from him, and desired me to speak freely at all times, andpressed me to ask for something. To this I answered, that I would notmake choice of any gift, as whatever he was pleased to give, I wouldjoyfully accept as a mark of honour. He then said, if you desire mypicture, I will either give you one for yourself or for your king. Tothis I answered, that if his majesty thought proper to send one to myking, I would gladly carry it, and knew that my sovereign would esteemit much, and take it as a mark of friendship; but, as his majesty hademboldened me by his gracious condescension, I would humbly ask one formyself, which I would keep and leave to my posterity, as a memorial ofhis majesty's favour. He answered, as my king did not desire one, but Idid, I should have one, and so gave immediate order for its making. Hethen turned himself to sleep, and we had to go out as before, in thedark. The 9th of August a band of an hundred robbers were brought in chainsbefore the Great Mogul, together with their accusation. Without anyceremony of trial, he ordered them to be carried away for execution, their chief being ordered to be torn in pieces by dogs, and all the restto be put to death in the ordinary manner. The prisoners were dividedinto portions, sent for execution to several quarters of the city, andexecuted in the streets. Close by my house, the chief was torn in piecesby twelve dogs, and thirteen of his fellows, having their hands andfeet tied together, had their necks cut by a sword, yet not quitethrough, and their naked and bloody bodies were left to corrupt in thestreet, to the annoyance of the whole neighbourhood. On the 10th, 11th, and 12th, I was occupied at court in giving notice tothe king and prince that a Dutch ship lay before Surat, and refused togive notice of its object till the arrival of a fleet to which itbelonged, which was expected with the first fair wind. I took advantageof this circumstance to make them apprehensive of the designs of theHollanders, and the dangers that might arise from them, all of which waswell taken. And, being consulted on the subject, I advised not to cometo a rupture with them, and yet to exclude them from trade. The last of these days I went to visit _Gemaldin Ussen_, [202] theviceroy of _Patan_, [203] and lord of four cities in Bengal, a man ofseventy years of age, who had often been employed as an ambassador bythe Mogul, had more understanding and courtesy than all his countrymen, was universally esteemed for his hospitality and regard to strangers, and was considered as entirely free from secret ambition. He had ofteninvited me to his house, to which I went this day, and was received withextraordinary kindness and friendship. He even offered me a lack ofrupees, and such other demonstrations of courtesy, as bespoke their ownrefusal. He offered me likewise his credit and favour with the king, andhis best advice in every emergence; indeed, omitting nothing that couldevince his desire to serve me. All this seemed cordially to proceed fromthe heart, especially from a person of his years and experience; and, inthe course of our conversation, he spoke so plainly of many of the chiefmen about the court, which, from my own experience, I knew for truth, that I was satisfied he was a true-hearted and well-disposed old man. Hegave me much information respecting the customs of this empire, theirwant of laws, their servitude, the increase of the empire, and manyother things, having served in grace and favour under three successivekings. He shewed me a book containing the annals of all memorableactions in his time, which he daily committed to record, and offered mea copy if I would procure it to be translated. This also treatedconcerning the king's revenue, and the manner in which it was raised, besides confiscations, gifts, and deductions upon the great men. Heshewed me that the government of every province paid yearly a certainrent to the king. Thus, for his government of Patna, he gave yearly tothe king eleven lacks of rupees;[204] all other profits of thegovernment being his own, he having entire power and authority to takewhat he thought fit. His government was estimated at 5000 horse, the payof each being 200 rupees yearly, of which he only kept 1500 on foot, being allowed the surplus as dead pay. Besides which, he had a dailypension of 1000 rupees, and enjoyed some smaller governments. Yet heassured me that several of the great lords had double the emoluments heenjoyed, and that there were above twenty equal to himself. [Footnote 202: This name does not appear rightly reported, yet we haveno means of correcting its orthography, neither is it of muchimportance. Perhaps it may have been Jemal-ul-dien Ussan Khan. --E. ] [Footnote 203: This is probably a mistake for Patna in Bengal, and hemay have been Nabob, or Nawab, perhaps Soubah of Bengal. --E. ] [Footnote 204: Eleven lack, or 1, 100, 000 rupees, on the computationformerly assigned, are equal to £110, 000. In the Pilgrims, at thisplace, the rupee is said to equal 2s. 2d, which would add £9166:12:4 tothat sum. --E. ] In the course of our conversation, this lord praised the good prophetJesus, and his laws, and was full of much pleasant and profitablediscourse. Some days after this visit, when I thought his kindness hadbeen at an end, he borrowed the king's banqueting-house andpleasure-garden, called _Havar Gemall_, a mile from town, on purpose totreat me, and earnestly inviting me, I promised to come. He went therehimself at midnight, carrying his tents and all requisite furniture andprovisions, and fitted up a place very handsomely, by the side of thetank, for the entertainment. I went there in the morning, and on myarrival he came to meet me with extraordinary civility, carrying me intothe pavilion he had prepared, where he had some company, among whom weretwo of his sons, of whom he had thirty in all. He had likewise anhundred servants attending. To amuse me, he carried me to see the king'slittle closets and retiring rooms, which were painted in the antiquemanner, having pictures of some of the French kings, and other Christianprinces, on several of the pannels. He said he was only a poor servantof the king, yet wished I might have some content, and had thereforeinvited me to a slight banquet, that we might eat bread and salttogether, to seal a friendship which he entreated me to accept. Therewere many great men, he alleged, who were better able to shew mekindness, but were proud and false-hearted, and he wished me thereforeto trust none of them. For, if I had any business to transact concerningthe Portuguese or any other, they who acted as my interpreters wouldnever deliver the truth, but only what pleased themselves, or would givesatisfaction in the relation. That, therefore, I should never be rightlyunderstood, nor be able to effect my business without being abused andcheated, nor ever clearly know the situation in which I stood, until Ihad an Englishman who could speak Persian, who was able rightly todeliver what I wished to have said, without using any other person. And, if I could find any such, the king would readily grant me leave toemploy him, having conceived a good opinion of me; insomuch, that thepreceding night, at the Guzalcan, when the jewels of _Sheik Ferid_, governor of Lahore, who was lately deceased, were presented to him, heremembered me of his own accord, and seeing a picture of himself whichpleased him, he delivered it to Asaph Khan, commanding him to send it tome, that I might wear it for his sake, with many words of favourconcerning me, which would make all the great men respect me. While thus conversing, dinner was served. So sitting down on a carpet, acloth was spread, divers kinds of banqueting dishes were set before us. The like was done a little on one side for the gentlemen of his company, with whom he went to eat, as they hold it a kind of uncleanness tomingle with us. Upon this, I told him that he had promised we should eatbread and salt together, and without his company I felt little appetite, whereupon he arose from the rest, and sat down beside me, and we fellheartily to our repast. It consisted of various kinds of dishes, together with raisins, almonds, pistachio nuts, and various fruits. After dinner, he played at chess, and I walked about, and after sometime spent in discourse, I offered to take my leave. But he said he hadinvited me to eat with him, and hitherto we had only had a collation, wherefore he entreated I might not depart till we had supped together, to which I readily consented. About an hour after, the ambassador of one of the kings of the Deccancame to visit him, whom he presented to me, using him with civility, butmuch inferior to the respect he had shewn me. He afterwards asked me, if the king my master would scorn the offer of service from so poor aman as he was, and if he would vouchsafe to accept a present from astranger, as he proposed to send a gentleman to England with me to kissthe hands of my sovereign, and to see our country. I answered him asbecame me, with all civility; so he sent for one presently, whom hequestioned if he would venture upon such a journey, and as this personseemed willing, he presented him to me, saying he would provide some ofthe curiosities of the country for the king my master, and send them bythis gentleman along with me. By the manner all this seemed to be inearnest. While we thus spent our time in friendly converse, supper was broughtin; and, as in the morning, two cloths were spread, one before me and mychaplain, with one merchant, on which were set various dishes of roast, fried, and boiled meats, with rice and sallads. On this occasion myhonourable entertainer desired me to excuse his company, as it was theircustom to eat among themselves, and his countrymen might take it ill ifhe did not eat with them; so he and his guests, and I with mycompanions, solaced ourselves with good cheer. The meats were not amiss, but the attendance and order were excellent, as the servants were verydiligent and respectful. After the manner of this country of givingpresents to invited guests, he made me a present of five cases ofsugar-candy flavoured with musk, and a loaf of the finest sugar, aswhite as snow, weighing fifty pounds, and requested my acceptance of anhundred such against my departure. He then addressed me in theseterms:--"You refuse these from me, thinking I am poor, but being made inmy government, it costs me nothing, as it comes to me _gratis_. " To thisI answered, that he had already much too far obliged me, yet would I notrefuse his kindness when ready to go away. On which he replied, that hemight not be then provided, and therefore desired I would accept now, that he might not lose both his offer and his labour. Thus, callinghimself my father, and me his son, we took leave of each other, withmany compliments. I went to visit the king on the 16th, who, as soon as I came in, calledto his women, and reached out his own picture set in gold, and hangingto a chain of gold wire, with a pendant of foul pearl, which hedelivered to Asaph Khan, whom I warned not to demand any reverence fromme on the occasion which I would not willingly perform; as it is thecustom here, when he bestows any gift, that the receiver kneels down andtouches the ground with his head; and which ceremony had been exactedfrom the ambassador of Persia. Then Asaph Khan came to me with thepicture, which I offered to take in my hand, but he made a sign to me, to take off my hat and put it about my neck, leading me right before theking. Not understanding his purpose, and doubting he might require myconformance with the custom of the country, called _sizeda_, I resolvedrather to forego the present than comply. He made a sign to me to returnthanks to the king, which I did after the fashion of our country; onwhich some of the officers called for me to make _sizeda_, but the kingimmediately said, No, no, in Persian. So, with many gracious words, Ireturned to my place. You may judge of the king's liberality by thismighty gift, which was not in all worth thirty pounds, yet was fivetimes the value of such as he usually gives of that kind, and which areyet held as a special favour, as all the great men wear the king'spicture, which yet none may do but those to whom it is given. Thisordinarily consists of only a small gold medal, not bigger than asixpence, impressed with the king's image, having a short gold chain ofsix inches to fasten it on their turbans; and to which, at their owncharges, some add precious stones or pearl pendents. _Gemaldin Ussen_, who had invited me to the _Havaer Gemal_, as beforementioned, being newly appointed governor of _Sinde_, came to dine at myhouse on the 19th, accompanied by two of his sons and two othergentlemen, and attended by about an hundred servants. He partook of somepart of the banquet, which had been prepared at my house by a Mahomedancook, but declined eating of any of the dishes which were cooked afterour English fashion, though he seemed to have a good inclination, beinginfluenced by a superstitious notion; yet he desired that four or fivedishes, of his own choice, might be sent to his own house, being allbaked meats, dressed in a way he had not before seen, saying he wouldafterwards eat of them in private, which was accordingly done. At thisentertainment, he offered us a free trade and secure residence at thechief town, of Sinde, his new government, and having filled himself withmy banquet, he took his leave, after receiving a small present from me, according to the fashion of the country. This day, Mr Hall, my chaplain, died suddenly, to my great grief. He was a man of mild and gentlemanners, and a most sincere Christian, of unspotted life andconversation. On the 20th and the night before, there fell a vast storm of rain, called in this country the _elephant_, owing to which such prodigiousstreams of water flowed into the great tank, the head of which is ofstone and apparently of great strength, that it gave way in one place, causing a sudden alarm that the whole fabric would give way and drownall that part of the town in which I dwelt. Insomuch that the prince andall his women forsook their house, and my nearest neighbour carried offhis goods and his wife to the skirts of the hills on his elephants andcamels. All persons had their horses ready at their doors, that theymight save their lives by flight in case of necessity. We were in theutmost consternation, and sat up till midnight, having no alternative, as we thought, but to flee ourselves and abandon all our goods, for itwas reported that the water would rise three feet higher than the top ofour house, and carry all away, being only a slight mud building. Thefoot of the tank was level with our dwelling, and the water was of greatextent and very deep, so that the surface of the water stoodconsiderably higher than the top of my house, which stood in a hollow, in the very course of the water, and where every ordinary heavy rainoccasioned such a current at my door as to be for some hours impassableby man or horse. But the king caused a sluice to be cut during thenight, to conduct the water by another course, so that we were freedfrom the extreme danger; yet the excessive rain had washed down aconsiderable part of the walls of my house, and so weakened it bybreaches in different parts, that I now feared its falling down, as muchas I had dreaded its being swept away by the flood. It was every whereso bemired with dirt and water, that I could hardly find a place inwhich to sit or lie dry, and was forced to be at material charges inhaving it repaired. Thus were we every way afflicted, by fires, smoke, floods, storms, heats, dust, and flies, and had no season of temperateair and quietness. On the 27th, I received advice from Surat, that the Dutch had obtainedpermission to land their goods, and to secure them in a warehouse atthat place, carrying on trade till the pleasure of the prince wereknown, and under condition that they should depart at the first warning. The king went to _Havar Gemal_ on the 29th, whence he employed himselfin hunting. At that place, a resolution was taken, to remove the courtto Mundu, a castle near Burhanpoor, where there is no town. At thistime, Sultan Parvis came from the Deccan wars in disgrace, and arrivedwith his train near Agimere; and the king commanded him to retire toBengal, refusing to admit him into his presence. Having thus dispatchedhim, without the inconvenience dreaded from a meeting between thebrothers, he now proposed to settle Sultan Churrum in the Deccan wars, although all the chief men of the court were averse from this measure;on which account, the king feared to send him down, as was formerlyproposed, and had therefore delayed this measure until Prince Parvis waswithdrawn, and now meant to establish Churrum by means of his ownpresence at Mundu, in the neighbourhood of the Deccan. If thisresolution is executed, it will put us to much trouble and expence, aswe must build a new house both for ourselves and goods, because thatcastle stands on a hill, and has no buildings near it. The king returned from hunting on the night of the 30th, and abouteleven o'clock sent me a very large and fat wild boar, desiring to havethe tusks back, and accompanied by a message, saying it was killed byhis own hand, and therefore desiring me to be merry, and to eat it withgood cheer. On this occasion, I desired Jaddow, who brought this messagefrom the king, to tell Asaph Khan, that I proposed to visit him nextday, when I hoped to receive from him a firmaun of the privilegesgranted by the king. Asaph Khan sent me back word, that they would notbe then ready, but it should be sealed some days after, and that he didnot wish to see me till he had given me satisfaction. §3. _Of the Celebration of the King's Birth Day, with other Occurrencesin September 1616_. The 2d of September was the birth-day of the Great Mogul, which wassolemnized with extraordinary festivities. He was then weighed against avariety of articles, as jewels, gold, silver, stuffs of gold and silver, silk, batter, rice, fruits, and many other things, of each a little, allof which is given to the Bramins. On this occasion, the king orderedAsaph Khan to send for me; who did so, and appointed me to come to theplace where the king held his durbar. But the messenger mistook, so thatI went not in time, and missed the sight. Being there before the kingcame out, he sent for me as soon as he noticed me, and enquired why Ihad not come to see the ceremony of weighing, for which he had givenorder. I explained the reason, as it actually was, on which he chidAsaph Khan publicly for the omission. He was at this time so richlyornamented with jewels, that I must confess I never saw at any one timesuch unspeakable wealth. He now amused himself in seeing his greatestelephants brought in before him. Some of these were lord-elephants, having their chains, bells, and furniture all of gold and silver, beingattended by many gilt flags and streamers, and each having eight or teninferior elephants to wait upon him, clothed in gold, silk, and silver. In this way there passed about twelve troops, all very splendidlyfurnished. The first lord-elephant had all the plates on his head andbreast set with rubies and emeralds, being a beast of most wonderfulstature and beauty. They all bowed down before the king, making theirreverences very orderly, and formed as fine a shew of beasts as I hadever seen. The keepers of each chief elephant made a present to theking. After this was over, the king made me some gracious speeches, andwent into the interior apartments. About ten o'clock at night, after I was in bed, the king sent me amessage, saying he had heard I had a picture which I had not shewn him, and desired I would come then to him, bringing the picture with me; andif I would not part with it, that he might see it, and have copies takenfor his wives. I rose and carried the picture with me, and when I cameto the presence, I found him sitting cross-legged on a little throne, his robes all covered over with diamonds, pearls, and rubies. Before himstood a golden table, on which were above fifty pieces of gold plate, all set with precious stones, some of them being large and of greatvalue. His nobles were all around him in their best attire, whom hecommanded to drink cheerfully of several kinds of wine, which stoodthere in large flaggons. On my approach he asked for the picture, on which I shewed him two. Heseemed astonished at one of these, and asked whose it was; to which Ireplied, that it was the portrait of a friend who was dead. He asked ifI would give it him. I replied, that I valued it more than any thing Ihad, as being the portrait of one I had loved dearly; but if his majestywould pardon my attachment to that picture, and accept the other, whichwas French and of excellent work, I would most willingly give it. Hethanked me, saying it was that only picture which he desired, and whichhe loved as much as I did; and, if I would give it him, he would valueit more than the richest jewel in his house. I answered that I was notso much in love with any thing, but that I would part with it to satisfyhis majesty, being extremely glad to have any opportunity to serve him, and was ready even to present him with my heart, if I could therebydemonstrate my affection. He bowed to me, saying he had never beforeseen so much art and beauty, and conjured me to tell him truly if eversuch a woman had lived. I answered, that there certainly did once live alady whom this portrait resembled in every thing but perfection. He thensaid, that he accepted my readiness to give him what I so valued as agreat kindness; but would only shew it to his ladies, and cause his ownpainter make five copies, and if I knew my own I should have it back. Ianswered, that I had freely given it, and would be glad of his majestyaccepting it: But he said he would not keep it, and loved me better forputting so much value on the image of my departed friend. He knew, headded, that it would be doing me an injury to take it from me, and wouldonly have five copies taken, which his wives should wear, and would thenreturn me the original with his own hand. In this art of limning orpainting in water colours, his artists are wonderfully expert. But heliked not the other picture, which was painted in oil. He then told me that this was his birth-day, and all men made merry, andasked me therefore if I would drink with them. I said I would willinglydo whatever he was pleased to command, as I sincerely wished him manyprosperous days, and that the ceremony of this day might be repeated foran hundred years. He asked me what wine I would have, whether that ofthe grape or made wine, and whether strong or weak. I said whatever hewas pleased to order, hoping he would neither command me to have it toostrong or in too large quantity. So he called for a gold cupful ofmingled wine, half of the grape and half artificial, which he sent me byone of his nobles, with this message, that I should drink it off twice, thrice, four times, or five times, for his sake, and accept the cup andappurtenances as a present. On drinking a portion of it, I found itstronger than any I had ever tasted, insomuch that it made me sneeze, atwhich he laughed, and called for raisins, almonds, and sliced lemons, which he sent me on a gold plate, and desired me to eat and drink what Iliked, and no more. I then made a reverence for my present, after my ownmanner, though Asaph Khan wanted me to kneel and knock my head upon theground, but the king accepted it in my own way. The cup was of gold, setall over with small rubies and turquoises; the cover being likewisegold, and set with great rubies, emeralds, and turquoises; and there waslikewise a suitable dish or salver on which to set the cup. I know notthe value, because many of the stones are small, and the greater, whichalso are numerous, are not all clean; but there are above two thousandstones in all, and the gold weighs about twenty ounces. On giving methis splendid present, he sent me word that he esteemed me more thanever he had done a Frank, and asked if I were merry in eating the wildboar he had sent me, how I had it dressed, what I drank with it, andmany such compliments; which public shew of his grace and favour did memuch service in the eyes of all his nobles, who strove to shew merespect. After this, he threw among those that stood below, two chargers ofrupees, and among us who were round the throne two chargers of hollowalmonds made of gold and silver mingled; but I would not scramble as didhis great men, for I saw his son did not take any up. He thendistributed sashes and girdles of gold tissue to all the musicians andservants, and many others. So drinking heartily himself, and commandingothers to drink, he and his nobles became as jovial as could be, and ofa thousand humours. But the prince, Asaph Khan, two old men, the formerking of Candahar, and I, refrained from drinking. When the king was notable any longer to hold up his head, he lay down to sleep, and we alldeparted. While going out, I moved Asaph Khan for the dispatch of ourprivileges, assuring him his majesty could give me no present soacceptable. I said farther, that I had no doubt it lay in his power todispatch me; but if he did not think proper to do so, or if any otherhinderance was in my way, I should on the morrow again apply to theking. He desired me not to do so, for the king loved me and had givenorders for dispatching my business, which had been hindered by thepreparations for this feast; but he would now send it to me with allspeed, and do me all manner of service. Seven months had now been vainly spent in soliciting the signing andsealing of the articles of amity and commerce, formerly detailed, and Ihad nothing but promises and delays, from day to day, and from week toweek. Therefore on the 3d September, the English fleet being hourlyexpected to arrive at Surat, I delivered to him a memorial, containingthe articles I desired to have an order for, that they might be observedin the unloading of the ships. These were, 1. That the presents comingfor the king and prince, should not be opened at the port, but sent upto court under the seals of the customhouse officers. 2. Thatcuriosities sent for presents to other persons, and for the merchants tosell, should also be sent to the court sealed, for the prince to makethe first choice. 3. That the gross merchandize should be landed, reasonably rated, and not detained at the customhouse, but that themerchants, on paying the customs, should have full liberty to sell ordispose of it as they pleased; and that the ships should be fullysupplied with provisions, without paying any custom for the same. On the 4th, Asaph Khan sent me back my articles, after so longattendance and so many false promises, some of them altered, and othersstruck out, together with a letter, saying there was no need of anyarticles, as an order from the prince to trade at Surat was quitesufficient, he being lord there, and that no grant of trade at Bengal orSinde could ever be allowed. Notwithstanding all this vexation, I durstnot change my mode of proceeding, or wholly quit the prince and AsaphKhan. I therefore drew up other articles, leaving out what seemeddispleasing in the former, and desired Asaph Khan to put them into formand procure them to be sealed, or else to allow me to apply to the king, that if he denied me I might leave the country. The substance of thesenew articles was as follows:--1. That all the subjects of the GreatMogul should receive the English in a friendly manner, suffering them toland their goods peaceably, and to procure provisions for their moneywithout paying customs for them. --2. To have liberty, after payingcustoms for their goods, to sell them to any one they pleased, and noneto force them to sell at an under rate. --3. To have liberty to pass withtheir goods to any part of the empire, without any farther exactionsthan those payable at the port. --4. To have the presents for the Moguland prince sealed without being opened, and sent to the ambassador. --5. To have the goods of those that might die freed from confiscation, anddelivered to the surviving English factors. --And finally, That no injuryshould be offered to any of the English. On the 8th, Asaph Khan sent me word in plain terms, that absolutely hewould procure nothing for me sealed, that in any respect concerned thegovernment belonging to the prince, and that I must rest satisfied witha firmaun or order, signed by the prince, which was quite sufficient, and I needed not to apply any more to him. This clearly revealed thepurpose he had so long intended, that we should be entirely dependent onthe prince; and I now had just cause to look out for new friends, AsaphKhan having forsaken me. He that first took him for our solicitorengaged us in all this misery, for he was the known protector of ourenemies, and a slave to their numerous bribes. I therefore determined totry the prince, and to seem entirely dependent upon him. So I went tothe prince on the 10th, and desired he would grant his firmaun for thefour articles formerly sent to his secretary, which he threw down to hissecretary, so that I hoped to be at rest. I received it on the 11th, buton reading it over, I found two of the four clauses much altered, andone entirely left out; so I returned it, declaring roundly I could notaccept it, neither would I suffer any goods to be sent ashore. Never wasany man so distressed with such pride, covetousness, and falsehood. At night, I rode to visit the prince's secretary, _Mirza Socrolla_, withwhom I expostulated the business, declaring my resolution to depart. ButI now found the firmaun quite different than I had been informed, andcontaining all the clauses I had required, though in some phrases ratherambiguous in my judgment, which the secretary interpreted favourably, declaring it was the prince's intent to satisfy me entirely, and thatevery thing was quite sufficient for our purpose. After urging theobscurity of some points, and as he had declared the meaning of theprince to me, I requested he would explain them in the same sense to thegovernor of Surat, which he agreed to; and especially gave order thatthe customer should pay for fifty pieces of cloth, which he had boughtmany months before, and wished now to return upon the factors, to theirextreme loss. At the close of our conference, he expressed the prince'sdesire that we would rely entirely on him, and not cross him in mattersbelonging to his government, by applying to the king, declaring that weshould so find him a better friend than we expected. Being thussatisfied, I was in some hope of success, especially as this man is notaker of bribes, and is reputed honest, and pledged his credit that weshould sustain no loss or injury, every thing being referred to him bythe prince. So I accepted the firmaun, which, on having it translated, Ifound very effectual and satisfactory. The 16th, I went to visit the prince, intending to seem entirelydependent upon him, till I heard what entertainment our ships werelikely to meet with. But I found him in much perplexity, fearing thecoming of Sultan Parvis to court, he being only at the distance of eightcoss, anxiously desiring leave to kiss his father's hands. The king hadeven granted his desire, but by the influence of Nourmahal, thefavourite queen, he had revoked the permission, and Sultan Parvis wasordered away directly to Bengal. [205] The resolution of the king toremove the court from Agimere still continued, but no one knew certainlywhere he intended to go. [Footnote 205: At this place there is an expression in the Pilgrims, coupled with this sentence, which is quite inexplicable. "Yea, althoughthe king had fallen down, and taken his mother by the feet, to obtainher leave to see her son. " We are not sufficiently conversant in thesecret history of the Zenana of Shah Jehan-guire to explain this; yetstrongly suspect that this sentence ought to have run thus: Although theprince's mother fell at the king's feet to obtain leave to see herson. --E. ] §4. _Broils about Abdala Khan and Khan-Khannan: Ambitious projects ofSultan Churrum to subvert his eldest Brother: Sea Fight with aPortuguese Carrack; and various other Occurrences_. Several days now passed in soliciting the king and great men, and payingmy court to them, without any remarkable occurrence; till on the 9thOctober, I had letters from Surat, giving me an account that fourEnglish ships had arrived there. On the 10th, Abdala Khan, the greatgovernor of Ahmedabad, being sent for to court in disgrace, to answerfor many insolent and contemptuous neglects of the king's commands, thought to stand upon his defence and to refuse compliance. But SultanChurrum, whose ambitious views sought to turn every thing to hisadvantage, being desirous to oblige so great a man, who was reckoned oneof the chiefest captains in the empire, prevailed upon him to submit, onhis word to protect him. Abdala came therefore, in pretended humility, habited as a pilgrim, attended by forty servants on foot, until hearrived within a day's journey of the court, having 2000 horse attendinghim at some distance behind. He was this day brought to the _Jarruco_, the place where the king sits in public to see sports and hearcomplaints, and advanced towards the king, between two noblemen, havingchains on his legs, and holding his turban over his eyes, that he mightsee no one till he had the happiness to behold the king. After makinghis humble reverence, and answering a few questions, the king forgavehim, caused his irons to be taken off, and clothed him in a new vest ofcloth of gold, with a turban and sash, as is the custom. The prince, Churrum, now intended to establish his honour and power onthe Deccan wars, which his elder brother Sultan Parvis had been recalledfrom in disgrace, and which the great commander, Khan-Khannan, had notconducted prosperously, being strongly suspected of a secretunderstanding with the princes of the Deccan, from whom he was believedto receive pensions. Churrum, therefore, induced his father to recallKhan-Khannan, who refused to obey; and wrote to the king, not to sendChurrum to the war, but one of his youngest sons, then only aboutfifteen. This gave Churrum much uneasiness, as he was exceedingly intentupon having the conduct of this war, for which reason he promised togive the subordinate command of the army to Abdala Khan, under himself, if he could contrive to get Khan-Khannan displaced. Fearing troublesfrom the ambition and factious practices of his son Churrum, thediscontent of the two elder sons, Cuserou and Parvis, and the power ofKhan-Khannan, the king was anxious to accommodate matters in the Deccanby accepting a peace, and continuing Khan-Khannan in his government; towhich end he wrote him a letter of favour, and proposed to send him avestment, as a sign of reconciliation, according to custom. Beforedispatching these, he acquainted a kinswoman of Khan-Khannan, who livedin the seraglio, with his purpose. Whether she was false to herrelation, through the secret influence of Sultan Churrum, or was grievedto see the head of her family so unworthily dealt with, who merited sohighly, does not certainly appear: But she plainly told the king, thatshe did not believe Khan-Khannan would wear any thing the king sent, ashe knew his majesty hated him, and had once or twice already sent himpoison, which he had put into his bosom instead of his mouth, and provedby trials. For this reason, she was confident Khan-Khannan would notdare to put on any thing sent from his majesty. The king offered towear the dress himself in her presence for an hour, which she mightcertify in a letter to her relative. To this she answered, thatKhan-Khannan would trust neither of them with his life; but, if allowedto continue quietly in his command, would do his majesty good service. Upon this, the king altered his plans, and resolved to invest SultanChurrum in the supreme command of the Deccan wars, and to follow afterhim with another army, to ensure his reception. Khan-Khannan, having due notice of the storm preparing against him, practised with the Deccan sovereigns, who were at his devotion, to offerfavourable terms of peace for a season, as he saw no other way ofaverting the cloud that hung over both him and them, unless bytemporizing till the king and the prince were established farther off. For this purpose, there came two ambassadors at this time to court, fromthe princes of the Deccan, bringing horses richly caparisoned aspresents. The king refused to listen to them, or to accept their gifts, and turned them over to his son, saying that peace or war restedentirely with him. The prince was so puffed up by this favour, thoughinformed that the proposed conditions of peace were highly honourable, that he declared proudly he would listen to no terms, till he was in thefield at the head of the army, being resolved that Khan-Khannan shouldnot deprive him of the honour of finishing that war. The ambitious views of this young prince are quite obvious, and form thecommon talk of the country, yet the king suffers him to proceed, although he by no means intends him as his successor. Sultan Cuserou, the eldest son, is highly beloved and honoured of all men, and almostadored, for his excellent parts and noble dispositions, with which theking is well acquainted, and even loves him dearly. But he conceivesthat the liberty of this son would diminish his own glory, and does notsee that the ambition of Churrum greatly more tarnishes his own famethan would the virtuous character and noble actions of the other. Thusthe king fosters division and emulation among his sons, putting so muchpower into the hands of the younger, which he believes he can undo athis pleasure, that the wisest here foresee much fatal division in thismighty empire when the present king shall pay the debt of nature, expecting that it will then be rent in pieces by civil wars. The history of this country, for the variety of its incidents, and themany crooked practices of the present king during the reign of hisfather, Akbar Shah, and these latter troubles, were well worthy of beingcommitted to writing. But, as the country is so remote, many woulddespise such information, and as the people are esteemed barbarous, fewpersons would give it credit. I content myself, therefore, withprivately contemplating the singular history of this nation, although Icould narrate so many singular and amusing state intrigues, subtleevasions, policies, answers, and adages, as could not be easily equalledin the history of one age or country. One incident, however, thatoccurred lately, I cannot omit relating, as it evinces the wisdom andpatience of the emperor, the incorruptible fidelity of a servant, thedetestable falsehood of a brother, and the impudent boldness of afaction, ready to dare every infamous action, when permitted by thesupreme ruler to exercise an authority beyond the limits of theircondition, and contrary to the dictates of reason and true policy. The favourite Prince Sultan Churrum, together with the favourite Queen_Nourmahal_, aunt to his wife, Asaph Khan father-in-law to Churrum, andbrother of _Nourmahal_, and _Etiman Dowlet_, father of _Asaph Khan_ and_Nourmahal_, being the faction that now governed the emperor, and whobelieved their bad influence in danger of being overthrown if the prince_Cuserou_ were allowed to live, determined to use every effort for hisdestruction, and to endeavour to get him into their power, that theymight end his days by poison, for they knew that he was universallybeloved among the nobles, and that his remaining in life and restorationto liberty must some day overthrow and punish their ambitious projects. To attain their infamous purposes, Nourmahal was instructed to practiseupon the king's weakness, by false tears and bewitching blandishments, to insinuate that Sultan Cuserou was not in sufficiently safe custody, and that he still meditated aspiring projects, contrary to the authorityand safety of the emperor, who listened to all her insinuations, yetrefused to understand her, as she did not plainly speak out her meaning. As this plan failed, the prince, with Etiman Dowlet and Asaph Khan, tookthe opportunity of the emperor being drunk, to persuade him, as if forthe greater safety and honour of Sultan Cuserou, that it were fitter heshould be in the company of his brother Churrum, who would be moreregardful of his safety and happiness than could be expected from anidolatrous rajput, to whose custody he had been committed by theemperor. They therefore humbly implored his majesty that Prince Cuseroumight be confided to the care of his dear brother Churrum. This wasgranted by the intoxicated monarch, who immediately fell asleep. They now deemed their project successful, as having the royal authority;and, considering their own greatness, they believed no one would dare todispute the warrant, or to refuse delivering the prince into theirhands. Accordingly, Asaph Khan went that same night with a guard to thehouse of _Anna-Rah_, a rajput Rajah, or prince, to demand from, him, inthe king's name and authority, the person of Sultan Cuserou, who hadbeen confided to his custody by the king. Anna-Rah declared that he wasthe most humble slave of Prince Churrum, whose name Asaph Khan used uponthis occasion; but having received charge of Prince Cuserou directlyfrom the hands of the emperor, he would deliver him up to no otherperson. He therefore entreated that Prince Churrum would have patiencetill next morning, when he would discharge his duty to the king, whosepleasure, once known, he would implicitly obey. This answer overturnedthe whole contrivance. In the morning Anna-Rah went to the king, to whomhe communicated the demand made upon him in the name of Prince Churrum, saying. That his majesty had given his son Cuserou to his charge, together with the command of 4000 horse, with all of whom he was readyto die at the imperial gate, rather than resign the prince into thehands of his enemies: But, if his majesty required, he was ready at alltimes to obey his commands. To this the king replied, "You have donehonestly and faithfully, and have answered discretely. Continue yourpurpose, and take no notice of any orders. I will not seem to know anything of this, neither do you speak of it any farther. Preserve yourfidelity, and let us see how far they will prosecute this affair. " Next day, finding the king silent on the subject, the prince and hisfaction took no notice of any thing, hoping the king might forget whathad passed in his cups over night. I have communicated this incident, that you may beware of scattering your goods in this country, or ofengaging your servants and stock too deeply; for the time will come whenthe whole of this empire will be in commotion, and it is not a few yearswar that will put a period to the inveterate enmity accumulated on allhands against a day of vengeance. Should Sultan Cuserou prevail inprocuring his rightful inheritance, this empire will become a sanctuaryfor Christians, whom he loves and honours, being a patron of learning, and an encourager of true valour and just government, abhorring allcovetousness, and despising the base custom of accepting bribes andpresents, in use among his ancestors and the nobility of this empire. Should Sultan Churrum ascend the throne, it will be a great loss to us, as he is a rigid adherent to the superstition of Mahomet, a hater of allChristians, proud, subtle, false, and barbarously tyrannical. [206] [Footnote 206: From this paragraph it appears that the journal of SirThomas Roe was addressed to the Governor and Committees, or Directors ofthe East India Company. --E. ] The king returned from hunting on the night of the 13th October, andsent me a wild pig. An ambassador is daily expected here from ShahAbbas, king of Persia. This day I received advice of the arrival of fourof our ships in safety at Swally roads, and at the same time receivedletters from England. The fleet, originally consisting of six ships, left England on the 9th March, 1616, losing company of the Rose aboutthe North Cape, in foul weather. The other five arrived safely inSaldanha bay on the 12th June, where the Lion was waiting for a wind, homewards bound, her officers and people all in good health. Afterstaying some time at the Cape without news of the missing ship, theydispatched the Swan for Bantam, and sailed on the 29th June with theother four ships for Surat. On this passage, on the 6th August, when inlat. 12° 50' S. Near the Comora islands, they got sight of a carrack of1500 tons burden, and 600 men, being the admiral of a fleet for Goa. TheGlobe fetched her to windward, and after the usual salutations of thesea, the carrack commanded her to leeward, and seconded this order withfive shots through her hull, to which the Globe replied with eighteen, and then luffed off. The admiral of the English got now up with all hisships, and demanded satisfaction for the injury, which was replied towith scorn. On this an engagement ensued, in which the commander, Benjamin Joseph, was soon slain, but his successor continued the battle. Towards evening the carrack ran herself ashore on the rocks of_Angazesia_. Our fleet came to anchor in the offing to wait the event, and sent a boat to offer fair terms of battle. But about midnight thecarrack was set on fire, and continued to burn all next morning. TheEnglish sent their boats to give assistance, but could not approach, andthey had reason to believe that not one man was saved. [207] The newviceroy of Goa was in this ship, by whose obstinacy the death of all therest was occasioned. Our fleet came to anchor off Swally on the 24thSeptember, 1616. [Footnote 207: It was afterwards known that some few escaped with lifeand poverty. A more particular account of this fight will be found inthe subsequent journal of Alexander Child. --_Purch. _] The 14th October I waited on the emperor, to whom I imparted hismajesty's salutations, which were courteously received, but heimmediately began to enquire what presents had been sent to him. Imentioned our late fight and victory, at which he seemed to rejoice, andapplauded the valour of our nation; but he immediately shifted thediscourse, asking what our king had sent him. I answered, that he hadsent many tokens of his love and affection; but knowing that his majestywas lord of the best portion of Asia, and the richest monarch of theEast, my sovereign was satisfied the sending of rich gifts to hismajesty were to cast pearls into the sea, their common mother andstorehouse; but that my master, together with the warmest assurance ofhis love, had sent him many curiosities, which I hoped would give himentire satisfaction. He urged me to mention particulars, some of which Inamed. He asked me for French _muffe_ or velvet, to which I answered, that all my letters were not arrived. He then enquired if there were anydogs. To which I answered, that some had been slain in the battle atsea, but that two were preserved for him, at which he seemed muchrejoiced. He then said, if I could procure him one of our great horses, such as I had described, being a _roan_ or Dutch horse, he would valueit more than an additional kingdom. I answered, that I should use mybest endeavours to satisfy his majesty, but much feared it could not beeffected, owing to the length of the voyage. He said he would willinglygive a lack of rupees for such a horse. I then desired he would bepleased to give an order for the transmission of the presents withoutbeing searched, and for the good usage of our people. He answered, thatthe port belonged to his son, but sent for him, and publicly gave ordersfor what I required; that the presents should not be searched, nor payany custom, but should be sent up safe to me with all expedition, that Imight distribute them at my discretion. He likewise commanded the princeto give orders for the good usage of our people, and that I should besatisfied in all my demands. This order did not extend to the grant of afort, as Asaph Khan had absolutely refused to deliver in that clause. This charge was very round and hearty on the part of the king, and agreat grace to me. The prince called Asaph Khan forwards in my presence, and promised, before his father and the whole court, to give me allreasonable satisfaction. All this was on the strength of the newpresents. That same day I sent for the Portuguese jesuit who resided at court, andgave him an account of the engagement between our ships and the carrack, offering to make peace between our nation and the Portuguese upon equalterms. He promised to acquaint the viceroy of Goa with my offer, and sodeparted. The 15th I received accounts from Masulipatan that CaptainKeeling had taken a Portuguese ship and two barks; one on the coast ofCochin, laden with tin, and the other freighted from Bengal, both ofwhich were carried to Bantam. I was also informed that Sir RobertShirley had been dismissed with disgrace from Goa, and was on his wayoverland to Masulipatan, to procure a passage; but am apt to believethis intelligence is untrue. The 16th, being with the prince's secretary about the dispatch of ouraffairs, he proposed to me, by his master's orders, to procure him twogunners from our fleet to serve him in the Deccan war, offering good payand good usage. This I undertook to perform, knowing that indifferentartists might serve there. While at the prince's palace, Abdala Khancame to visit him, so magnificently attended, that I have not beforeseen the like. He was preceded by about twenty drums, and other martialmusic, on horseback, who made abundant noise. After them followed fiftypersons bearing white flags, and two hundred well-mounted soldiers, allrichly clothed in cloth of gold, velvet, and rich silks, who all enteredthe gate with him in regular array. Next his person were fortytargeteers, in the richest liveries. After making his humble reverence, he presented a black Arabian horse, splendidly caparisoned, all hisfurniture being studded with flowers of enamelled gold, and set withsmall precious stones. According to custom, the prince returned aturban, a vest, and a girdle. Still persisting in his purpose of personally finishing the war in theDeccan, he would give no answer to the ambassadors from that country, but detained them till he should come to the frontiers. Being now aboutto depart, he and his party thought themselves not secure if SultanCuserou remained under the safeguard of Anna-Rah, lest, during theabsence of Churrum, the king might be reconciled to Cuserou, by whoseliberty all the hopes and power of their faction would be overthrown, inwhich case their ambition and the injuries they had done could hardlyescape punishment. In this view they continued to urge the king todeliver Sultan Cuserou into the custody of Asaph Khan, as deputy on thatoccasion to Churrum, under pretence that this measure would intimidateKhan-Khannan and the Deccan princes, when they shall learn that SultanChurrum is so favoured that the king has delivered his eldest son intohis keeping, giving him as it were present possession of the kingdom, and the certain prospect of succession. Accordingly, on the 17th ofOctober, Sultan Cuserou was delivered up as they desired, the soldiersof Anna-rah were discharged, and those of Asaph Khan placed over him, assisted by 200 horse belonging to the prince. The sister of SultanCuserou, and several other women in the seraglio, have put themselves inmourning, refuse to take their food, and openly exclaim against thedotage and cruelty of the king; declaring, if Cuserou should die, thatan hundred of his kindred would devote themselves to the flames, inmemory of the king's cruely to the worthiest of his sons. The king endeavoured to sooth them by fair words, protesting that he hadno evil intentions towards his son, whom he promised speedily to deliverfrom captivity, and even sent his favourite Nourmahal to endeavour toappease the enraged and disconsolate ladies; but they refused to admither visit, loading her with curses and threatnings. The common peopleuniversally condemn the king's conduct, saying, that he has not onlydelivered his son's life, but his own into the keeping of an ambitiousprince and treacherous faction, and that Cuserou cannot perish withoutextreme scandal to his father, unless he amply revenge his death, forwhich cause the party will dispatch the king first, and his eldest sonafterwards, that through their deaths the ambitious and unnaturalChurrum may mount the throne. Every hour new rumours are spread of thedeliverance of Cuserou, which are speedily contradicted; for he stillremains in the tyger's den, refuses food, and requires that his fathermay take away his life, and not leave him to be a sport and prey to hisinveterate enemies. The whole court is filled with rumours and secretwhispers; the nobles are sad, and the people full of turmoil and noise, without any head, having no one to direct their rage to any specificobject. The issue seems involved in dangers, especially for us, as, inregard to themselves, it matters not who wins. Although the elder princehave more right, and is of a more honourable character, he is still aMahomedan, and can hardly be a better prince than his father, whosedispositions are good, yet so facile that he allows all to govern attheir will, which is even worse than if he were a tyrant, for we hadbetter suffer injuries from one prince than from a host of ministers andsubordinate agents. The 19th of October _Mahomet Reza Beg_, the Persian ambassador, made hisentry into the city with a great cavalcade, partly sent out by the kingto meet him. There were at least an hundred elephants, with manymusicians; but no man of quality went out on this occasion beyond theordinary official receivers of strangers. His own train consisted ofabout fifty horse in splendid dresses of cloth of gold, their bows, quivers, and targets being richly adorned. Together with these he hadabout forty musqueteers, and about 200 ordinary _peons_ and attendantson his passage. He was conducted to a room within the outer court of thepalace, to rest himself till the evening, at which time I sent mysecretary to the durbar, to give me an account of the ceremonial. Oncoming into the presence, and reaching the first rail, he made three_tessalims_ and one _sizeda, _ which is prostrating himself and knockinghis head three times against the ground. On entering within the rail hedid the same, and then presented the letter of his master, _Shabas_, [Shah Abbas. ] This the king took with a slight inclination of the body, saying only, _How doth my brother_? without using any title of majesty. After some few words, the ambassador was placed in the seventh rank, close to the rail beside the door, and below many of the king'sservants, which, in my opinion, was a very mean place for the ambassadorof Persia; but he richly merited this degradation for doing that meanreverence to the dishonour of his master which all his predecessors hadrefused, and by which he gave much offence to many of his nation. It isreported that he had orders from Shah Abbas to give content in allthings, and hence it is conjectured that he is sent to obtain some aidin money against the Turks, in which kind the court of Persia oftenfinds liberal succour from the Mogul government. Others pretend that hisobject is to mediate a peace for the princes of the Deccan, whoseprotection Shah Abbas is said to have much at heart, being jealous ofthe extension of this empire. According to custom, the king gave him a handsome turban, a vest ofcloth of gold, and a girdle, for which he again made three _tessalims_and a _sizeda_, or ground courtesy. The present he brought consisted ofthree times nine Persian and Arabian horses, this being among them aceremonious number; nine very large and handsome mules; seven camelsladen with velvet; two suits of European _Arras_, or tapestry, which Isuppose was Venetian; two chests of Persian hangings; one rich cabinet;four muskets; five clocks; a camel's load of cloth of gold; eight silkcarpets; two balasss rubies; twenty-one camel loads of wine made ofgrapes; fourteen camel loads of distilled sweet waters; seven ofrose-water; seven daggers and five swords adorned with precious stones;seven Venetian mirrors, all so fair and rich that I was ashamed of therelation. These presents were not now delivered, but only a list of them inwriting. His own equipage was rich, having nine led horses, theirtrappings all studded with gold and silver. His turban was encircled bya chain of pearls, rubies, and turquoises, having three pipes of gold, in which were three plumes of feathers. Having thus caused accurateobservation to be made of his reception, and compared it with my own, Ifind it in nothing more gracious than my own, and in many thingsinferior, except only in being met without the town, which, owing to mysickness, was not demanded; neither did the king receive the letter ofShah Abbas with so much respect as that of the king, my master, whom hecalled the king of England, his brother, naming the Persian barely hisbrother, without addition. This observation was made by the jesuit, whounderstood the language. §5. _Continuation of Occurrences at Court, till leaving Agimere, inNovember_, 1616. The 20th of October I received the prince's letter to send to Sarat, with orders for the governor of that city to sit along with the judgeof the custom-house, to take care that no wrong was done to the English. The clause about sending up the presents sealed and unsearched to me, was so obscure and unintelligible, that it was susceptible of variousconstructions, which I believed was done designedly, that they mightcome into the hands of the prince, so as to become his own. I sent itback therefore to his secretary to be altered; and getting it returnedstill more intricate than at first, I went to the prince on the 21st, and desired to have that clause of his letter explained, at which hestuck a little, and I perceived he was as hollow as I had imagined. Heplainly asked, How then he should have his presents, or see suchcuriosities as came up? and proposed to accompany me to where they were. I answered, that I could not do this till I had delivered my master'smessage and presents to the king, after which I should wait upon hishighness with his presents, and that every rarity that came to me shouldbe sent after him. He pressed me to pass my word for the performance ofthis, which I did, and then I had the letter for Surat made out to mycontent. At this interview the prince observed a white feather in my hat, andasked if I would give it to him. I answered, that I could not presume tooffer any thing I had worn; but if he were pleased to command it, thator any thing else in my power was at his service. He then asked if I hadany more; to which I answered, that I had three or four others ofdifferent colours. He desired to have them all, as he was to shew hishorses and servants to the king within two days, and wanted some, beingrare in these parts. I therefore promised to bring all I had next day, when his highness might take what pleased him. This day Abdalla Khan waited on the prince with a gallant equipage, himself and servants being anticly apparelled, yet soldier-like, according to their fashion. On this occasion he made a present to theprince of a handsome white horse, full of spirit and high mettled, thesaddle and furniture all ornamented with enamelled gold. The princereturned him a plain sword with a leathern belt. Many other swords werebrought before him, the hilts and scabbards being of silver, set withsmall stones, together with targets covered with gold velvets, somepainted and embossed with gold and silver, all of which he distributedamong his servants. Against this muster many saddles and otherhorse-furniture were provided, richly ornamented with gold and preciousstones, intended for spare horses. His boots were embroidered, and everything was of the highest magnificence, so that the expence iswonderful, and the wealth seen daily is inestimable. There is a reportgoing, that, on the past night, six of the servants of Sultan Churrumwent to murder Sultan Cuserou, but were refused the key by the porterwho has charge of him. It is farther said that the queen mother is goneto the king to lay before him an account of this matter. But the truthof these things is hard to be found, and it is dangerous to askquestions. In the evening I went to the durbar to wait upon the king, where I metthe Persian ambassador with the first muster of his presents. He seemeda jester or juggler, rather than a person of any gravity, continuallyskipping up and down, and acting all his words like a mimic player, sothat the _Atachikanne_ was converted as it were into a stage. Hedelivered all his presents with his own hand, which the king receivedwith smiles and a chearful countenance, and many gracious words. Histongue was a great advantage to the Persian in delivering his ownbusiness, which he did with so much flattery and obsequiousness, that hepleased as much that way as by his gifts, constantly calling his majestyking and commander of the world, forgetting that his own master had ashare of it; and on every little occasion of favourable acceptance, hemade his _tessalims_. When all was delivered for that day, he prostratedhimself on the ground, making _sizeda_, and knocking his head on thefloor as if he would have entered it. The gifts this day were a handsome quiver for a bow and arrow, richlyembroidered; all sorts of European fruits, artificially made, and laidon dishes; many folding purses, and other knacks, of leather, curiouslywrought in coloured silks; shoes stitched and embroidered: great mirrorsin richly inlaid frames; one square piece of velvet, highly embroideredwith gold in panes, between which were Italian pictures wrought in thestuff, which he said were the king and queen of Venice, being, as Isuppose, the hanging called Venetian tapestry, of which six were given, but only one shown. There were besides, many other curiosities of smallvalue; after which came the three times nine horses and mules, thelatter being very handsome, but the horses had lost their beauty andcondition, as, except one or two, they were very unfit for being sent oraccepted between princes. This done, the Persian returned, with manyantic tricks, to his place, which was far inferior to mine, as I stoodalone, and above all the subjects, though Asaph Khan at first wanted toput me from it, but I maintained it as my right, having been appointedme by the king. This was only the first act of the play presented bythe Persian ambassador, which will not be finished in ten days. The 22d I went to the prince's secretary for the promised Surat letter;but his highness had changed his mind, and, loth to let the presentspass without ransacking them, refused to seal the letter. The secretarypretended they could not be allowed to pass without search, lest themerchants, under that pretence, might defraud the customs. I wasoffended, and going away; but the secretary prevailed on me to go withhim to the prince, to whom I delivered some feathers, being two_plurides_ and two birds of paradise, which he graciously accepted; andhaving made known my determination not to have the presents opened, orto be sent up by any others than my own servants, he at last yielded, and commanded his secretary to make out the dispatch in my own way. At night I went to the durbar to observe the Persian ambassador, whom Ifound standing in his place, but often removed and set lower, as thegreat men came in. The king once spoke to him, on which he played offhis monkey tricks, but gave no present; only the king gave command thathe should be feasted by the nobles. Most of the time was spent in seeingsaddles and furniture, against the removal of the court, some of whichthe king presented to his followers, as the court was daily expected tomove; the king's tents having been pitched four days. I sent that nightto the secretary for my firmaun, but was put off with excuses. The 24th the king removed to Havar Gemal, and called for the Persianambassador, who at night eat and drank before the king along with thenobles, as I had done on the birth-day. On this occasion the king gavehim 20, 000 rupees for his expences, for which he made innumerable_tessalims_ and _sizedas_, which greatly pleased the king, being baseyet profitable idolatry. As the prince was in attendance on the king, Icould not get my business dispatched. The king returned to the city in the evening of the 25th, having beenfar gone in wine the night before. Some person, either by chance or frommalice, spoke of the last merry night, when many of the nobles had drankwine, which none may do without leave. Having forgot his own order, theking demanded to know who gave? It was answered that it had been givenby the _buxy_, as no one dared to say it was the king, seeing he doubtedit. The custom is that the king drinks alone, though sometimes he willgive command that the nobles shall drink also, which to refuse islikewise an offence, so every one who takes the cup of wine from theofficer has his name written down, and makes _tessalim_, though perhapsthe king's eyes are misty. The king called for the _buxy_, and asked ifhe gave the order, which he falsely denied; though he actually gave itas ordered, calling by name such as were to drink with the ambassador. The king then called for the list, and fined the delinquents, some 1000, some 2000, and others 3000 rupees. Some that were near his person, hecaused to be whipped in his presence, receiving 130 stripes with a mostterrible instrument of torture, having at the ends of four cords ironslike spur-rowels, so that every stroke made four wounds. When they layfor dead, he commanded the standers-by to spurn them with their feet, and the door-keepers to break their staves upon them. Thus cruellymangled and bruised, they were carried away, one of them dying on thespot. Some would have excused themselves, by blaming the ambassador; butthe king said he had only ordered a cup or two to be given to him. Though drunkenness be a common and frequent vice in the king, it is yetstrictly forbidden; and no one can enter the _guzelkhan_ where the kingsits, till the porters have smelt his breath, and if he have only tastedwine he is refused admittance; and if this reason of his absence beknown, he shall scarcely escape the whip. When the king has takenoffence at any one, even a father dares not speak for his son. Thus theking made all the company pay for the Persian ambassador's reward. The 26th, I went to _Sorocolla_, the prince's secretary, to get thepromised firmaun; when he sent me a copy as fraudulent and ambiguous asthe former, which I refused to accept. I drew up the clause I so muchdisliked myself, which I sent back, and was promised to have it sealednext day. The day of the king's removal being at hand, I sent on the 28th to AsaphKhan, to have a warrant for carriages, as our merchants had sought allover the town for carriages to convey their goods to Agra, and could notprocure any. As I was enrolled by the king, I received an order fortwenty camels, four carts, and two coaches, to be paid for at theking's price; of which I appointed for the use of the factors as many asthey needed. At this time the following incident took place, being either a wonderfulinstance of baseness in this great monarch, or a trial of mydisposition. The king had condemned several thieves to death, among whomwere some boys, and there was no way to save their lives, except byselling them as slaves. On this occasion, the king commanded Asaph Khanto offer two of them to me for money, which he directed to be done bythe _cutwall_, or marshal. He came accordingly and made the offer to myinterpreter, who answered without my knowledge, that the Christians keptno slaves, and, as I had already set free those the king had given me, it was in vain to propose the matter to me. I afterwards suspected thiswere done to try me whether I would give a little money to save thelives of two children, or, if it even were in earnest, I thought therewas no great loss in doing a good deed. So, to try the scope of thisaffair, I directed my interpreter to inform Asaph Khan, that being madeacquainted with the offer, and the answer my interpreter had given, Ihad reprehended him for presuming in any case to answer for me; andthat, if any money were to be given to save the lives of the children, either to those whom they had robbed, or to redeem them from the law, Iwas ready to give it, both out of respect for the king's command, andfor charity; but I would not buy them as slaves, only meaning to paytheir ransom, and set them free; and, if he would let me know the king'spleasure, that I might give them their lives and liberties withoutoffence, I was very willing to do it. Asaph Khan agreed to accept the money, making many commendations of myextraordinary goodness, and said I might dispose of the boys as Ithought fit, desiring me to send the money to the _cutwall_, yet made nooffer of informing the king, which was one chief purpose of myliberality. I had no inclination to be cheated, yet resolved to pay themoney in such a way that the king should learn I had more mercy than he, and that a Christian valued the life of a Mahomedan beyond money. I senttherefore a factor and my interpreter to the _cutwall_, to acquaint himwith my communication to Asaph Khan, and that, if he informed the kingof my offer to redeem the prisoners for charity, and his majestyconsented to give them their pardon and liberty, I was ready to sendthe money; but that I would not buy them as slaves, even for an hour. Thus I put them to the test as to their base offer. This sum did notexceed ten pounds, a poor affair for which to impose upon a stranger, orto be gained by so great a king. The _cutwall_ answered that he wouldenquire the king's pleasure, and let me know the result. Some would haveme believe, that this was, a signal favour of the king, chusing out anygreat man to do this good and honourable work of redeeming prisoners, asthe money is given in satisfaction to the person robbed, and that thosewho are thus appointed to ransom them, make _sizeda_ to the king, as fora mighty benefit. But I see no honour in a king thus to impose upon astranger, to whom he gives neither maintenance nor liberality. I went tothe durbar, to see if the king would himself speak to me, that I mightdeclare my own offer. The _cutwall_ made many motions, and brought inhis executioner, who received some commands, but I understood them not. I this day sent my secretary with a message to the Persian ambassador, to say I would visit him, if he gave his word to return my visit. Hesent me for answer, with much respect, that it was not the custom of thecountry for ambassadors to visit each, other without leave of the king, which he would ask; and which given, he would thankfully accept myvisit, and repay it with all manner of pleasure. On the 1st November, Sultan Churrum took his leave and went to histents. On this occasion the king sat in his durbar at noon, when theprince passed his establishment in review before his father, consistingof about 600 elephants richly caparisoned, and about 10, 000 horse, allsplendidly arrayed, many of his followers being clad in cloth of gold, and their turbans adorned with herons plumes. The prince himself was ina dress of cloth of silver, all over embroidered, and splendidlydecorated with pearls and diamonds, shining like the firmament in aclear night. The king embraced and kissed him with much affection, presenting him with a rich sword, the hilt and scabbard all of gold setwith precious stones, valued at 100, 000 rupees, a dagger valued at40, 000, together with an elephant, and a horse, the furniture of bothmagnificently adorned with gold and jewels. At his departure, he gavehim a coach, made in imitation of that sent by the king my master to theemperor, and commanded the English coachman to drive the prince to thetents. Churrum went accordingly into the coach, sitting in the middlethereof, all the sides being open; and was attended by all his chiefnobles a-foot, all the way to the camp, which was about four miles. Being followed by a vast concourse of people, he scattered all the wayamong them handfuls of quarter rupees. At one time he reached his handto the coachman, and put about 100 rupees into his hat. On the 2d, the king removed, with his women and all the court, to thetents, about three miles from town. I went that morning to attend uponhim at the _Jarruco_ window of the palace, and went up to the scaffoldunder the window, being desirous to see this exhibition. Two eunuchsstood upon tressels, having long poles headed with feathers, with whichthey fanned him. On this occasion, he dispensed many favours, andreceived many presents. What he gave was let down by a silk cord, rolledon a turning instrument; and what he received was drawn up in the samemanner, by a venerable, fat, and deformed old matron, all hung roundwith _gymbals_ like an image. Two of his principal wives were at awindow on one side, whose curiosity led them to break holes in a latticeof roods that hung before the window, to gaze on me. At first I only sawtheir fingers; and afterwards, applying their faces to the holes, Icould at times see an eye, and at length could discern their entirecountenances. They were indifferently fair, having their black hairsmoothed up from their foreheads; and they were so adorned with pearlsand diamonds, that I might have seen them without the help of any otherlight. On my looking at them, they retired very merry, and, as Isupposed, laughing at me. After some time, the king departed from the window, and we all went tothe durbar, to wait his coming out of the inner apartments. He came notlong after, and remained in the durbar for about half an hour, till hisladies had mounted their elephants, which were in all about fifty, allrichly caparisoned, especially three, which had turrets or _howders_ ofgold, with grates of gold wire for the ladies to see through, and richcanopies over head of cloth of silver. The king then descended thestairs, amid such acclamations of _health to the king_, as would havedrowned the noise of cannon. At the foot of the stairs, where Icontrived to be near him, a person brought to him a large carp, andanother presented a dish of some white stuff like starch, into which theking dipped his finger, with which he touched the fish, and then rubbedit on his forehead. This ceremony was said to presage good fortune. Thencame another officer, who buckled on his sword and buckler, all set withlarge diamonds and rubies. Another hung on his quiver with thirtyarrows, and his bow-case, being that which had been presented by thePersian ambassador. On his head, the king wore a rich turban, with aplume of heron's crests, not many but long: On one side hung a richunset ruby as large as a walnut; on the other side a diamond of equalsize; and in the middle an emerald much larger, shaped like a heart. Hissash was wreathed about with a chain of great pearls, rubies, anddiamonds, drilled. A triple chain of excellent pearls, the largest I hadever seen, hung round his neck. He had armlets above his elbows, richlyset with diamonds; and three rows of diamonds round each wrist. Hishands were bare, having a rich ring on almost every finger; and a pairof English gloves were stuck into his girdle. His coat, without sleeves, was of cloth of gold, over a fine robe as thin as lawn. On his feet hewore buskins embroidered with pearls, the toes being sharp and turnedup. Thus richly accoutred, he went into the coach, which waited for himunder the care of his new English servant, who was dressed as gaudily asany player, and more so, and had trained four horses for the draught, which were trapped and harnessed all in velvet and gold. This was thefirst coach he had ever been in, made in imitation of that sent fromEngland, and so like it that I only knew the difference by the cover, which was of gold velvet of Persia. Having seated himself at one end, two eunuchs attended at each side, carrying small golden maces set allover with rubies, to which horse-tails were fastened, for driving awayflies. Before him went drums, bad trumpets, and loud music; with manycanopies, parasols, and other strange ensigns of majesty, all of clothof gold, and adorned with rubies. Nine spare horses were led before him, some having their furniture garnished with rubies, some with pearls, andothers with diamonds, while some had only plain gold studs. Next behindthe coach came three palanquins, the carriages and feet of one beingplated with gold, set with pearls, and a fringe of great pearls instrings a foot long, the border being set all round with rubies andemeralds. Beside this, a man on foot carried a stool of gold, set withprecious stones. The other two palanquins were covered and lined withcloth of gold. Next followed the English coach, newly covered and richly trimmed, whichhe had given to his favourite queen, Nourmahal, who sat in the inside. After this came a coach, made after the fashion of the country, which Ithought seemed out of countenance, in which were his younger sons. Thiswas followed by about twenty spare royal elephants, all for the king'sown use, all so splendidly adorned with precious stones and richfurniture, that they outshone the sun. Each elephant had several flagsand streamers of cloth of silver, gilded sattin, or rich silk. Hisnoblemen accompanied him on foot, which I did likewise to the gate, andthen left him. His women, who accompanied him on elephants, as beforementioned, seemed like so many parroquitos in cages, and followed abouthalf a mile in the rear of his coach. On coming to the door of the housein which his eldest son was kept prisoner, he caused the coach to stop, and sent for prince Cuserou; who immediately came and made reverence, having a sword and buckler in his hands, and his beard grown to hismiddle, in sign of disfavour. The king now commanded his son to mountone of the spare elephants in the royal train, so that he rode next hisfather, to the great joy and applause of the multitude, who were nowfilled with new hopes; and on this occasion, the king gave him 1000rupees to throw among the people; his gaoler, Asaph Khan, and all theministers, being still attendant on foot. To avoid the press and other inconveniences, I took horse and crossedout of the _leskar_, getting before the king, and then waited for himtill he came near his tents, to which he passed all the way from thetown between a guard of turreted elephants, having each on the fourcorners of their howdars a banner of yellow taffety, and a _sling_[208]mounted in front, carrying a bullet as big as a tennis-ball. There wereabout three hundred elephants armed in this manner, each having agunner; besides about six hundred other elephants of honour, thatpreceded or followed the king, all covered with velvet or cloth of gold, and all carrying two or three gilded banners. Many men afoot ran beforethe king, carrying skins of water with which to sprinkle the road toprevent dust from annoying him; and no one was allowed to approach thecoach on horseback by two furlongs. [Footnote 208: The sling in the text appears to have been a _slung_musquetoon, or small cannon, mounted in that manner to avoidrecoil. --E. ] Having gone before a-horseback, as before mentioned, I hastened to thetents, to await the king's arrival. The royal encampment was walledround, half a mile in circuit, in form of a fortress, with high screensor curtains of coarse stuff; somewhat like Arras hangings, red on theoutside, the inside being divided into panes or compartments, with avariety of figures. This inclosure had a handsome gateway, and thecircuit was formed into various coins and bulwarks, as it were; theposts which supported the curtains being all surmounted with brass tops. The throng was very great, and I wished to have gone into the enclosure, but no one was allowed, even the greatest of the land having to sit downat the gate. At length I was admitted, but the Persian ambassador andall the nobles were refused. At this gate, and for the first time, I wassaluted by the Persian ambassador as I passed, by a silent _salam_. In the midst of this enclosure, there stood a throne of mother-of-pearl, borne aloft on two pillars, under cover of a high tent or pavilion, thepole of which was headed by a golden knob, the roof being of cloth ofgold, and the ground covered by carpets. When the king came near, several noblemen were admitted, together with the Persian ambassador;all of us making a kind of lane, the ambassador being on one side, and Ion the other. As the king came in, he cast his eye on me, whereupon Imade him a reverence, to which he answered by bowing and laying his handon his breast. Turning to the other side, he nodded to the Persian. Ifollowed close at his heels till he ascended the throne, every onecalling out, _joy, health, and good fortune_. The king then called forwater, with which he washed his hands, and then retired into an interiortent, to join his women, who had entered by another gate to their ownquarters; there being about thirty divisions with tents within the royalinclosure. His son I saw not. All the noblemen now retired to theirquarters, which were all very handsome, some having their tents green, others white, and others again of mixed colours, all handsome in formand arrangement, and all as orderly inclosed as their houses in thecity, so that the whole composed the most curious and magnificent sightI had ever beheld. The whole vale seemed like a magnificent city, nomean tents or baggage being allowed to mix among these splendidpavilions. I was utterly unprovided with carriages or tent, and ashamedof my situation, for indeed five years of my allowances would not haveenabled me to take the field any thing like the others; every one havinga double set of pavilions, one of which goes before to the next station, where it is set up a day before the king removes. On this account, I wasobliged to return to my poor house in the town. On the 5th November I rode about five miles, to the tents of the prince, Sultan Churrum. I made him my compliments of leave taking, wishing himall prosperity and success; but he ordered me to return and take myleave two days afterwards, as I had moved him on some business, respecting debts due to the English, which he promised to examine anddispatch. He sat in state, in the same greatness and magnificence I havementioned of his father; his throne being plated all over with silver, inlaid with gold flowers, having a square canopy over head, borne up byfour pillars covered with silver; his arms, such as his sword, buckler, bows, arrows, and lance, being on a table before his throne. I observedhim curiously, now that he was in absolute authority, and took especialnotice of his actions and behaviour. He had just received two letters, which he read standing, before he ascended his throne. I never saw anyone having so settled a countenance, or maintain a so constant gravityof deportment, never once smiling, or shewing by his looks any respector distinction of persons, but evincing an extreme pride and thoroughcontempt for all around him. Yet I could perceive that he was every nowand then assailed by some inward trouble, and a kind of distraction andbrokenness in his thoughts, as he often answered suitors in a disjointedmanner, as if surprised, or not hearing what they had said. If I canjudge, he has left his heart among his father's women, with whom he isallowed to converse. The day before, Noormahal went to visit him in theEnglish coach; and, on taking leave of him, she presented him with arobe, all embroidered with diamonds, rubies, and pearls; and, if I donot mistake, she carried away with her all his attentions from otherbusiness. The 6th I had a letter from Mr Brown at Ahmedabad, giving an account ofa fray begun by the Portuguese. Five of them assailed an English boy atCambay, whose arms they took from him. On notice of this, John Brown andJames Bickeford went to rescue the boy, and were set upon by sevenPortuguese, one of whom fired a pistol and wounded Brown in the hand. They defended themselves bravely and honourably like Englishmen, killedone, wounded some others, and chaced the rest up and down the town likecowards, to the great shame of such villains, and the reputation of ournation. To revenge this, the Portuguese came ashore in considerablenumbers from their frigates, no more English being in the town exceptthe three already mentioned. The governor, being informed of thisaffair, sent the cutwall with a guard to our house, and ordered thewater port to be shut, expelling the Portuguese from the town, andcommanding them, on pain of chastisement, not to meddle with theEnglish, whom he dismissed in safety from Cambay, and they are nowreturned to Ahmedabad. The 9th, the prince being to remove, sent one of his guards for me inhaste. I was not prepared for going, but the messenger pressed me, urging that his master waited for me, and he had orders not to returnwithout me. He added, that the whole court talked of the prince's favourfor me, and it was reported he had asked leave from the king for me toaccompany him to the war, and had promised to use me so well that Ishould be forced to acknowledge his favour to our nation. I accordinglytook horse after dinner; but on my arrival, I found the prince alreadyunder march. I met a Dutchman, the prince's jeweller, who confirmedevery thing the soldier had said, and added so much more in the samestrain, that I disbelieved the whole. I sent word to the prince of myarrival, when he returned for answer, That I should go on before to thetents, and wait his arrival, when he would speak with me. It was nightwhen he came. He sat a short while, only giving me a look, and arose toretire among his women. As he passed, he sent a servant to desire me towait a little, till he came out to hold his guzalcan, when he shouldtake leave of me. He came out in half an hour, but I could not get any one to remind himof me, and he was fallen to play, and either forgot me, or proposed toplay me a state trick. I then told the waiters, that I had been sent forby the prince, and only waited his orders, for which I had too longwaited, as it was late, and I must return to my house; and therefore, ifthe prince had any business for me, I desired it might be sent after me, as I scorned to be so used. Before I could mount, messengers camerunning after me, and called me back to wait upon the prince. Going in, I found him earnestly engaged at cards, but he excused himself offorgetfulness, blaming the officers formally for not reminding him, andshewed more than ordinary attention, calling me to see his cards, andasking me many questions. I expected he would have spoken of my goingalong with him; but, finding no such discourse, I told him I had comeonly in obedience to his commands, and to take my leave, and craved hispardon for being in haste, as I had to return to Agimere, having noconvenience for staying all night in camp. He answered, that he had sentto speak with me before his departure, and that I should be presentlydispatched. He then sent in an eunuch into the interior apartments, andseveral of his officers came to me smiling, who said that the princemeant to give me a magnificent present, and if I feared to ride late, Ishould have a guard of ten horsemen to see me safe home, making as muchof the matter as if I had been to get his best chain of pearls. By andby came a cloak of cloth of gold, which the prince had once or twiceworn, which he caused to be put on me, and for which I made my reverencevery unwillingly; yet I urged some business, and having an answer, tookmy leave. It is here reputed the highest favour, to give one a garmentthat has been worn by a prince, or that has merely been laid on theirshoulders. The cloak now given me might have answered well for an actorwho had to represent the character of his ancestor, Tamerlane, on thestage, but was to me of no importance. On my way out, I was followed byhis porters and waiters, begging in a most shameless manner, so that Ihalf paid the value of the cloak before I could get out from among them. On the 10th November, almost every body had removed from the town ofAgimere, so that I was left nearly alone, and could neither get cartsnor camels for my removal, notwithstanding my warrant. The Persianambassador was in a similar predicament, but complained, and was soonredressed. I therefore sent to court, and on the 11th I received twowarrants, for being supplied with carts and camels at the king's price:but it was not easy to procure either, as the great men had soldiers inevery direction, to take up all for their use; and indeed it waswonderful, how two leskars or camps, belonging to the king and prince, could both remove at once. The 16th, an order was given by the king to set fire to the whole leskarat Agimere, that the people might be compelled to follow, which was dulyexecuted. I was left almost destitute; and the Persian ambassador, whohad fought, chid, brawled, and complained, without any remedy, was inthe same state with me. We sent messages of condolence to each other;and, by his example, I resolved to buy, as many were disposed to sell, who would not hire at the king's price, and I calculated that bypurchasing I should almost save hire, though carts were dear, as thehire of three months would have exhausted the price of purchase. Necessity enforced me to remove, as the town was burnt and utterlydesolate, and I was in great danger from thieves, as the soldiers camefrom camp and robbed during the night. So desolate was the town, that Icould not even procure bread. Yet I sent again to court, to make onetrial more, before I purchased. The 17th I received accounts from Goa, which were said to be true, thatDon Emanuel de Meneses, with about 300 of those who were saved ashoreout of the Admiral, had arrived at Goa in a very poor condition, havingbeen robbed and plundered by the inhabitants of Angazesia, who had alsoslain many. On the 24th October, not one of the Lisbon fleet had reachedGoa, to their great wonder and disappointment. The Mosambique galleonwas fought with by the Hollanders that lately went from Surat, and hadcruised off Goa to meet the expected ships. This galleon was very richin gold and other commodities, but she escaped. I received an order for camels and carriages, but was continuallydelayed and disappointed; and being afraid to remain, I bought twocarts, and was continually promised camels, yet none appeared. MrBidulph remained in the prince's leskar to receive money. The leskar ofthe king was still only twelve cosses from Agimere. The 18th, thePortuguese Jesuit took leave of me, being under the necessity ofpurchasing a carriage, although he had an order for one out of theking's store; but every one was distressed, owing to the scarcity. Having nothing material to say, respecting my own affairs, during mysolitude at Agimere, I shall here digress, to mention the state ofSultan Cuserou, of whose new delivery into the hands of his enemies, thehearts and mouths of all men were now full. Though the king had so far condescended to satisfy his proud son Churrumat his departure, as again to place Cuserou in confinement, yet it seemsthat he did not mean to wink at any injurious behaviour to his eldestson: And, partly to render his situation the more secure, in the custodyof Asaph Khan, and partly to satisfy the murmurs of the people, whofeared some treachery against him, he took occasion to declare his mindrespecting him in the public durbar. Asaph Khan had been to visit hisnew prisoner, and in his behaviour towards him, did not treat him withthe respect due to a prince, but rudely pressed into his presenceagainst his will, and in a disrespectful manner. Some are of opinion hedid this purposely to pick a quarrel, knowing the bravery of the prince, who would not suffer an indignity, meaning to tempt him to draw hissword, or to use some violence, which the guard might suddenly revenge;or that he might have opportunity to represent to the king, that theprince had attempted to kill his keeper, on purpose to escape. But theprince acted with patient prudence, and only procured a friend toacquaint the king with the rude behaviour of Asaph Khan. Accordingly, one day at the durbar, the king called Asaph Khan before him, and askedwhen he had seen his charge? To which he answered, he had seen him twodays before. The king then asked, What he had then done to him? He saidhe had only visited him. But the king pressed to know what reverence andfashion he had carried towards the prince. Asaph Khan then saw that theking knew what had passed. He therefore said, That he had gone to waitupon the prince, in all reverence and affection, to offer his service, but that the prince refused him admittance into the apartment;wherefore, as he was entrusted with his safety, he thought it bothnecessary for him to see the prince, and discourteous in him to deny, and had therefore pressed in. On this, the king quickly asked, "And whenyou were in, what did you say and do?" Asaph Khan stood confounded, andconfessed that he did not make any reverence. Whereupon, the king toldhim roundly, "That he would make his proud heart know the prince as hiseldest and beloved heir, and his prince and lord; and, if he ever heardagain of the smallest disrespect or want of duty in his behaviourtowards the prince, he would command his son to trample him under hisfeet. " He added, that he loved his son Prince Churrum, yet did notentrust his eldest son Cuserou among them for his ruin and destruction. The 20th I received a new warrant for carriages, which procured me eightcamels, but such poor ones as were quite unable to suffice for ourbaggage, and I was therefore under the necessity of purchasing the rest. The 22d I removed to my tents. The 23d and 24th I waited for themerchants; and on the latter of these days I had a letter from Ispahan, saying that my letters had been dispatched for Aleppo, and that we wereexpected in Persia, but on condition that we seconded the wishes of ShahAbbas, by diverting the sale of his silks from Turkey. My letters added, that the general of the Turks lay with a mighty army at _Argerone_, [Arzerom, ] six days march short of Tauris, as if uncertain whether toattack that city, or to enter Gurgestan and Gilan, the provinces inwhich silk is produced, so as to win that by conquest which was refusedin the way of trade. To guard against both attempts, Shah Abbas wasencamped at _Salmas_, whence he could march either way as might berequired. But, it was farther said, if the armies did not come to battlein two months, the approach of winter, and the wants attendant on suchnumerous bodies of men, would constrain both to quit the field. It isthought the Persians will not adventure a battle, though 180, 000 strong, as, being light, and unencumbered with cannon or baggage, they arefitted for rapid marches, and can harass the Turkish army with perpetualskirmishes and assaults on all sides, hovering round about, and wastingthem, without hazard to themselves. §6. _Sir Thomas Roe follows the Progress of the Court, and describes theKing's Leskar, and some Places through which he passed; with instancesof the King's Superstition and Drunkenness, and some curious Incidentsrespecting a Present_. The 25th of November I removed four cosses from Agimere, but waitedduring the remainder of that month, for the arrival of a caravan, goingfrom Agra to Surat, by which I might transmit my papers in safety. Thecaravan departed from Agimere at midnight of the 30th November: and onthe 1st December I went six cosses to Ramsor, where the king had leftthe naked bodies of an hundred men, put to death for robbery. The 2d Itravelled seven c. I rested the 3d, because of rain. The 4th I went fivec. And this day I overtook a camel, laden with 300 heads, sent fromCandahar to the king, the people to whom these heads had belonged havingbeen in rebellion. Travelling five c. On the 5th, and four c. On the6th, I that day overtook the king at a walled town called _Todah_, inthe best and most populous country I had seen in India since I landed. The district was quite level, having a fertile soil, abounding in corn, cotton, and cattle, and the villages were so numerous and near together, as hardly to exceed a coss from each other in any direction. This townwas the best built of any I had seen in India, many of the houses beingtwo stories high, and most of them good enough for decent shop-keepers, all covered with tiles. It had been the residence of a Rajput rajah, before the conquests of Akbar Shah, and stood at the foot of a great andstrong rock, about which were many excellent works of hewn stone, wellcut, with many tanks, arched over with well-turned vaults, and large anddeep descents to them. Near it was a beautiful grove, two miles long anda quarter of a mile broad, all planted with mangoes, tamarinds, andother fruit-trees, divided by shady walks, and interspersed with littletemples, and idol altars, with many fountains, wells, and summer-housesof carved stone curiously arched, so that I must confess a poor banishedEnglishman might have been content to dwell here. But this observationmay serve universally for the whole of this country, that ruin anddevastation operates every where; for, since the property of all hasbecome vested in the king, no person takes care of any thing, so that inevery place the spoil and devastations of war appear, and no where isany thing repaired. On the 7th the king only removed from one side of Todah to the other. The 8th I was at the guzalcan, but found the king so nearly drunk, thathe became entirely so in half an hour, so that I could not have anybusiness with him. The 9th I took a view of the royal _leskar_, or camp, which is one of the greatest wonders I had ever seen, and chiefly as Isaw it finished and set up in less than four hours, all except the tentsof some of the great men, who have double suits. It could not well beless in circuit than twenty English miles, the extent in some directionsbeing three cosses, including the out-skirts. In the middle, where thestreets are orderly and the tents joined, there are all sorts of shops, so regularly disposed, that all persons know where to go for any thingthey want. Every man of quality, and every trade, is regularly appointedhow far they are to be from the king's tents, in what direction, andwhat ground they shall occupy, which continues ever the same withoutalteration. All this may equal almost any town in Europe for size. Butno person must approach on any side within a musket shot of the_atoskanha_, or royal quarter, which is so strictly observed that no oneis ever admitted but by name. The evening durbar is omitted, the timebeing spent by the king in hunting or hawking rather, on tanks, by meansof boats, in which he takes great delight, his barges being moved alongwith the leskar on carts. On these occasions he sits by the sides of thetanks, to view the sport, these tanks being often a mile or two over. The king is seen every morning at the _Jaruco_, formerly mentioned; butbusiness or speaking to him at this time is prohibited; all businessbeing conducted at night in the _guzalcan_, and there the opportunity isoften missed, his majesty being so frequently overcome by drowsiness, proceeding from drunkenness. There was now a whisper about the court of a new affinity between SultanCuserou and Asaph Khan, and great hope was entertained of the princerecovering his liberty. I will find an opportunity to discourse of thishereafter, because the particulars are worthy of being preserved, as thewisdom and goodness of the king were manifest above the malice ofothers: And, in this affair, Noormahal made good the observation, thatwomen have always great influence in court factions, and she shewed thatthey are not incapable of managing business. This history will discovera noble prince, an excellent wife, a faithful counsellor, a craftystep-mother, an ambitious son, a cunning favourite; all reconciled by apatient king, whose heart was not understood by any of them all. Butthis will require a separate place, [209] as not fit to be mingled withmatters of ordinary business. At this time the English complained ofbeing ill used at Surat; but their drunkenness, and riotous behaviourproceeding from that cause, were so notorious, that it was ratherwonderful they were not all put to death. [Footnote 209: This story does not however appear, the journal of SirThomas Roe being left imperfect, both in the Pilgrims and in theCollection of Churchill. --E. ] The 16th of December I visited the king, who was just returned from hissports, having all his game laid out before him, both fish and fowl. Hedesired me to take my choice, and then distributed all the rest amonghis nobles. I found him sitting on his throne, having a beggar at hisfeet, a poor silly old man, all in rags and ashes, attended on by ayoung one. The country abounds in these professed poor and holy men, whoare held in great reverence, and who, in voluntary sufferings andmortified chastisements of their bodies, exceed all the boastedperformances of heretics and idolaters in all ages and countries. Withthis miserable wretch, who was cloathed in rags, crowned with feathers, and covered, with filth, his majesty conversed for about an hour, withsuch kindness, as shewed a humility not common among kings. All thistime the beggar sat before the king, which is not even permitted to hisson. The beggar gave the king as a present, a cake made by himself ofcoarse grain, burnt on the coals, and all foul with ashes; which yet theking accepted, broke off a piece and eat it, which a dainty person wouldhardly have done. He then wrapt up the rest in a clout, and put it intothe poor man's bosom, and sending for 100 rupees, he poured them intothe beggar's lap, gathering up with his own hands any that fell past, and giving them to him. When his collation or banquet was brought in, whatsoever he took to eat, he gave half of to the beggar. Rising, aftermany humiliations and charities, and the old wretch not being nimble, hetook him up in his arms, though a dainty person would have scrupled totouch him, and embraced him three times, laying his hand on his heartand calling him father, and so left him, all of us greatly admiring suchvirtue in a heathen prince. This I mention with emulation and sorrow;wishing, as we have the true vine, that we should not produce bastardgrapes, or that this zeal in an unbeliever were guided by the true lightof the gospel. The 23d, being about three cosses short of a city called _Rantepoor_, [Rantampoor, ] where it was supposed the king would rest, and consultwhat way to take in his farther progress, he suddenly turned off towards_Mundu_, but without declaring his purpose. I am of opinion, he tookthis way for fear of the plague at Agra, rather than from any purpose ofbeing near the army; for we only marched every other day no more thanfour cosses, and with such a train of baggage as was almost impossibleto be kept in any degree of order. The 26th we passed through woods and over mountains, torn with bushesand tired by the incommodiousness of an almost impassable way, in whichmany camels perished, and many persons, wearied of these difficulties, went away to Agra, and all complained. In this laborious day's march, Ilost my tents and carts, but by midnight I again fell in with them. Theking now rested two days, as the leskar could not again recover itsorder in less time; many of the king's women, and thousands of camels, carts, and coaches, being left in the woody mountains, where they couldneither procure food nor water. The king himself got through upon asmall elephant, which beast can climb up rocks, and get through suchdifficult passes, that no horse or other animal I have seen can follow. The 29th we encamped beside the river _Chambet_, [Chumbull. ] The first of January, 1617, I complained to Asaph Khan of the injuriesoffered to the English at Surat, though I was at the same time muchperplexed by various relations, giving me a bad account of thedisorderly and outrageous behaviour of my countrymen. Asaph Khan advisedme not to carry my complaint to the king, which would incense theprince; but desired me to ask leave of his majesty to go to visit SultanChurrum, with a letter from him recommending the dispatch of mybusiness, and good usage to our nation; so that, carrying a present tothe prince, I should please both, and succeed in my business. This wasthe same plan I had already formed, and therefore pleased me the better;more especially as the king now certainly designed to go forwards toMundu, which is only eight days journey from Burhanpoor, where theprince was; and I thought I might as well ride over to him, as remainidle in the fields. At noon this day I visited the Persian ambassador, being the first time we had leisure for this ceremony, and was receivedby him with much respectful civility. After compliments on both sideswere over, I proposed to him the settlement of trade in his master'sdominions, which he engaged to promote as much as lay in his power. Hegave me a banquet of bad fruit, but being a good fellow, it went offwell, and he outdid in courtesy every thing I had met with in India. Herailed loudly against the court, and the king's officers and council, using most unusual liberty. He offered to be my interpreter, desiringthat I might pitch my tents beside his, and he would impart whatever Ithought proper to the king. When about to part, after long discourse, hepressed me to accept a horse with handsome furniture, which was broughtto the door, but I refused. He then sent for nine pieces of Persiansilks, and nine bottles of wine, that I might not depart without sometestimony of his love, but these also I refused to accept, with manyprotestations of affectionate regard. I observed him looking earnestlyat my sword, which I offered to give him; but, following my example, herefused. At night I visited the king, who spent his time sadly with an old man, after reading long letters, and few spoke with him. At his rising, hepresented to this person, who was a cripple from age, 5000 rupees, andtook his leave of him with many embraces. I here again met the Persianambassador, who, after some compliments, repenting that he had refusedmy sword, and having a liking to it, now asked it from me, saying, thatsuch liberty among friends was reckoned good manners in his country. Wecontinued to remove four or five c. Every other day, and came on the 7thto the goodly river _Shind_. The 18th, the king passed through betweentwo mountains, the road having been cut through the woods, but with somuch trouble and difficulty, and so much encumbrance to the baggage, that it was left behind, without provisions for man and beast. This daylikewise I lost my tents and baggage, but found them again at midnight, having been obliged till then to take up my lodging under a tree. Thispart of the country is much infested by thieves, and is hardly underobedience to government, except so far as it is kept under by force. Itbelongs to a rajah, who has no desire to see the king. The exactorcomplained, and some few of the people that fled being taken, werechained by the neck and brought before the king, all the rest havingfled into the mountains. At night the king caused the town near which hewas encamped to be set on fire, appointing a new governor, with ordersto re-build and new-people the town, and to reduce the district undermore regular government and better civilization. He left a party ofhorse with the new governor, to enable him to perform this service. On the 20th, the people who had fled to the mountains, being enraged atthe burning of their town, set upon a number of stragglers who had beenleft behind, killing many of them, and plundering the rest. The 22d, having no accounts of the presents I expected from Surat, I went atnight to visit the king, to observe how he might receive me. I found himseated in an unusual manner, so that I knew not what place to occupy, and not willing to mix among the great men, as was offered me, anddoubting whether I might go into the apartment where the king was, whichwas cut down in the bank of a river, I went to the brink and stoodalone. There were none near the king, except _Etiman Dowlet_ hisfather-in-law, Asaph Khan, and three or four others. The king observedme, and having allowed me to stay a while, he called me in with agracious smile, and pointed with his hand for me to stand beside him, afavour so unusual, that it pleased and honoured me, and of which I soonexperienced the good effects, in the behaviour of the great men of thecourt. He led me to talk with him, and when I called for an interpreter, he refused it, pressing me to use such Persian words as I had learnt. Our discourse, in consequence, had not much sense or coherence, yet hewas pleased with it, and shewed his approbation in a very courteousmanner. On the 24th of January, news came to court, that the Deccaners were notto be frightened out of their dominions, as had been pretended by AsaphKhan and Noormahal, on purpose to persuade the king into thisexpedition. For they had sent off all their baggage and otherimpediments into the interior of their country, and lay upon thefrontiers with 50, 000 horse, resolved to fight in defence of theirdominions; while Sultan Churrum had hitherto advanced no farther thanMundu, afraid both of the enemy and Khan Khana. The king's councellorsnow changed their advice, declaring that they expected the Deccanerswould have been so alarmed by his majesty's passage over the last hills, as to have submitted at the terror of his approach; and as they nowfound the contrary, they advised the king to convert his journey into ahunting excursion, and to turn his course towards Agra, as the Deccanerswere not worthy of exposing his sacred person. He answered, that thisconsideration came now too late, as his honour was engaged by havingadvanced so far, and he was resolved to prosecute their former adviceand his own purpose, whatever might be the hazard. He now dailydispatched fresh troops to reinforce the army of his son Churrum, partlyfrom his own followers, and the rest commanded from differentgovernments. These reinforcements were said to be 30, 000 horse, but theactual musters were not so numerous. Water was sometimes very scarce incamp, and provisions grew daily scarcer and dearer, the part of thecountry in which we now were not being well reduced to good government. Not feeling these distresses, the king took no care to have themalleviated; and as his khans, or great men, had their provisions broughtafter them, they neglected to inform the king. The whole burden fellupon strangers, the soldiers, and the poor followers of the camp, whowere worst able to endure the hardships. Every alternate day, asformerly, the king removed his camp, three, four, or five cosses; yet onthe 29th of January, we were still sixty cosses short of Mundu. On the 3d of February, having left the road of the leskar for my ownease, and for the benefit of the shade, and while resting me under atree, Sultan Cuserou came upon me suddenly, seeking the sameconveniences. This is the king's eldest son, formerly mentioned as inconfinement by the practices of his brother Churrum and his faction, andtaken out of their hands by the king at his leaving Agimere. He was nowriding on an elephant, with no great guard or attendance. His peoplecalled out to me to give place to the prince, which I did, yet I staidto look at him, and he called on me to approach; and, after asking somefamiliar and civil questions, I departed. His person is comely, hiscountenance chearful, and his beard hung down as low as his middle. ThisI noticed, by his questions, that he seemed quite ignorant of all thatpassed at court, insomuch that he had never heard of any English, or ofme their ambassador. The 4th and 5th we continued our march withouthalting, and on the 6th at night, we came to a little tower, newlyrepaired, where the king pitched his tent in a pleasant place, on thebanks of the river _Sepra_, one coss short of the city of _Ugen_, [Oojain, ] the chief city of Malwa. This place, called _Callenda_, wasanciently a seat of the Gentoo kings of Mundu, one of whom was theredrowned while drunk. He had once before fallen into the river, and wastaken out by the hair of his head, by a person who dived for him. Whenhe came to himself, it was told him how he had been saved from drowning, in hopes of having the slave rewarded. He called his deliverer beforehim, and asking how he dared to be so bold as to touch his sovereign'shead, caused his hands to be cut off. Not long afterwards, while sittingdrunk beside his wife, and no other person near, he had the samemisfortune to tumble into the water, at which time she might easily havesaved him, but did not. Being afterwards asked why she had not, she saidshe knew not but she likewise might have had her hands cut off for herreward. The 10th we removed one coss beyond Oojain; and on the 11th, the kingrode to that city, to speak with a dervise, or holy man, who dwelt upona hill, and was reported to be 300 years old, but I did not think thismiracle worth my examination. At noon this day, I received news by afoot-post, that the prince, notwithstanding all the firmauns andcommands of his father, had intercepted the presents and goods on theirway up, to satisfy his own base and greedy inclinations; and noentreaty, gifts, or persuasions, that Mr Terry could offer, who had thecharge of them, could prevail on him to part with them, and he compelledthem by force to follow him towards Burhanpoor. Yet he forbore to breakopen the packages, but pressed the English to consent, which theyrefused by my orders, and he thought to win them to his purpose byvexatious usage. For it is the custom in this country, for the great mento see all merchant goods before even the king, that they may chusefirst; but I resolved, if possible, to break that bad custom, in ourbehalf. That he might satisfy his own cupidity, the prince sent up a courier tothe king, before I could get intelligence, giving notice of havingdetained the goods, but without mentioning that they were presents, andrequested his authority to have them opened, that he might purchase whathe fancied. This faithless proceeding of the prince, contrary to hispromise and his own written orders, satisfied me that I was justifiablein the eyes of all, if I carried my complaint directly to the king, having used every possible means to procure favour from the prince, andhaving already suffered beyond the patience of a free-born man; so thatI must now be blameless by using rougher means, having alreadyfruitlessly proved all smoother expedients. I therefore resolved toappeal for justice, by complaint to the king in person, yet as calmlyand warily as possible. I feared to go to Asaph Khan on this occasion, lest he might oppose my purpose, yet thought my neglect of him might bedispleasing; wherefore, if I sent to acquaint him that I proposed tovisit the king at the guzalcan, I dreaded he might suspect my purpose, if he had learnt the injury I meant to complain of. For all whichreasons, I considered how best to avoid being counteracted. The visit of the king to the dervise, just mentioned, gave me a goodopportunity, and my new linguist, who was a Greek I had sent for fromAgimere, being ready, I rode out to meet the king, who was returningfrom the holy man on his elephant. On his majesty's approach, Ialighted, and made a sign that I wished to speak to the king, whoimmediately turned his monster towards me, and prevented me, by saying, "My son has taken your goods and my presents; be not therefore sad, forhe shall not touch nor open a lock or a seal; for at night I shall sendhim an order to set them free. " He made other gracious speeches, intimating that he knew I had come brim-full of complaints, and that hehad spoken first to ease me. At this time, seeing that the king was onthe road, I could do no more; but at night, without farther seeking toAsaph Khan, I went to the guzalcan, determined to proceed with mycomplaints, to get back my goods, and to seek redress for the charges, troubles, and abuses at Surat, and all our other grievances. As soon as I came in, the king called my interpreter before him, and, bymeans of his own, intimated that he had already dispatched his orders soeffectually, that not even to the value of a hair should be abstractedfrom our goods. In reply, I stated that the injuries, charges, andabuses we suffered from the prince's officers, were so numerous andintolerable as could not be endured, and that I craved effectualredress. To this it was answered, that I must apply to his son for allpast matters; but I could obtain nothing except fair words, through theintermediation of Asaph Khan, so that I was forced to seem satisfied, and to seek opportunities as might be for redress, when this falsefriend and pretended advocate was out of the way. The good king fell atlength to dispute about the laws of Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet; and, being in drink, turned lovingly to me, saying, "As I am a king, youshall be all welcome, Christians and Jews as well as Mahometans, for Imeddle not with their faiths; they all come in love, and I will protectthem from wrong while they are under my dominion, and no one shall beallowed to molest or oppress them. " This he frequently repeated, butbeing extremely drunk, he fell a-weeping, and into various passions, andso kept us till midnight. Any one may easily conceive how much I was now disconcerted by theunjustifiable conduct of the factors, who had detained the presents forfour months at Surat, and now sent them to fall into the hands of theprince, who was then within two days march of Burhanpoor, by which mytrouble was infinitely increased. But having now began, and suspectingthat the prince was already sufficiently exasperated upon matters ofsmall importance, I thought I might as well lose his favour upon greatas small matters, so I resolved to try what I could do with the king;and, while I waited the result, I sent back the messenger to Mr Terry, who was with the presents, desiring him to remain firm, waiting for theking's ultimate orders, which I should send him soon. During this interval, the king had caused the chests to be privatelybrought to him, and had opened them, which came to my knowledge, onwhich I determined to express my dissatisfaction at this usage, andhaving obtained an audience, I made my complaint. He received me withmuch mean flattery, more unworthy even of his high rank than the actionhe had done, which I suppose he did to appease me, as seeing by mycountenance that I was highly dissatisfied. He began by telling me thathe had found some things that pleased him much, particularly twoembroidered cushions, or sweet-bags, a folding glass cabinet, and themastiff dogs, and desired me not to be discontented, for whatever I wasnot disposed to give him, he would return. I answered, that most ofthese things were intended for his majesty, but that it was a greatindignity to the king my master thus to seize upon what was meant to bepresented, and not permitted to come through my hands, to whom they weresent in the first place. I added, that besides what were destined forhis majesty, some of these things were intended for Noormahal, some forthe prince, and the rest to remain in my hands, to serve as occasionmight require, to bespeak his majesty's favour to protect us frominjuries daily offered to us by strangers, and some for my friends, ormy own use, while the rest belonged to the English merchants, with whichI had no concern. He desired me not to be grieved that he had thus gothis own choice, as he had not patience to forbear from seeing them, inwhich he did me no wrong, as he believed I wished him to be servedfirst, and that he would make satisfaction to the king my master, towhom he would justify me. As for the prince and Noormahal, they were allone with himself. As to bringing any presents hereafter to procure hisfavour, I might be easy on that score, as it was merely a needlessceremony, for I should be always welcome to come to him empty-handed, and he would hear me, as it was not my fault, and he would see merighted at all times. That he would return me some things to enable meto go to his son, and he would pay the merchants for such things asbelonged to them. He concluded by desiring me not to be angry with thefreedom he had taken, as he meant well. As I made no reply, he pressedto know if I were pleased, to which I answered, that his majesty'ssatisfaction must always please me. He then began to enumerate all the things he had taken, beginning withthe mastiffs, embroidered sweet bags, the case of combs and razors, andso forth; saying, with a smile, "You would not have me to restore thesethings, and I am delighted with them?" To which I answered in thenegative. He then mentioned two glass-cases, as mean and ordinary, asking me for whom they were intended. I answered, that one was intendedfor his majesty, and the other for Noormahal. "Why then, " said he, "youwill not ask me for that I have, but will be satisfied with one?" Tothis I was under the necessity of yielding. He next asked for whomcertain hats were intended, which his women liked? I answered, thatthree were for his majesty, and one for myself. He then said, I surelywould not take back those meant for him, and that he would return mineif I needed it; and would not bestow it upon him. To this likewise I hadto agree. He then asked, whose were the pictures? I answered, that theywere sent me to use as occasion offered, and to dispose of as mybusiness might require. So he called for these, and caused them to beopened, examining me about the women, and other little questions, askingmy judgment and opinions concerning them. The third was a picture ofVenus leading a satyr by the nose. Commanding my interpreter not to tellme what he said on this subject, he shewed it about among his nobles, asking them to expound its moral or interpretation, pointing out thesatyr's horns and black skin, and many other particulars. Every oneanswered according to his fancy; but, liking none of their expositions, he reserved his own opinion to himself, and commanding that all thesenotions should be concealed from me, he ordered the interpreter to askme what it meant. I answered, that it was an invention of the painter, to shew his art, and that it represented some poetical fable, which wasall I could say, having never seen it before. He then called upon MrTerry to give his opinion, who could not; on which the king asked him, why he brought up with him an invention in which he was ignorant? Onthis I interposed, saying Mr Terry was a preacher, and did not meddlewith such matters, neither had he any charge of them, having only comealong with them. I have related this anecdote of the picture for the instruction of thegentlemen of the East India Company, and for him who may succeed me, tobe very careful that what they send into this country may not besusceptible of an evil interpretation; for the king and people arepregnant with, and full of, scrupulosity and jealousy. For, though theking concealed his opinion, yet I had ground, from what he did say, tobelieve he thought the picture was meant in derision of the Asiatics, whom he conceived to be represented by the satyr, as being of theircomplexion; and that Venus leading him by the nose denoted the greatinfluence exercised by the women of that country over the men. He wassatisfied that I had never seen the picture, and therefore pressed me nofarther about its explanation; yet he shewed no discontent, but rolledup the pictures, saying he would accept even the satyr as a present fromme. As for the saddle, and some other trifles, he said he would havethem sent to his son, for whom they were fit, as a present from me, towhom he would write so effectually, pursuant to his promise, that Ishould stand in no need of a solicitor near him in any of my affairs. Headded many compliments, excuses, professions, and protestations, such asmight proceed either from a very noble or very base mind. He then enquired what was meant by the figures of the beasts, andwhether they had been sent for me to give him? I had understood thatthey were very mean and ill-shaped images, from which the varnish hadcome off, and were ill-formed lumps of wood. I was really ashamed ofthem, and told him this was no fault of mine, those who had seized thembeing guilty of the affront, in conveying them to his majesty, for whomthey were not intended, having only been sent to shew the forms ofcertain animals in our country. He quickly replied, "Did you think inEngland that a horse or a bull were strange to me?" I answered, that Ithought not upon such mean matters, the sender being an ordinary man, who had sent these things out of good-will to me, and that I could notknow what might have been his thoughts. The king then said he would keepthem all; but that he desired I would procure for him a horse of thelargest size, a male and female mastiff, some tall Irish greyhounds, andsuch other hunting-dogs as we had in England, adding, on the word of aking, if I would procure him these, he would fully recompense me, andgrant every thing I desired. I answered, that I would engage to havethem sent by the next ships, but could not answer for their lives in solong a voyage, but should direct their skins and bones to be preservedif they died, to convince his majesty I had obeyed his commands. Uponthis he bowed to me repeatedly, laid his hand on his heart, and shewedme so much kindness, favour, and familiarity, that all present declaredthey had never seen him use the like to any man before. This was all my recompence, except that he often desired me to be merry, as he would royally requite the wrongs he had done me, and send me hometo my country with grace and rewards befitting a gentleman. Thus, seeingnothing returned of all that was seized but words, I requested hismajesty would order the velvets and silks to be delivered back, as thesewere merchant goods sent up among mine by the command of his majesty, bywhich they had escaped the rapacity of the prince's officers. He thendesired Mr Bidulph to be called for, that he might agree with and payhim for their value. I then delivered in a memorial, which I had readywritten, containing my demands for privileges and justice, as otherwiseI should return home a mere useless person, and under disgrace with mysovereign. I pressed likewise to have justice in regard to a debt due byZulphecar Khan, lately deceased. He replied, that he would take suchorder with his son, in regard to our affairs at Surat, that I shouldhave no cause to complain, and would give such orders for other placesas should in every respect shew his regard for me; and, that I mightreturn to my master with honour, he would send by me a rich and worthypresent, together with his letters certifying my good behaviour, andgiving me much praise. He likewise commanded me to name what I thoughtwould be most acceptable. To this I answered, that I could not crave, asthat was not our custom, neither was it consistent with the honour of mysovereign; but I had no doubt that whatever he was pleased to send wouldbe acceptable from so potent a monarch, who was already so much loved bymy master. He then said, that I thought he only asked in jest to pleaseme, as he saw I was still discontented; but he assured me he was myfriend, and would prove so in the end, and swore by his head that hespoke sincerely in regard to the presents, and that therefore I must notrefuse to name some for his satisfaction. This earnestness forced me to say, that, if his majesty pleased, Ithought some large Persian carpets might be fittest, as my master didnot look for gifts of cost and value. To this he answered, that he wouldprovide them of all sorts and sizes, and should add to them what else hethought fit, that my master might know how great was his respect. Havingvenison of various kinds before him, he gave me half a stag, which hesaid he had himself killed, and that I should see the rest bestowed onhis ladies. This was presently cut up into four pound pieces, and wassent into the interior apartments by his young son and two women intheir bare hands, just as if he had been doling out such small fragmentsto the poor by way of charity. I had now as abundant grace and fairwords as might have flattered me into conceit, but our injuries were notto be compensated by words, though I was glad of these as a colour fordissembling my discontent. In conclusion, he repeated his expressions ofdesire to satisfy me, saying, he hoped I went away contented. To which Ianswered, that his majesty's favour was sufficient to make me anyamends. He then said that he had only one farther question to ask: "Howcomes it, now that I have seen your presents for two years, that yourmaster, before you came, sent by a mean man, a merchant, five times asmany and more curious toys, and having sent you his ambassador, with acommission and his letters mentioning presents, that you should havebrought so little, so mean, and so much inferior to the other? Iacknowledge you as an ambassador, and have found you a gentleman in yourbehaviour, but am amazed you are so slightly provided. " I was about to reply, when he cut me short, saying, "I know that allthis is not your king's fault nor yours, but I shall shew you that Iesteem you more than those who employed you. At your return, I shallsend you home with honour and reward, according to your quality andmerit, not regarding what you have brought me, and shall send a presentto your lord and master, befitting a king to send. Only this will Irequire from you, and do not expect it from the merchants, that you willtake with you patterns of the following articles: a quiver and bow-case, a coat of mail, a cushion to rest my head upon in our fashion, and apair of boots, which you shall cause to be embroidered for me in Englandin the richest manner, as I know they can do these things in yourcountry better than any I have seen. These things I shall expect fromyou, and if you send them, I promise you, on the word of a king, thatyou shall be no loser. " This I most chearfully undertook, and hecommanded Asaph Khan to send me the patterns. He then asked if I hadany grape wine, which I said I had. He desired to have some of it totaste next night, and if he liked it, he would be obliged to me to lethim have it, otherwise I might make merry with it myself. Thus the wholeof this night being spent in discourse only with me, he rose up, and Ideparted. On the 3d of March we arrived at Mundu, into which the king was expectedto make his entry; but the day for that was not yet fixed, as he waitedtill the astrologers had determined upon an auspicious hour for theceremony, so that we had all to remain without, waiting for the goodhour. The 6th I entered Mundu, and my servants, whom I had sent beforeto seek out for quarters, had taken possession of a fair court, wellwalled round, in which was a goodly temple and a tomb. Some of theking's servants had already taken up their quarters there, but I gotpossession and kept it, being the best within the whole circuit ofMundu, though two miles from the king's house; yet it was so nearlysufficient, that a very small charge was sufficient to make itdefensible against the rains, and save me 1000 rupees. The air waswholesome, and the prospect pleasant, as it was on the very edge of thehill. I went at night of the 11th to meet the king, but was told, that, on thenews of a lion[210] having killed some horses, the king had gone out tohunt for that animal. I thus had leisure to look out for water; for suchwas the unaccountable want of foresight, that we were brought, with amultitude of people and beasts, to a hill on which was no water, so thatthe men and cattle were ready to perish. What little was to be found incertain wells and tanks had been taken possession of by the great men, and kept by force, so that I could not procure any. The poor forsook thecity; many more were commanded away by proclamation, and all horses orother cattle were ordered to be removed. Thus, those who were in hopesof rest, were enforced to seek out new dwelling places, and had to goaway some two, three, and even four cosses, to the extreme trouble andinconvenience of all, and occasioning provisions to rise greatly inprice. For my own part, I was greatly troubled how to determine. Myhouse was very good, and, though far from markets, it was still lessinconvenient to submit to that trouble than to remain in the fieldswithout house or shelter, where I must have gone to encamp, but then Iwas in want of water. Riding about with this view, I came to a greattank or pool, which was guarded for a khan, to whom the king had grantedits use. I sent to acquaint him of my needs, and asked leave to drawwater at his tank, when he was pleased to allow me to have four loadsdaily. This satisfied me in some sort; and, by selling off some of thegoods that had been sent me from Surat, and putting away some of mycattle, I had hope of being able to live; for which purpose I sent twoof my carriages, with their servants and cattle, to remain out of town, and thus relieved myself from this public calamity. There was not amisery or inconvenience that I was not subjected to, in thus followingthe court of the Mogul, owing to the want of good management in thegovernment, and the intemperature of the climate. [Footnote 210: It is almost certain that the lions of these earlyvoyages and travels, at least in India, were tigers. --E. ] §7. _A New-Year's Gift. --Suspicions entertained of the English. --Tradeof Dabul. --Dissatisfaction of the Persian Ambassador. --English Ships ofWar in the Indian Seas_. On the 12th March, 1617, I carried, as a new-year's gift to the king, apair of very handsome knives belonging to myself, and six glassesbelonging to the Company, making an apology for the smallness of thepresent, which was well received, and the king used me very graciously, saying, that whatever came from my hands he looked on as a sufficientpresent, and as a proof of my love, and that it was now his part to giveme. He gave orders to an officer to send for Mr Bidulph, to pay him hisdemands to his satisfaction, and all others who were indebted to us wereordered by name to pay what they owed to the Company. The king saidlikewise, that he would write to the prince in our favour. But I foundhim unwilling to part with any of our things, of which the best sweetbag then lay before him. I replied, that I was very unwilling to goempty-handed. The king then commanded that I should come up and standbeside him on the steps of the throne, where stood on one side thePersian ambassador, and the old king of Candahar on the other, with whomI ranked. As soon as I had taken my place, the king asked me for aknife, which I sent him next day. The king then called the Persian tostand before him, to whom he gave a jewel and a young elephant, forwhich he kneeled and saluted the ground with his head. On this occasion the same throne and furniture were used as last year, the upper end of the hall being adorned with the pictures of the king mymaster, the queen, the princess Elizabeth, Sir Thomas Smith, and someothers, with two pieces of beautiful Persian tapestry hung below them. The throne was of gold, bespangled all over with rubies, emeralds, andturquoises. On one side, on a little stage or scaffold, was a company ofwomen-singers. I this day sent a dispatch to Surat, giving my advicerespecting the trade of Persia, and of what had passed on that subjectwith the ambassador, and sent some remembrance to the governor, IbrahimKhan. I had a letter from him in return, stating that the English nationhad been wronged without his knowledge; but as his authority was nowaugmented by Prince Churrum, we might rest confident in his protection, as while he lived and held authority at that place, we should never morebe liable to abuses, but should be allowed to reside and trade inperfect freedom and security. The 13th I sent as a present to Asaph Khan a richly embroidered pair ofgloves, and a fair wrought night-cap of my own. He received the cap, butreturned the gloves, as useless in this country, and requested to havesome Alicant wine, which I sent him next night. Aganor, whose diligencenow gave me great hope of success in my desires, sent his Baniansecretary to inform me that he had orders for the dispatch, of themerchant goods, and that his man should attend Mr Bidulph to finish thatbusiness; that the patterns should be sent me, and that the Mogul meantto give me a robe, and money to bear my charges in going to wait uponthe prince. I returned for answer, that I had no need of a garment or ofmoney, but begged his majesty would graciously consider the injuries ofwhich I had complained, and of which I had already given an account inwriting, and that he would please to give me a letter to the prince, with some of our own presents which were intended for him, or else statemy excuse in writing, that his majesty had intercepted and appropriatedthe whole. This was all I wished, as instead of gifts from the king, Ionly required justice. The 21st I discovered that the Mogul suspected that I meant to steal outof the country. These doubts had been insinuated by the prince, eitheras a cover for his own guilt, or out of fear, or perhaps as a cunningpretence to cover his own designs. He had informed the king that theEnglish meant next year to surprise Surat, and retain possession of thatplace. Indeed, their own folly gave some colour to the idea; as lately, upon one of the usual brawls at that place, our people had landed 200musqueteers, with whom they marched towards Surat; and, during theirmarch, some of the jovial tars gave out to all they met that they meantto take the place. This was a most absurd bravado, for a handful of mento march twelve miles against a walled town that was able to oppose themwith 1000 horse, and as many foot armed with match-locks, and havingbesides to pass a river which could be defended by a handful of menagainst an army. It gave, however, just occasion both of scorn andoffence; and the prince, perhaps to serve some ends of his own, tookoccasion from it to strengthen the fortifications of the town andcastle, and to send down ordnance for their defence; perhaps a goodprecaution to have an open door to flee to in case his brother shouldlive, and have the means of checking his ambitious views. But thisinformation concurring with my discontents here, and some free languageon that occasion, and my pressing demands to be allowed to go toBurhanpoor, together with flying reports that we had taken Goa, and werepreparing a great fleet in England, raised suspicions in the mind of theking, though he concealed them as well as he could from me. By myexplanations, however, I satisfied the king thoroughly, though I was byno means so, having been fed only with words, and knew well that ourresidence was only permitted out of fear. The complaints I was enforcedto make at this court against the misconduct of its officers towards us, greatly offended all the great men, as being in some sort their owncase; for they all live by farming the several governments, in whichthey all practise every kind of tyranny against the natives under theirjurisdiction, oppressing them with continual exactions, and areexceedingly averse from any way being opened by which the king may beinformed of their infamous proceedings. They grind the people undertheir government, to extract money from them, often hanging men up bythe heels to make them confess that they are rich, or to ransomthemselves from faults merely imputed with a view to fleece them. Thusmy complaints against exaction and injustice made me hated of all aboutthe court, as an informer. The 25th I received a letter from Captain Pepwell, then in Dabul roads, stating, --That, according to advice, he had stopped the junk bound forMokha; but having well weighed the caution I had given him respectingthe correspondence between that prince and Masulipatam, where theSolomon then was, he had freed her without spoil. By this courtesy hehad procured such good entertainment as is seldom had in the Indies, being allowed free trade, with a promise of taking 300 pieces ofbroad-cloth yearly, and had sold a good quantity of lead for readymoney, besides some ordnance. This part of his procedure I do not likemuch, as tending to arm the Indians, and the Portuguese, their friends, against the Moguls. If these courtesies proceeded not from the junkbeing still under his command, they give good prospect of an yearly saleat that port. However, the freeing of this junk gives me good assurancethat Captain Pepwell will do nothing prejudicial to the Company, andwill deliver himself honestly from the jealousies entertained of him atDabul. He signifies his intention of proceeding to Calicut, and if thatfactory be not likely to succeed, he proposes transferring it to Dabul. The 27th, by a foot-post from Masulipatam, I received advice that theSolomon had put to sea, and that the Hosiander was arrived from Bantam, with the bad news of the loss of the Hector and Concord, while careeningin the roads of Jacatra, in the island of Java; but with the good newsthat the Dragon, Clove, and Defence were laden homewards from Bantam. Itook the opportunity of this post to convey a letter to the governor ofDabul respecting the overture made by him of trade to that port; and, though I had no great opinion of the place, I would neither have itentirely neglected, nor would I encourage the next fleet to proceedthere, unless on better assurance than a forced friendship, and offersmade when their junk was in our power. I signified the causes of ourhaving stopped their goods formerly for refusing trade to Sir HenryMiddleton; but finding him now better disposed, and willing to establisha league of trade and amity, and to take a good quantity of our cloth, Irequired to know if he were hearty in these motions; and willing to actas a man of honour; as a pledge of which, I requested him to procure forus a firmaun from his sovereign, with such privileges as were fit formerchants, with a royal engagement under his seal to fulfil all thefriendly offers made to us by this officer; desiring this firmaun mightbe transmitted to me with all expedition, to my present residence atthe Mogul court. By this, I said, I should be satisfied that they meantto treat us with good faith, and on its reception, I would undertake, onthe behalf of the king of England, that a firm and lasting peace shouldbe established with his master, whose subjects should have free passageon the seas without molestation from our ships; and should send yearly aship to trade at his port, or, if desired, should establish a residentfactory there. I have no doubt, either through fear or favour, that somegood sales may be made there yearly, but I doubt of being able toprocure any valuable investments. In this I proceed cautiously, as all men ought on such occasions, notwith too eager apparent desire, nor swallowing hungrily any offeredconditions, without due assurances. Strict care in the first settling isof the utmost importance, as you can never mend your firstestablishment, and may often impair it. Every man succeeds best atfirst, when new and a stranger; for, by the natural levity of thesebarbarians, they are fond of changes, and grow weary of things in theirusual train. I have committed this dispatch to the care of Mr Bangham, whom I have directed to make diligent enquiry into the commodities, advantages, and inconveniences attendant on our projected trade, and tomake himself acquainted with the humours and affections of the Deccanerstowards us. On the 30th of April the Persian ambassador sent to excuse himself forgoing away without paying his respects to me, alleging illness, but hismessenger said he was not so sick as he pretended; but, finding nosuccess in his negociations with the king, he had taken his leave, andmade a present of thirty-five horses at his departure. In return, theking gave him 3000 rupees, which he took in great scorn. Upon which, tojustify himself, the king caused two lists to be drawn up, in one ofwhich all the presents made by the ambassador were enumerated, withtheir values, meanly rated, much lower than their real worth; and, inthe other, all the gifts the king had presented to him since hisarrival, --as slaves, melons, pine-apples, plantains, hawks, plumes offeathers, the elephant, and not even forgetting the drink he hadreceived, all charged at extremely high prices, much above their value. These two lists were laid before the ambassador, with their amountssummed up, offering him the rest of the money to make up the balance. Owing to this bad usage, the Persian feigned himself sick of a fever, asan excuse for not waiting upon Asaph Khan and Etemon Dowlet, for whichreason he could not come through the town to visit me, withoutdiscovering the counterfeit, but desired his messenger to acquaint mewith the truth, which Aganor as freely delivered, and with no smallbitterness against the king, and to which I seemed unwilling to listen. The ambassador also desired him to assure me that he was ready to servemy nation in his country, to the utmost of his power. I presented himwith some Alicant wine, and a few knives, to be taken to his master, andso we parted. The 12th May I received news of a great blow given by theTurkish army to the Persians, the former having taken and utterlydestroyed Tauris; and that Shah Abbas was unable to keep the field. On the night of the 25th, a lion and a wolf[211] broke into my quarters, and gave us great alarm, carrying off some sheep and goats that were inmy court-yard, and leaping with them over a high wall. I sent to askleave to kill them, as in that country no person may meddle with lionsexcept the king. Receiving permission, and the animals returning nextnight, I ran out into the court upon the alarm, and the beast missinghis prey, seized upon a little dog before me, and escaped; but myservants killed the wolf, which I sent to the king. [Footnote 211: More likely to have been a tyger and hyena. --E. ] The 14th of June, a cabinet belonging to the jesuits was sent up fromCambay, containing medicines and other necessaries, and a letter, whichwere betrayed by the bringer, and delivered to the king. He opened thecabinet, and sent for the _padre_ to read the letter, and to see everything contained in the boxes; but, finding nothing to his liking, hereturned all. I mention this circumstance as a caution to all who dealin this country, to be careful of what they write or send, as it is thehumour of this prince to seize and see every thing, lest any curiosityor toy should escape his greed. The 18th, I had letters from Ahmedabad, advising that indigo had greatlyfallen in price, in consequence of the non-arrival of the flotilla fromGoa. The unicorn's horn had been returned, as without virtue, concerningwhich I sent new advice. [212] Many complaints were made concerning Suratand others, which I do not insert. I received two letters fromBurhanpoor, stating the doubtfulness of recovering the debt due to MrRalph Fitch. Spragge had returned from the leskar or camp of the Deccanarmy, where Melick Amber, with much show of honour, had given instantorders for searching the whole camp; but the Persian had fled toVisiapour, so that the business was referred by letter to a Dutchman whoresided there. The general of the Deccan army desired Spragge to be themeans of sending English cloth and swords to his camp, which is withinsix days march of Burhanpoor; and, in my opinion, this might be a goodemployment for some idle men, and an excellent opportunity to get ventfor our dead commodities. [Footnote 212: This of the unicorn's horn, or rather the horn of arhinoceros, may allude to some supposed inherent virtue of detectingpoison, anciently attributed to cups made of that material. --E. ] The 30th of July I received news from Surat of two Dutch ships beingcast away on the coast near Damaun. They were from the southwards, ladenwith spices and China silks, and bound for the Red Sea; but losing theseason, with much bad weather, they had tried to take shelter inSocatora, or some other port on the coast of Arabia, but failing afterbeating about many weeks, they bore away for Surat, hoping to be able toride out the adverse monsoon in safety, as they had done in other years. But the years differ, and being forced to come to anchor, they had tocut away their masts by the violence of the gale; the smaller vessel ofsixty tons was beaten to pieces, and the cables of the other breaking, she was driven ashore in oosy ground, within musket shot of the land. The ship kept upright; but having lost their long-boat, and the skiffbeing unable to live, four men got ashore on a raft. The spring-tidesheaved her up so near the shore, that much of her goods and all herpeople were saved. _Maree Rustam_, who had been king of Candahar, came to visit me on the21st of August, and brought a present of wine and fruit, staying abouthalf an hour, and concluded his visit by begging a bottle of wine. Thisday Sultan Cusero had his first prospect of long-hoped liberty, beingallowed to leave his prison, and to take the air and his pleasure in abanqueting house near mine. Sultan Churrum had contracted a marriage atBurhanpoor, without waiting for the king's consent, for which he hadfallen under displeasure; and some secret practices of his against thelife of his brother had been discovered, on which he was ordered tocourt in order to clear himself. By the advice of their father, EtimonDowlet, Noormahal and Asaph Khan now made proposals of friendship andalliance with Cusero. This news has diffused universal joy among thepeople, who now begin to hope that their good prince may recover hisfull liberty. The 22d the king feasted Asaph Khan. The 25th Asaph Khanfeasted Noormahal. It is reported the Prince Cusero is to make a firmalliance, as above stated, and is to take a wife of his father's choice. This will produce his entire liberty, and the ruin of our proudoppressor, Churrum. The 1st of September was the solemnity of the king's birth-day, when heis publicly weighed, to which I went. I was conducted into a beautifulgarden, in the middle of which was a great square pond or tank, set allround with trees and flowers, and in the middle was a pavilion orpleasure-house, under which hung the scales in which the king was to beweighed. The scales were of beaten gold, set with many small stones, asrubies and turquoises. They hung by chains of gold, large and massy, yetstrengthened by silken ropes for more security. The beam and tresselsfrom which it hung were covered with thin plates of gold. In this placeall the nobles of the court attended, sitting round on rich carpets; andwaiting the king's arrival. He appeared at length, cloathed, or ladenrather, with diamonds, rubies, pearls, and other precious vanities, making a great and glorious shew. His sword, target, and throne werecorresponding in riches and splendour. His head, neck, breast, and arms, above the elbows, and at the wrist, were all decorated with chains ofprecious stones, and every one of his fingers had two or three richrings. His legs were as it were fettered with chains of diamonds, rubiesas large as walnuts, and some larger, and such pearls as amazed me. Hegot into one of the scales, crouching or sitting on his legs like awoman; and there were put into the other scale, to counterpoise hisweight, many bags said to contain silver, which were changed six times, and I understood his weight was 9000 rupees, which are almost equal to athousand pounds sterling. After this, he was weighed against gold, jewels, and precious stones, as I was told, for I saw none, as thesewere all in bags, and might only have been pebbles. Then against clothof gold, silk stuffs, cotton goods, spices, and all sort of commodities;but I had to believe all as reported, as these were all in packages. Lastly, against meal, butter, and corn, all of which is said to bedistributed to the Banians, with all the rest of the stuff, but I sawall carefully carried away, and nothing distributed. The silver only isreserved for the poor, and serves for the ensuing year, as it is theking's custom at night frequently to call for some of these before him, to whom, with great familiarity and humility, he distributes some ofthis money with his own hands. While the king was sitting in the scale, he looked upon me and smiled, but spoke not, as my interpreter could not be admitted. After he wasweighed, he ascended the throne, and had basins of nuts, almonds, andspices of all sorts, artificially made of thin silver, which he threwabout, and for which his great men scrambled prostrate on their bellies. I thought it not decent for me to do so, which seeing, he reached onebasin almost full, and poured the contents into my cloak. The nobleswere so bold as to put in their hands to help themselves, and so thick, that they had soon left me none, if I had not pocketed up a remainder. Till I had myself been present, I was told that he scattered gold onthis occasion, but found it to be only silver, and so thin, that all Ihad at first, being thousands of small pieces, had not weighed sixtyrupees, of which I saved to the amount of twenty rupees, yet a gooddishful, which I keep to shew the ostentation of this display ofliberality; for, by my proportion, I think all he cast away could notexceed the value of an hundred pounds. At night he drinks with hisnobles from rich plate, to which I was invited; but, being told that Imust not refuse to drink, and their liquors being excessively hot andstrong, I durst not stay to endanger my health, being already somewhatindisposed with a slight dysentery. On the 9th September the king rode out to take the air on the banks ofthe river _Darbadath_, [Nerbuddah] a distance of five cosses. As he wasto pass my house, I mounted my horse to meet him; and, as it is thecustom for all men whose gates he passes, to make him some present, which is taken as a good sign, and is called _mombareck_, or good news;and as I had nothing to give, neither could go with nothing, nor staywithout offence, I ventured to take with me a fair book, well bound, filleted, and gilt, being the last edition of Mercator's Maps of theWorld, which I presented, saying, That I had nothing worthy theacceptance of so great a king, but begged to offer him the world, inwhich he had so great and rich a share. He accepted it in good part, laying his hand repeatedly on his breast, saying, that every thing whichcame from me was welcome. He asked about the arrival of our ships, whichI said we daily expected. He then said, he had some fat wild-hogs latelysent him from Goa, and if I would eat any he would send me some at hisreturn, I made him due reverence, answering, that any thing from hismajesty was to me a feast. He rode on upon his elephant, and when I offered to accompany him to thegate, the way being stony, he desired me to return, bidding God keep me. He asked which was my house, and being told, praised it, as indeed itwas one of the best in the place, though only an old temple and a largetomb, enclosed by a wall. Repeating his farewell, he said the way wasbad, and desired me to go home, with much shew of courtesy and kindness, on which I took my leave. On the 16th I went to repay the visit of Maree Rustam, prince ofCandahar, who sent word at my arrival that he dared not receive anyvisit unless he asked leave of the king, or acquainted Etimon Dowlet orAsaph Khan, which he would do at the next durbar. I made answer, that heneeded not, as I never meant any more to trouble myself about so uncivila person. That I knew well this was a mere shift out of ill manners, asthe king would be no more angry for his receiving me at his house thanfor coming to mine, and that I cared not for seeing him, and had onlycome in pure civility to return his visit. His man desired me to waittill he had reported what I said to his master, but I would not. Atnight I waited upon the king at court, who spoke to me about the book ofmaps; but I forbore to speak to him about our debts. But on the 25th, though very weak, I went again to court to make trial of the king aboutour debts. _Muckshud_, one of our debtors, having pled in excuse for notpaying that he had missed receiving his _prigany_, and knew not how topay unless he sold his house. I delivered the merchants petition to theking, which he caused to be read aloud by Asaph Khan; all the names ofthe debtors, with the sums they owed, and their respective sureties, being distinctly enumerated. The king then sent for Arad Khan, the chiefofficer of his household, and the cutwall, and gave them some orderswhich I did not understand. Then reading over the names, and findingsome of them dead, and some strangers, he made enquiry as to theirabilities and qualities, and what goods they had received. ConcerningRulph, [213] Asaph Khan undertook to speak to the prince on the subject, and to get that affair concluded when he came. [Footnote 213: In the edition by Churchill, this person is named Sulph, but no elucidation is given. --E. ] My interpreter was now called in, and the king, turning to me, said thatour merchants had trusted people according to their own fancies, and towhom they pleased, not coming to him with an inventory of their goods, and therefore, if their debtors were insufficient, it was their ownfaults, and they had no reason to expect payment of their money fromhim. This I supposed to allude to his servant _Hergonen_, lately dead, whose goods had been seized to the king's use. He added, however, asthis was the first time, he would now assist me, and cause our money tobe paid: but, if the English should hereafter deliver their goods to hisservants without money, they must stand to the hazard themselves. But ifwhen they brought their commodities to court, they would bring theinventory of the whole to him, he would first serve himself, and thendistribute the rest among such as were willing to buy them; and then, ifany failed in payments, he would pay the money himself. This indeed is the custom of the Persian merchants, who bring all to theking, as I have often seen. He first takes his own choice, and deliversthe rest among his nobles, his scribes writing down the names of all towhom they are delivered, and the sums, another officer settling theprices. After which a copy is given to the merchant, who goes to theirhouses for his money; and if they do not pay, there is a particularofficer who has orders to enforce payment. It was then told to myinterpreter that Arad Khan was to call the debtors before him, and causethem to pay. This did not satisfy our merchants, but it seemed to me ajust and gracious answer, and better than private persons usually getfrom great princes. Hearing that I had been sick and was in want of wine, the king orderedme to have five bottles, and when these were done that I should send forfive more, and so from time to time as I needed. He sent me also thefattest wild-hog I ever saw, which had been sent from Goa by MucrobKhan. This was sent to me at midnight by a _huddy_, with this message, that it had eaten nothing but sugar and butter since it came to theking. I accepted this as a sign of great favour, which, in this court, Iknow to be a great one. He then sent for the book of maps, saying, thathe had shewed it to his _mulahs_, and not one of them could read a wordof it, wherefore I might have it again. To this I answered, that hismajesty in this would use his pleasure; and so it was returned. The 26th, a rajah of the Rajpoots being in rebellion in the hills, notabove twenty cosses from the leskar, the king sent out two Omrahs with aparty of horse to fetch him in a prisoner. But he stood on his defence, slew one of the omrahs and twelve _maansipdares_, [munsubdars] and about500 men, sending an insulting message to the king to send his sonagainst him, as he was no prey to be subdued by ordinary forces. The 2d September, Sultan Churrum made his entry into Mundu, accompaniedby all the great men, in wonderous triumph. Contrary to all ourexpectations, the king received him as if he had been an only son. Allthe great men and the queen-mother[214] went to meet him at the distanceof five cosses from the town. I had sent to Asaph Khan to excuse me notmeeting him, for I was not able to stir from sickness, and besides, hadno presents to give. I also sent some of my servants with my just excuseto the prince, to which he, in his pride, only answered by a nod. [Footnote 214: Both in the Pilgrims and in Churchill's Collection thispersonage is termed the king's mother; but it is more probable she wasthe mother of Sultan Churrum. --E. ] The 5th of September I received advice of our ships being arrived atSurat, the admiral amissing, but all the rest well, and that they hadtaken two English rovers or pirates, which were found in chase of thequeen-mother's ship returning from the Red Sea, which they fortunatelyrescued and brought safe in. Had this ship been taken, we had all beenin trouble. With these letters, I received the Company's letter, theinvoice of the goods, and instructions for Persia, with various othernotes of advice. They advised me also, that, owing to the admiral'sabsence, they knew not what course to take with the pirates they hadtaken. I immediately sent orders to Surat concerning all business, aswill appear in my letters. The 6th, I rode to visit the prince at his usual hour of givingaudience, intending to bid him welcome, and to acquaint him with ourbusiness, meaning to shew him all proper respect; and, that I might notcome empty-handed, I bought a fine gold chain, made in China, which Iproposed to have presented to him. On sending in to acquaint him that Iwas in waiting, he returned a message, desiring me to come next morningat sun-rise, when he sat to be worshipped, or to wait till he rode tocourt, which I must have done at his door. I took this in high dudgeon, having never been denied access by the king his father; but such is thisprince's pride, that he might even teach Lucifer. This made me answerroundly, that I was not the prince's slave, but the free ambassador of agreat king; and that I would never more visit or attend upon him who haddenied me justice; but I should see him at night with the king, to whomonly I should now address myself, and so I departed. I went at night tothe king, who received me graciously. I made my reverence to the prince, who stood beside his father, but he would not even once stir his head. Then I acquainted the king, that, according to his order, I had broughtan abstract to him of our merchandize, and waited his commands. Afterhis usual manner, he asked many questions as to what were brought, andseemed mightily satisfied with what was in the inventory, especiallywith the tapestry, promising me all the favour and privileges I coulddesire. He enquired for dogs, but I could say nothing on that subject. He then asked for jewels, but I told him these were dearer in Englandthan in India, at which he rested satisfied. I durst not name the pearlsfor many reasons, but chiefly as I knew our people in that case would beway-laid by the prince, and it would have cost me infinite trouble toget them back. I thought they might easily be brought on shore, and soto court, by stealth, and I thought they would be the more valued theless they were expected: but my main reason of concealment was, that Iexpected to make friends by their means; therefore; when Asaph Khanpressed me on that head, I desired him to make the answer alreadymentioned of their dearness, saying that I would speak to him fartherwhen alone. He readily understood me, and made my excuse accordingly. Seeing the king to be well pleased, I thought it a good time to movehim again about our debts; and having my petition ready, I opened it andheld it up, as offering it to the king. He happened not to notice this, and it being discovered by some others what was its contents, who knewthe king would be enraged that his order was neglected, one of themstept up to me, and gently drew down my hand, requesting me not topresent that petition. I answered, that Arad Khan had absolutely refusedme justice, and I had no other resource. Arad heard this, being by, andwent in much fear to Asaph Khan, desiring him to hinder me from makingmy complaint. I answered, that our ships were arrived, and we couldneither brook nor endure such delays and loss of time. Thereupon theyconsulted together, and calling the cutwall, gave directions for him toput the king's orders, into execution. The cutwall, accordingly, besetthe tents of our debtors that very night, and catched some of them; sothat we shall now have justice. I had many thanks from all the omrahsfor the protection given to the queen's ship, and the civility shown byour people to the passengers. This they said they had properlyrepresented to the king, who took it kindly, and they all declared theywere obliged in honour to love our nation, and would do us every servicein their power; yet they all wondered we could not govern our ownpeople, and that any should presume to take ships out of the kingdom, and to rob upon the seas without leave of our king. When the king arose, Asaph Khan carried me with hint to hisretiring-place, where we first translated the inventory of our goodsinto Persian, to shew the king an hour after. In this inventory Iinserted the money with some addition, that the king might see webrought profit into his dominions by our trade. I next inserted thecloths of different kinds, with the fine wares; and, lastly, the grosscommodities, concluding by praying his majesty to give orders for whathe wished to purchase, and then to give us liberty of selling the rest. When this was finished, Asaph Khan asked why I wished to speak with himin private, desiring me to speak my mind with freedom, bowing, andprotesting such friendship as I never could have expected. I told him, that my reason for asking this private conference was to have hisadvice. It was certainly true that I had some things which were notenumerated, but had been so badly used last year that I durst not trustany one; but, to shew my confidence in him, I was willing to openmyself to him, on his oath of secrecy, which he readily gave. I thentold him that I had a rich pearl, and some other strings of fair pearls, and knew not whether it were fit to tell the king, lest the prince mightbe displeased. I informed him likewise, how I had gone in the morning tovisit the prince, and of his discourtesy, and my consequentdetermination; yet I knew his favour was necessary for us, and I hadhopes to recover it by means of this pearl, which I had purposelyconcealed for him. This was my purpose, and the reason of myconcealment; and as he was father-in-law to the prince, and the king'sfavourite, I was desirous to please both, and therefore begged hisadvice. After embracing me, he said I had done discreetly, and should acquaintneither; for, if I did, I should never get out of trouble. If the kingwere to know of it, he would indeed use me courteously, but would make agreat stir to get it into his hands, and then, according to custom, Imight sue in vain to recover my own. The prince, I knew, was ravenouslygreedy and tyrannical, and wearied all with his scandalous exactions. Hedesired me to steal all ashore, trusting none, and explained to me manymeans of conveyance, bidding me observe the usage of the Portuguese onthe like occasions; adding, that he wished to purchase the pearl, and ifI would grant his desire, would deposite its value in my hands, whateverI chose to ask, and, in recompence for this confidence I had reposed inhim, he would hereafter be my solicitor in all things, and assured me Icould do nothing without him. I answered, that I was most willing to lethim have the pearl, and hoped he would never betray my confidence. Having received his oath, and a ceremony of mutual covenant, by crossingthumbs according to the custom of the country, we embraced. I promisedto be guided entirely by him, and he engaged to do every thing Irequired for the safe conveyance of the other things, engaging to giveme firmauns so that no person should touch any thing, but all shouldcome safely to me, to dispose of at my pleasure. He engaged likewise to reconcile me to the prince, and would take mewith him the next time he went to visit him, and would make the princeuse me with all manner of grace and favour; adding, that I should have aparticular judge assigned me to take care of our business, and to giveus every satisfaction we could desire. He also advised me to make apresent to his sister, Queen Noormahal, and she would prevail upon theking to give me money. To this I replied, that I wished only for thegood usage of my countrymen. He then carried me to the king, to whom Ipresented the inventory translated into Persian, and was graciouslyreceived. He asked me if the arras were a present, to which I answeredin the affirmative, as the prince was by, lest it might be seized. Inconclusion, the king said he would take a considerable quantity of ourcloths and other commodities, desiring me to cause them to be brought upspeedily, and directed Asaph Khan to make out an order for their freepassage in the prince's name. I was well pleased with the success ofthis day; for though I knew that there was no faith to be placed inthese barbarians, yet I was sure Asaph Khan would deal truly in this, ashe was to help himself, and durst not betray me, lest he should miss thepearl, neither could I suspect him afterwards, as he could not betray mysecret without discovering his own falsehood to the prince. §8. _Asaph Khan protects the English for hope of Gain, as alsoNoormahal. --Arrival of Mr Steel. --Danger to the Public from privateTrade. --Stirs about a fort_. On the 12th October, according to his promise, Asaph Khan carried mealong with him to visit the prince, and introduced me into his privateapartment, when I presented ham with a small Chinese gold chain in achina cup. He used me indifferently, but Asaph Khan persuaded him toalter his course towards us, representing that he gained yearly by us alack of rupees, and that as our trade increased every year, it would intime bring him greater profit; but that if we were harshly used, wewould be enforced to quit both Surat and the country, from which greatinconveniences might arise. We were in some measure his subjects, andif, from desire of procuring rarities, he used us ill, we wouldnecessarily strive to the utmost to conceal all we brought from hisknowledge; but if he gave us that liberty and encouragement which wasfitting, we would then use our endeavours to bring every thing to him. He represented, that my only study was to give content to his highness, and to procure his favour and protection, and therefore that he ought toreceive me honourably when I came to visit him, and according to myquality, which would give satisfaction to my nation, and encourage me toserve him. Finally, be moved his highness to give me a firmaun for ourpresent use, which he easily obtained, with a promise of all manner ofsatisfaction. The prince accordingly gave immediate orders to hissecretary to draw it up in every point to our content, and to write aletter to the governor recommending it to his attention; adding, that Ishould at all times have any other letters I desired. It is thus easy to be seen what base and unworthy men I have to dealwith. For the sordid hope only of buying some toys, Asaph Khan hasbecome so reconciled to me as to betray his son-in-law, and isobsequious even to flattery. The ground of all his friendship is hisdesire to purchase the gold taken in the prize, and some other knacks;for which purpose he desires to send down one of his servants, which Icould not deny without losing him, after having so long laboured to gainhis favour; neither was this any disadvantage to us, as his payment issecure, and will save us much trouble and charge in selling elsewhere, especially the wine and other luggage that is apt to spoil in carriage. For this purpose he obtained an order from the prince under falsepretences, and wrote himself in our favour to the governor of Surat, doing us all manner of kindness. There is a necessity for hisfriendship, as his word is a law in this empire, and therefore I did notchoose to seem to notice his unworthiness. I hope by this procedure towin him to our advantage, or at least to make our present good use ofhim. On this occasion I moved him to procure us a firmaun for trade withBengal, which he has promised, though he would never before hearken tothat request. He likewise now prosecutes our debtors as if they were hisown; and in passing the residence of the cutwall on his elephant, hecalled upon him to command dispatch, which was a most unusual favour. Upon this _Groo_ was immediately imprisoned, and _Muckshud_ had only twodays allowed him to pay us. Thus I doubt not that in ten days we shallrecover to the amount of 44, 000 rupees, though our debtors are the mostshifting false knaves in all India. On the 21st, a servant came to me from Asaph Khan, bearing a messagefrom Noormahal, intimating that she had moved the prince for anotherfirmaun, which she had obtained, and by which all our goods were takenunder her protection; and that she was ready to send down her servantwith authority to take order for our good establishment, and to see thatwe were no way wronged. He said farther, that Asaph Khan had done this, for fear of the prince's violence, and to guard against his custom ofdelays; and that now when the queen his sister had desired to be ourprotectress, he was sure the prince would not meddle; and fartherassured me, upon his honour, that I should receive every thing consignedto me, for which the queen had written the most positive orders, and haddirected her servant to assist our factors, that we might never morehave any cause of complaint at Surat. He desired, therefore, that Imight write a few lines to the captains and factors, directing them touse the queen's servant kindly, and allow him to buy for her some toys, such as I could spare. This I durst not deny, though I clearly saw thegreediness which was covered under this request; and I gave him a note, as desired, making a condition that I should see a copy of the firmaun, which was already sealed, and could not be seen without leave. By all this you may see how easy it were to sell commodities here, by alittle good management. Last year we were not looked at; but now, that Ihave translated the inventory of fine wares for the king, yet concealingthe pearls, every one is ready to run down to Surat, to make purchases. Noormahal and Asaph Khan now study how to do me good offices; and manyof the great men are soliciting me for letters, that they may send downtheir servants, so that if you had trebled the present consignment, itmight all have been bought up aboard ship, and have saved you thecustoms, expence of carriage, and much spoil. I have therefore directedthe factory to sell to the servants of Noormahal and Asaph Khan, whatsoever can be spared, so as to leave me a decent proportion for myuses at court. By this, much trouble and charges will be saved, theprince prevented from plunder and exactions, and our friends confirmed;and yet I hope to have enough remaining to please the king and his son. At the delivery of their presents, Asaph Khan has undertaken to procurethe phirmaunds for our trade at Bengal or any other port, and even toprocure us a general privilege for free trade and residence in everypart of the king's dominions. On the 24th of October the king departed to a considerable distance fromMundu, [215] and went from place to place among the mountains, leaving usquite at a loss what way we should take, as no one knew his purpose. Onthe 25th I had a warrant for ten camels at the king's rates of hire; andon the 29th I removed to follow the king, being forced to quit Mundu, which was now entirely deserted. The 31st I arrived at the king's tents, but found he had gone with few company on a hunting party for ten days, no person being allowed to follow without leave. The leskar or camp wasscattered about in many parts, suffering great inconveniences from badwater, scarcity and consequent dearness of provisions, sickness, and allsorts of calamities incident to so great a multitude; yet nothing canprevent the king from following his pleasures. I here learnt that it wasquite uncertain whether the king proposed going to Agra or Guzerat; and, though the latter was reported, the former was held to be more probable, as his counsellors wished to be at rest. Yet, because the king wasexpected to linger here about a month, I was advised and thought it bestto send for the goods and presents, and endeavour to conclude mybusiness, rather as defer it upon uncertainties. By this means, I hopedto obtain some rest, which I much needed, as I was very weak, and notlikely to recover by daily travel, and the use of cold raw muddy water. [Footnote 215: In the edition of Churchill, the king is said to haveremoved twenty-four cosses from Mundu, while in the Pilgrims it iscalled only four cosses. --E. ] Richard Steel and Jackson arrived on the 2d November, 1617, with thepearls and other small matters, which they had brought privately onshore according to my order, which I received and gave them acquittancefor. I had a conference with Mr Steel about his projects of water-works, intended to advance the sale of lead, which I did not approve of, because I knew the character of this people, and that this affair mustbe begun at our expence, while after trial we should not enjoy theprofit, but the natives be taught. [216] Besides, it did not promise anyadvantages for the sale of our commodity, as the lead would be trebledin price by land-carriage, and could not be delivered at Agra so cheapas other lead could be purchased there. Yet I was willing that he shouldmake a trial, by carrying his workmen to Ahmedabad, and meeting methere; where, by the aid of Mukrob Khan, who only among these people isa friend to new inventions, I would make offer to the king of theirinventions, and try what conditions might be procured; but, in myopinion, it is all money and labour thrown away. The company must shuttheir ears against these projectors, who have their own emoluments muchmore in view than the profits of their masters. Many things look fair indiscourse, and in theory satisfy curious imaginations, which in practiceare found difficult and fanciful. It is no easy matter to alter theestablished customs of this kingdom; where some drink only of rainwater, some only that of a holy river, and others only of such as isbrought at their own cost. [Footnote 216: This project is no where explained, but might possibly beintended for conveying water, by means of machinery and leaden pipes, for the supply of some palace or city in India. --E. ] As for his second project, of inducing the caravans and merchants ofLahore and Agra, who are in use to travel by Candahar into Persia, tocome by the river Indus and to go by sea in our ships to Jasques or thePersian gulf it is a mere dream. Some men may approve of it inconversation, but it will never be adopted in practice. The river Indusis but indifferently navigable downwards, and its mouth is alreadyoccupied by the Portuguese; while its navigation upwards, against thestream, is very difficult. Finally, we must warrant their goods, whichcannot be done by a fleet; neither did even the Portuguese transport anyof these goods, excepting only those of Scindy and Tatta, which tradedby means of their own junks, having _cartas_ or passes from thePortuguese, for which the natives paid a small matter, to secure themfrom being captured by the Portuguese cruizers; and the emoluments ofthese passes came into the pockets of the chiefs of Diu, Damaun, andOrmus. Even if all other difficulties were removed, yet will the caravanof Lahore be never induced to take this passage, as it mostly consistsof returning Persians and Armenians, who know the journey from Jasquesto be almost as bad as that through Candahar; and the small trade fromthe environs of Scindy is not worth mentioning. Yet, for his bettersatisfaction, I am content that he may learn his errors by his ownexperience, so that it be not done at the charges of the company: But Isuppose he will let it fall to the ground, not knowing at which end tobegin. As to the third project, for uniting the trade of the Red Sea with thisof Surat, I recommended to him to use his endeavours; for it is alreadybegun. The peril of this trade in the Guzerat ships is very obvious, owing to pirates in these seas; wherefore I have no doubt that manymerchants may be induced to load their goods in our ships on freight; bywhich means we should make ourselves many useful friends among thesepeople, supply our own wants, save the export of bullion, and for thisyear employ one of the ships belonging to the old account, that shouldreturn in September, receiving the remains of this joint stock, whichwill be sufficient to re-load a great ship, and would otherwise betransported at great loss. This I explained and urged, shewing whichway it might be accomplished, and recommended by him to the commander, the Cape merchants and your factors, as will appear by my letters. Thismeasure, if followed, must evidently be to your profit, even if nothingwere procured towards it by freight from the Guzerat merchants; as, having so many empty vessels for so small a stock, and two pirate shipsfallen into your hands, they had better even go empty as not go. Thereare many good chances in the Red Sea and in the way, and though they didnothing else than bring back the goods you have at Mokha and other portsin that sea, this would repay the charges of the voyage and be ready intime. I find Mr Steel high in his conceits, insomuch that he seems to haveforgotten the respect due to me. He and Mr Kerridge are at variance, which I use every endeavour to assuage. As for his wife, I have toldSteel that she cannot remain in this country without much inconvenienceto us, and injury to his masters, as she could not be allowed herexpences of travelling and living at the charges of the Company; that hemust live frugally and like a merchant, as others do, and must thereforesend home his wife. If he did so, he was welcome to remain in theCompany's service; but otherwise, I should have to take measures withthem both, much against my inclination. Having thus persuaded him, Ilikewise endeavoured to deal in the same manner about Captain Towerson'swife. You know not the danger, the trouble, and the inconvenience, ofgranting these liberties. For this purpose, I persuaded Abraham, hisfather-in-law, to hold fast; stating the gripings of this court, and thesmall hope of any relief by this alliance, from which he expected greatmatters, and endeavoured to persuade him to return quietly. To furtherthis, I wrote to your chief factor, that such things as he had broughtand were vendible, should be bought for your use by bill of exchange, and at such profit to him as might answer both parties; but I utterlyprohibited the taking of his trash, to remain a dead stock on yourhands, on any conditions. Such inconveniences do you bring upon yourhands by these unreasonable liberties. By the strict commands in your letter respecting private trade, as wellrespecting your own servants as others, I find you do not mean him tohave that liberty he expects; for he is furnished to the value of above£1000, first cost here, and Steel to at least £200. This, as he proposessending home his wife, and his merit is so good towards you, I shallsend home; as I presume you will admit of this to get rid of suchcattle. I will not buy these goods however, but order them to be markedand consigned to you, by which you will have the measure in your ownhands. By these liberties, you discourage all your old servants. Somemay do all things for fair words, and some will do nothing for goodactions. I could instance some, gone home two years since, who onlyemployed themselves in managing their own stock, and did no otherbusiness, who now live at home in pleasure; and others that raised theirfortunes on your monies, trading therewith from port to port, and arenow returned rich and unquestioned. Last year a mariner had twenty-six_churles_ of indigo, others many fardles; another had to the value of7000 mahmudies in bastas, chosen at Baroach and purchased with yourmonies, and he would not probably chuse the worst for himself; a fourthdid the same to the value of above £150. I do not mention these thingsout of spite or ill will, but to induce you to equality of proceedingwith your servants, that an impartial restraint be imposed upon all, andthat by such instances your profits may not be all swallowed up. For effecting these purposes, the sending the woman home, and theprosecution of trade to the Red Sea, I have sent back Richard Steel toSurat with the necessary orders. As it is now declared that the kingintends going to Guzerat, I have altered my purpose about the goods andpresents; and have appointed Richard Steel, after having dispatchedother matters, to meet me there with the goods and presents, and hisengineers. I have also sent my advice and directions to Captain Pring, to make out an inventory of all the monies and goods in the two pirateships, and to land the whole, making it over to your stock; to give apassage home to some of the chiefs, and to take the rest into yourservice, referring to you at home to deal with the owners. My own fixedopinion is, that their capture is legal and justifiable, and all theirgoods forfeited. If you are pleased to restore any thing, be it at yourpleasure; but the more rigour you show to these, the better example youwill give to such scandalous piracies; for, if this course be pursued, you may bid adieu to all trade at Surat and in the Red Sea, and let theTurkey Company stand clear of the revenge of the Grand Signior. I went to Asaph Khan on the 6th November, and shewed him the pearlsaccording to promise. As I had been previously informed, he told me thesorts were not fit for that country; yet he was so pleased that I hadkept my word with him, that I believe I may say to you in the words ofPharaoh, "The land is before you, dwell where you will, you and yourservants. " We talked not about the price, but he vowed the utmostsecrecy, and that for my sake he would give more for them than theirvalue, not returning any, and would pay ready money. Of this heprofessed to be in no want, and even offered to lend me whatever Ineeded. I have promised to visit his sister, whom he has made ourprotectress; and indeed, every contentment that good words can give, Ihave received, besides good deeds. When the presents arrive, I shalltake care not to be too liberal to your loss; a little shall serve inthat way. Indeed Asaph Khan himself has given me this advice, sayingthat such things are as well taken in this country sold as given, whichI find by the experience of others to be true. Finishing these conferences in his bed-chamber, Asaph Khan rose to go todinner, having invited me and my people; but he and his friends dinedwithout, appointing us our mess apart, for they scruple to eat with us. I had good cheer, and was well attended, the residue being given to myservants. After dinner, I moved about the debt due by Groo, and told himof the delays. He desired me to say no more, as he had undertaken thatbusiness; that Groo, at his orders, was finishing accounts with ajeweller, and he had given orders, as the money was paid, that it shouldremain in the hands of the cutwall for us. This I found afterwards to betrue, and the cutwall has promised to finish in three days, desiring meto send no more to Asaph Khan on that business. I must not omit to mention here, an anecdote of baseness or favour, callit which you please. When the prisons are full of condemned men, theking commands some to be executed, and sends others to his omrahs, to beredeemed at a price. This he esteems a courtesy, as giving the means ofexercising charity: But he takes the money, and so sells the virtue. About a month before our remove, he sent to me to buy three Abyssinians, whom they suppose to be all Christians, at the price of forty rupeeseach. I answered, that I could not purchase men as slaves, as was doneby others, by which they had profit for their money; but that I waswilling to give twenty rupees each for them in charity, to save theirlives and restore them to liberty. The king was well pleased with myanswer, and ordered them to be sent me. They expected the money, which Iwas in no haste to give, and even hoped it had been forgotten. But theking's words are all written down[217], and are as irrevocable decrees. Seeing that I sent not for the malefactors, his officers delivered theminto the hands of my _procurator_, in my absence this day, taking hisnote for the sixty rupees, which I paid at my return, and set free theprisoners. [Footnote 217: Dixit, et edictum est; fatur, et est factum. --_Purch_. ] Having notice of a new phirmaund sent down to Surat to disarm all theEnglish, and some other restrictions upon their liberty, owing to acomplaint sent up to the prince, that we intended to build a fort atSwally, and that our ships were laden with bricks and lime for thatpurpose, I visited Asaph Khan on the 10th November, to enquire into thismatter. This jealousy arose from our people having landed a few brickson shore, for building a furnace to refound the ship's bell; yet thealarm was so hot at court, that I was called to make answer, when Irepresented how absurd was this imaginary fear, how dishonourable forthe king, and how unfit the place was for any such purpose to us, havingneither water nor harbourage. The jealousy was however so very stronglyimprinted in their minds, because I had formerly asked a river at Gogofor that purpose, that I could hardly satisfy the prince but that weintended some such sinister end. You may judge from this how difficultit were to get a port for yourselves, if you were so disposed. Notwithstanding all remonstrances, this furnace must be demolished, anda _huddey_ of horse sent down to see it done. The disarming of our menwas what chiefly disobliged our people, though the weapons were onlylodged in the custom-house, and those only belonging to the ship'scompany. I told Asaph Khan, that we could not endure this slavery, norwould I stay longer in the country, as the prince gave us one day aphirmaund for our good usage, with a grant of privileges, andcountermand all the next by contradictory orders, in which proceedingsthere was neither honour nor good faith, and I could not answer for mycontinuing to reside among them. Asaph Khan said, he would speak to theking at night on the subject, in the presence of the prince, andafterwards give me an answer. I went again to wait upon Asaph Khan on the 18th, when he made manyprotestations of the Mogul's affection to my sovereign and nation, andto me, and assured me he had risked the prince's disfavour for oursakes, and had full assurance of a complete redress of all ourgrievances: and that he proposed getting the _prigany_ of Surattransferred to himself, which the prince would have to resign, as he hadbeen made governor of Ahmedabad, Cambay, and that territory. To satisfyme that he did not dissemble, he desired me to come at night to court, bringing the king my master's letter and the translation, as the timewas favourable for its delivery; desiring me at the same time to persistin my complaint, and to offer taking leave, when I should see what hewould say for us. Accordingly, I went at night to wait upon the king, whom I found surrounded by a very full court. The king was sitting onthe ground, and when I delivered the letter, it was laid before him, ofwhich he took no great notice, being busy at the time. Asaph Khanwhispered to his father, Etimon Dowlet, desiring him to read the letterand assist us, which he could better do than himself. Etimon Dowlet tookup both letters, giving that in English into the king's hands, and readthe translation to the king, who answered many of the complaints. Oncoming to that point, of procuring our quiet trade, by his authoritywith the Portuguese, he demanded if we wanted him to make peace withthem? I answered, that his majesty knew long since I had offered to begoverned entirely by him, and referred that matter to his wisdom, andwaited therefore to know his pleasure. On this he said, that he wouldundertake to reconcile us, and to cause agreement to be made in hisseas, which he would signify in his answer to my master's letter, inwhich he would farther satisfy his majesty in all his other friendlydesires. Notwithstanding of this, I asked leave to go before to Ahmedabad, tomeet the king's presents, and to prepare for my return home. Upon this, a question arose between the king and the prince, who complained that hederived no profit from us, and was very willing to be rid of us. AsaphKhan then took up the discourse, and plainly told the king, that webrought both profit and security to the port of Surat and to thekingdom, but were very rudely treated by the prince's servants, and thatwe could not continue our trade and residence, unless matters wereamended; for which reason it would be more honourable for his majesty tolicence and protect us, than to treat us discourteously. The princeangrily replied, That he had never wronged us, and had lately given us aphirmaund at the desire of Asaph Khan. It is true, replied Asaph Khan, that you granted him a phirmaund to his satisfaction; but in ten daysyou sent down another, virtually to contradict and annul the former; andas he stood as surety between both, and had undertaken our redress onthe prince's word, the shame and dishonour of this double procedure fellupon him. He said he spoke for no ends, but for the king's honour andjustice, as he owed me nothing, nor I him, and for the truth of hiswords he appealed to me, who complained that our goods were taken awayfrom us by force, and that Rulph, [218] who began this two years ago, would never pay us, and his officers continued the same procedure everyseason. If the prince were weary of the English, he might turn us away;but then he must expect that we would seek for redress at our own handsupon the seas. He demanded whether the king or the prince gave me themeans of living, or, as they did not, at whose expence I was maintained?saying, that I was an ambassador and a stranger, who lived in thiscountry and followed the progress of the king at great charges; and ifour goods continued to be taken from us by force, so that we couldneither get back our goods, nor yet their value in money, it would beimpossible for us to subsist. [Footnote 218: On a former occasion, where this person is mentioned, ithas been said that his name, in the edition of this journal given byChurchill, is written Sulph. From the circumstances in the context atthis place, it is possible that Sulpheckar Khan, or Zulfeccar Khan, governor of Surat under Sultan Churrum, may be here meant. --E. ] This was delivered with some heat, and the king, catching at the wordforce, repeated it to his son, whom he sharply reprehended. The princepromised to see me paid for all that had been taken. He said likewisethat he had taken nothing, having only caused the presents to be sealed;and, as his officers had received no customs on these, he desired tohave them opened in his presence. This I absolutely refused to consentto, telling the king that I only did my duty to my master, in insistingto deliver the presents free from duty, and that, when I had so done, Ishould give the prince full satisfaction in all other things. At thistime, Etimon Dowlet, who had been made our friend by his son Asaph Khan, whispered to the king, and read a clause or two from my master's letter, on which the king made the prince stand aside. Asaph Khan joined in thisprivate conference, which they told me was for our good; and inconclusion, the prince was commanded to suffer all the goods to comequietly to me, and to give me such privileges for our trade as were fit, and as should be proposed by Asaph Khan. The prince would not yield the presents, unless Asaph Khan became hissurety that he should have a share, which he did, and we were then allagreed on that point. The king paid me many compliments in words, andeven gave me two pieces of _pawne_ out of the dish then before him, desiring me to partake of what he was eating. I then took my leave forAhmedabad; and that same night I began my journey, leaving my tents, asI expected to reach that city the next day: But I had to ride twonights, with the intermediate day and half of the next, with excessivelylittle accommodation or refreshment; and arrived at Ahmedabad on the15th at noon. The 8th January, 1618, there was some question about presents by theprince, whom I told that his were ready whenever he was ready to receivethem. He asked me, why I had broken the seals? On which I said, that itwould have been dishonourable and discourteous in me to have deliveredthe king's presents in bonds, and having waited his highness' licenceduring twenty days, but seeing no hope of its arrival, I had been underthe necessity of breaking open the seals. Some heat was likely to havearisen on this subject, but a gentleman from the king, who was sent toobserve what passed between us, told us both that the king commanded ourpresence before him immediately, at a garden where he then was, on theriver side, a coss from the town. The prince went there immediately inhis palanquin, and I followed in a coach, well attended upon by theservants of the king and prince. On my arrival, the women were going in, on which occasion no man dare enter except the prince, who accordinglymade bitter complaints against me for having broke open the seals, taking out from the packages whatever I pleased, without his knowledge. Asaph Khan was called, who was my surety, and the prince laid the blameof all this upon him, but he strenuously denied all knowledge orparticipation; yet I had not accused him, but took it all upon myself, knowing he would deny it, as is the custom, to excuse himself, and Iknew myself better able to bear it. I was then sent for to the water-side, where the king had been sittingin private, and went in, having the presents along with me, but the kingwas gone into the female apartments. Asaph Khan blamed me for breakinghis word, saying, that the prince had shamed him. I answered, throughJaddow, that he well knew I had his consent, of which this man was awitness. He denied this to us both, and when I again said, that, although I would not lay the blame on him, that it was still true, asthis man could witness; Jaddow refused to interpret my answer, saying, that he durst not tell Asaph Khan to his face that he lied. This is aquite usual thing among them; for if any command comes from the kingwhich he afterwards forgets or denies, he that brought the message willdeny it stoutly. I bore up as high as I could, on which some of thegreat men said that it was a great affront, of which no other man dursthave been guilty, while others smiled. I answered, it was by no means sogreat as the prince had often done to me. We thus spent the day, duringwhich the king never appeared, having privately stole away, leaving usall in anxious expectation. At night, word came that the king was gone, when I offered to have gonehome, but was so well attended, that I was in some measure constrainedto force my way. While on the road, new messengers came to seek me, andI had to return to court, without having either eaten or drank. The kingwas not however come back, and I could not get free from my attendants, who yet used me very respectfully. After waiting an hour, a sudden orderwas given to put out all the lights. The king now came in an openwaggon, drawn by bullocks, having his favourite Noormahal along withhim, himself acting as waggoner, and no man near. When he and his womenwere housed, the prince came in on horseback, and immediately called forme into the place where the king was. It was now midnight, and I foundthe king and prince only attended upon by two or three eunuchs. Puttingon an angry countenance, the king, as he had been instructed by his son, told me I had broken my word, and he would trust me no more. I answeredroundly, that I held it fit to give freely, not upon compulsion, and hadcommitted no offence, according to my judgment; and if their customswere so very different from ours, I had erred only from ignorance, andought therefore to be pardoned. After many disputes, the prince offeredhis friendship, with many fair promises, and we were all reconciled. I then opened the chests, gave the king his presents, and the princehis, and sent in those intended for Noormahal. We were about two hoursengaged in viewing them. The king was well pleased with the tapestry, but said it was too coarse, and desired to have a suit of the samequality with the sweet bags. Three articles were detained besides thepresents; and for these the prince said he would pay, as his father hadtaken them. He likewise desired me to come to see him in the morning, promising to be my protector and procurator, which I willingly acceptedin all things except the goods. I waited upon the prince on the 10th, when I was well received, and hadorders for a phirmaund about the murdered man[219]. He likewise made apublic declaration of his reconcilement, desiring all his officers totake notice of it, and act accordingly. He likewise ordered his chief_Raia_ to be in future my procurator, and to draw out whateverphirmaunds I required. I presented to him Captain Towerson, and someothers of the English, whom he received graciously; and, in confirmationof our renewed friendship, he presented me with a robe of cloth ofsilver, promising to be the protector of our nation in all things wecould desire. I then told him about Mr Steel and his workmen, when hedesired me to bring a small present at night to the king, to whom heshould present them, which I did. He kept his word, and spoke in ourfavour to the king, who seemed disposed to entertain them. On thisoccasion I presented Captain Towerson to the king, who called him up, and after a few questions, rose. At the _Gitshel Choes_[220] I presentedMr Steel and his workmen. The king called for Mr Paynter, and gave himten pounds, promising to take him and all the rest into his service. Onthis occasion the king sat all night in a hat which I had given him. [Footnote 219: This circumstance is perhaps explained in the sequel, asrelating to the death of a person at Burhanpoor. --E. ] [Footnote 220: This is probably meant for the same public audiencecalled, in other parts of the journal, the Gazul Khan. --E. ] The 13th, the Dutch came to court, bringing a great present of Chinaware, saunders-wood, parrots, and cloves, but were not allowed toapproach the third degree, or raised platform. After some time, theprince asked me, who they were? I answered, that they were Hollanderswho resided at Surat. He then enquired if they were our friends? Ianswered, that they were of a nation which was dependent upon the kingof England, but not welcome in all parts, and that I did not know theirbusiness. He then said, since they were our friends, that I ought tocall them up. So I was obliged to call upon them, that they mightdeliver their presents, on which occasion they were placed beside ourmerchants, yet without any farther speech or conference. Finally, everything I asked was complied with, or at least promised, and I now waitfor performance and money. I am satisfied, that, without thiscontestation, I had never succeeded in our just demands; for I told theprince's messenger, in the presence of all the English, that if he choseto use force against me or my goods, he certainly might, but it shouldcost blood, for I would set my _chop_ upon his master's ship, and sendher to England. On the 18th I received notice from Surat of the imprisonment of Spraggeand Howard at Burhanpoor, where their house and goods were seized, andtheir lives in question, on the following account:--The cutwall had beendrinking at their house, and one of his men had died that night, onwhich they were accused of having poisoned him, and the cutwall, inexcuse for having been at their house, pretended that he had gone tofetch away a man's wife who was detained by Thomas Spragge. What may bethe truth of this affair I know not; but information has been sent tothe king against them. I went therefore to the prince, who had promisedto undertake all our causes, but could not get speech of him, though Ihad likewise to complain of force having been used against a caravan ofours on the way, notwithstanding a phirmaund from the rajah of thecountry, on both of which subjects I shall present a petition at nightto the king. My trouble with this barbarous and unjust people is beyondall endurance. When at the prince's, I found the promised phirmaunddrawn up indeed, but half of the agreed conditions were omitted, uponwhich I refused to accept it, and desired leave to depart, that I mighttreat with them in the sea. [221] [Footnote 221: This obscure expression seems to imply a threat of takingvengeance, or making reprisals at sea, for the oppressions of the Mogulgovernment against the English trade. --E. ] On the 21st, a command was issued to set free the English at Burhanpoor, and to restore their goods; on which occasion the king observed, that, if they had killed the Mahometan who came to drink at their house, hehad only met with his just reward. Another order was issued, commandingPartap-shah to repay us all exactions whatsoever, and that he shouldhereafter take no duties upon our goods in their way to the sea-port, threatening, in case of failure, to deliver his son into my hands. Onthe 22d, I went in person to receive these phirmaunds, and carried themerchants along with me, together with some pearls the prince was eagerto see, and which were pretended to belong to Mr Towerson. The princehad received some vague accounts of our having pearls to the value oftwenty or thirty thousand pounds, which he hoped to have extracted fromus. When his secretary saw our small pearls, he observed that his masterhad _maunds_ of such, and if we had no better, we might take these away. You may judge how basely covetous these people are of jewels. I told himthat we had procured these from a gentlewoman to satisfy the prince, andas they could not be made better, it was uncivil to be angry withmerchants who had done their best to shew their good will. I then spoke to him about the phirmaunds, when he bluntly told me Ishould have none; for as we had deceived the prince's hopes, he woulddisappoint us. I had asked leave to depart, and I might come to takeleave whenever I pleased. To this I answered, that nothing could pleaseme more, but that I should requite their injustice in another place, forI should now apply to the king, and depend no more on them, as I sawtheir conduct was made up of covetousness and unworthiness. So I aroseto depart, but he recalled me, desiring that I might come next day tothe king and prince together, when I should have complete satisfaction. * * * * * "And now, reader, we are at a stand: some more idle, or more busyspirits, willing either to take their rest, or to exchange their labour;and some perhaps wishing they had the whole journal, and not thuscontracted into extracts of those things out of it which I conceivedmore fit for the public. And, for the whole, myself could have wishedit, but neither with the honourable Company, nor elsewhere, could Ilearn of it; the worthy knight himself being now employed in likehonourable embassage from his majesty to the Great Turk. Yet, to supplythe defect of the journal, I have given thee the chorography of thecountry, together with certain letters of his, written from India tohonourable lords, and his friends in England; out of all which may behewed and framed a delightful commentary of the Mogul and his subjects. Take them therefore, reader, and use them as a prospective glass, bywhich thou mayst take easy and near view of these remote regions, people, rites, and religions. "--_Purchas_. * * * * * In the Pilgrims, in supplement to the journal of Sir Thomas Roe, Purchashas inserted a formal complimentary letter from king James to the GreatMogul, or emperor of Hindoostan, together with another from the Mogul toking James, containing nothing besides hyperbolical expressions ofregard; both of which are here omitted, as entirely devoid of interest, amusement, or information. Purchas has also added several letters saidto have been found among the papers of Sir Thomas Roe, with some otherswhich he says were transcribed from _Sir Thomas Roe's own book_. Asthese letters merely repeat circumstances and opinions already morefully and more methodically expressed in the preceding journal, theycould only have served unnecessarily to swell our pages, without anyadequate advantage, and are therefore omitted. Purchas also informs us that Sir Thomas Roe, before he left the court ofthe Great Mogul on his return for England, requested to be favoured witha recommendatory letter from the Mogul to king James. This request wasgranted with the utmost readiness, and a letter written accordingly; butthe Mogul, or his ministers, shewed much scrupulousness about theplacement of the seal to this letter, lest, if placed under the writing, it might disparage the dignity of the Mogul, or, if placed over theletter, king James might feel disobliged. On this account, the letterwas delivered to Sir Thomas unsealed, and the seal was sent separately, that it might be afterwards affixed, according to the pleasure of theking of England. This seal was of silver, and Purchas has given an engraving, or _facsimile_ of it, consisting of an inner and larger circle, bearing thestyle or title of the reigning king, or _Padishah_ Jehanguire;surrounded circularly by eight smaller circles, containing the series ofhis direct ancestors, from Timor, or Tamerlane, downwards. These are allof course in the Persian language and characters; but Purchas giveslikewise a copy or translation of the same in English letters. It seemedquite superfluous to insert here the Persian _fac simile_, being merelywriting without ornament, armorial bearing, or cognizance. The followingis the series, expressed in English characters; the last being thecentral circle, which contains the name and title of the reigningemperor:-- 1. Ebn Amir Temur Saheb Quran. 2. Ebn Miran Shah. 3. Ebn Mirza Soltan Mohamed. 4. Ebn Soltan Abu Said. 5. Ebn Mirza Amar Shah. 6. Ebn Bahar Padishah. 7. Ebn Humaiun Padishah. 8. Ebn Akbar Padishah. 9. Abu Amozaphar Nurdin Jebanguire Padishah. SECTION VII. RELATION OF A VOYAGE TO INDIA IN 1616, WITH OBSERVATIONS RESPECTING THEDOMINIONS OF THE GREAT MOGUL, BY MR. EDWARD TERRY. [222] INTRODUCTION. According to Purchas, Mr Edward Terry was master of arts, and a studentof Christ Church in Oxford, and went out to India as chaplain to SirThomas Roe. In the first subdivision of this narrative, we have combinedthe observations of Captain Alexander Childe, who was commander of theship James, during the same voyage, under Captain Benjamin Joseph, ofthe ship Charles, who was slain in a sea-fight with a Portuguese carack, off one of the Komoro islands. The notes extracted by Purchas from thejournal of Captain Childe, [223] are so short and unsatisfactory, that wehave been induced to suppress them, except so far as they serve toelucidate the narrative of Terry, in the first subdivision of thissection. --E. [Footnote 222: Purch. Pilgr. II 1464. ] [Footnote 223: Id. I. 606. ] §1. _Occurrences during the Voyage from England to Surat_. Apologies often call truth into question, and having nothing but truthto offer in excuse for this narrative, I omit all unnecessary preface, desiring only that the reader may believe what I have faithfullyrelated. Our fleet, consisting of six goodly ships, the Charles, Unicorn, James, Globe, Swan, and Rose, under the supreme command ofCaptain Benjamin Joseph, who sailed as general in the Charles, ouradmiral ship, fell down from Gravesend to Tilbury-hope on the 3d ofFebruary, 1616. After long and anxious expectation, it pleased God to send us a fairwind at N. E. On the 9th March, when we departed from that road, and setsail for the East Indies. The wind continued favourable till the 16th, at night, when we were in the bay of Biscay, at which time we wereassailed by a most fearful storm, during which we lost sight both of theGlobe and the Rose. The Globe rejoined us on the 26th following, but theRose was no more heard of till six months afterwards, when she arrivedat Bantam. The storm continued with violence from the 16th to the 21st. The 28th we got sight of the grand Canary, and of the Peak of Teneriffe, which is so extremely high that it may be seen in a clear day more thanforty leagues out at sea, as the mariners report. The 31st, beingEaster-day, we passed under the tropic of Cancer, and on the 7th ofApril had the sun in our zenith. The 16th, we met with these windscalled _tornadoes_, which are so variable and uncertain, as sometimes toblow from all the thirty-two points of the compass within the space of asingle hour. These winds are accompanied by much thunder and lightning, and excessive rains, of so noisome a nature, as immediately to causepeople's clothes to stink on their backs; and wherever this rain-waterstagnates, even for a short space of time, it brings forth manyoffensive animalcules. The tornadoes began with us when in about 12° ofN. Latitude, and continued till we were two degrees to the south of theequinoctial line, which we passed on the 28th of April. The 19th of May, being Whitsunday, we passed the tropic of Capricorn, so that we werecomplete seven weeks under the torrid zone. Almost every day, while between the tropics, we saw various kinds offish, in greater abundance than elsewhere. As the whale, or mighty_Leviathan_, whom God hath created to take his pastime in the seas;Dolphins also, and Albicores, with Bonitoes, flying-fishes, and manyothers. Some whales were of an exceeding greatness, which, in calmweather, would often rise and shew themselves above the water, appearinglike vast rocks; and, while rising, they would spout up a great quantityof water into the air, with much noise, which fell down again aroundthem like heavy rain. The dolphin is called, from the swiftness of itsmotion, the arrow of the sea. This fish differs from many others, inhaving teeth on the top of its tongue. It is pleasing to the eye, thesmell, and the taste, having a changeable colour, finned like a roach, covered with very small scales, giving out a delightful scent above allother fishes, and is in taste as good as any. These dolphins are veryapt to follow our ships, not, so far as I think, from any love they bearfor men, as some authors write, but to feed upon what may be thrownoverboard. Whence it comes to pass that they often become food to us;for, when they swim close by the ships, they are struck by a broadinstrument full of barbed points, called a harping-iron, to which a ropeis fastened, by which to pull the instrument and the fish on board. Thisbeautiful dolphin may be taken as an emblem of a race of men, who, undersweet countenances, carry sharp tongues. The bonitoes and albicores aremuch like our mackerels in colour, shape, and taste, but grow to a verylarge size. The flying-fishes live the most unhappy lives of all others, as they are persecuted in the water by the dolphins, bonitoes, andalbicores, and when they endeavour to escape from their enemies in thewater, by rising up in flight, they are assailed by ravenous fowls inthe air, somewhat like our kites, which hover over the water in waitingfor their appearance in the other element. These flying-fishes are likemen who profess two trades and thrive in neither. Early in the morning of the 12th June, we espied our long-wished-forharbour, the bay of Saldanha, [Table-bay] about twelve leagues shortfrom the Cape of Good Hope, into which we came happily to anchor thatsame forenoon. We here found one of the Company's ships, the Lion, commanded by Captain Newport, come from Surat, and homeward-bound forEngland. We made ourselves merry with each other on this happy meeting;and having a fair gale, the Lion sailed on the night of the 14th. Wefound here water in abundance, but little refreshments for our sick men, except fresh fish, as the natives brought us nothing. We remained inthis harbour till the 28th, on which day we departed, the Swan steeringher course for Bantam. The 29th we doubled the Cape of Good Hope, in thelat. Of 35° S. Off this cape there continually sets a most violentcurrent to the westwards, whence it happens, when it is met by a strongcontrary wind, their impetuous opposition occasions so rough a sea thatsome ships have been swallowed up, and many more endangered among thesemountainous waves. Few ships pass this way without encountering a storm. The 22d of July we got sight of the great island of Madagascar, commonlycalled of St Lawrence, being between that island and the main, buttouched not there. Proceeding on our course, on the 1st of August wefell in with a part of the main land of Africa, called Boobam, [224] inlat. 16° 35' S. The variation being 13° 12'. The 5th we drew near thelittle islands of Mohelia, Gazidia, and St Juan de Castro, [Moelia, Hinzuan or Johanna, Mayotta or St Christopher, and Augasi, ] generallyknown by the name of the Komoro islands, in about the lat. Of 12° S. [Footnote 224: The head-land of Mosambique is probably here meant. --E. ] Early in the morning of the 6th of August, our men in the tops lookingout for land, espied a sail about three or four leagues off directly inour course. About noon, the Globe, which was our smallest ship, andsailed better than the rest of the fleet, came up with her on thebroadside to windward, and hailed her according to the custom of thesea, asking whence she came? She answered, indirectly, that she camefrom the sea, and her people insulted ours most outrageously, callingthem thieves, rogues, heretics, and devils; and, in conclusion of theirrude compliments, spoke in the loud language of the cannon's roar, discharging seven pieces of large artillery at our Globe, six of theballs piercing her hull, and maiming some of her men, but killing none. Our Globe replied in the same voice, and afterwards fell astern andstood in for our general and the rest of our fleet, now four sail inall, shewing us the discourtesy of the Portuguese. About three in the afternoon, the Charles, our admiral, came up with thePortuguese ship, which was the admiral of the caracks that sailed thisyear from Lisbon, but had parted from all the rest of their fleet. Whenwithin pistol-shot, Captain Benjamin Joseph, our commander, proceededdeliberately to work, offering treaty before he attempted revenge. So wesaluted her with our trumpets, to which she replied with herwind-instruments. Captain Joseph then called out, that their commandermight come on board, to make satisfaction for the wrong they had done toour consort. They made answer, that they had no boat; on which ourgeneral said he would send them one, and immediately caused his barge tobe manned and sent to the carack, which brought back one of theirofficers and two mean men, with this answer from their commander, thathe had resolved never to leave his ship, to which he might be forced, but would not be commanded to leave her. On receiving this message, Captain Joseph used them civilly who hadbrought it, and commanded them to be shewn our ship, and how she wasprepared to vindicate our honour. This made the poor Portuguese muchafraid, and they desired Captain Joseph to write a few words to theircommander, which, added to their persuasions, might perchance induce himto come to terms. Willing to preserve his honour, and to prevent theeffusion of blood, Captain Joseph caused a few words to be written tothe Portuguese commander, to the following effect:--"Whereas thecommander of the carack has offered violence to our ship the Globe, while sailing peaceably beside him, he is desired to come aboardimmediately, and give satisfaction for that wrong, or else at hisperil, " &c. He then sent back the Portuguese, accompanied by one of ourmaster's mates, carrying the writing, together with this verbal message, "That if he refused to come, he would force him, or sink by his side. "The words of dying men are said to be prophetic, so these his words cameto pass, for he was slain not long after by a great shot from thecarack. Notwithstanding this message, the Portuguese commander remained firmlyto his resolute answer. Wherefore, on the return of our men, CaptainJoseph himself fired the three first shots, which surely did them muchmischief; as we conjectured, by the loud outcry we heard among themafter these shots were fired. The shot now flew thick from both sides;and our captain, chearing his men to behave gallantly, ascended thehalf-deck, where he had not been above ten minutes when a great shotfrom the quarter of the carack deprived him of life in the twinkling ofan eye. It hit him fair in the breast, beating his heart and other partsout of his body, which lay round him among his blood. After he wasslain, our master continued the fight for about half an hour, when, considering that another person was to succeed in the supreme command, and the night approaching, he thought proper to desist, and havingfallen astern, he hung out a flag as a signal of council, to call thecaptain of the vice-admiral on board, Captain Henry Pepwell, who was tosucceed, together with the other masters, that they might consult aboutthe prosecution of this enterprize. As the night was now come, it wasresolved not to proceed any farther for the present. So the carackproceeded on her course, putting up a light on her poop, as if indefiance of us to follow, and about midnight came to anchor under theisland of Moelia; and when we perceived this island, we too let fall ouranchors. Early in the morning of the 7th, before day began to dawn, we preparedfor a new assault, first recommending ourselves to God in prayer. Whenmorning came, we found the carack so close to the shore, and the nearestof our other ships at least a league from us, that we held our hands forthat day, waiting till the carack might weigh and stand out to sea, asfitter there to deal with her. In the afternoon, we chested our slaincommander, and committed him to the deep, over against the isle ofMoelia, omitting any ceremony of firing funeral-guns usual on suchoccasions, that the enemy might not know our loss. A little before night the carack put to sea, when we also weighed andmade sail after her. The day now left us, and our proud enemy, unwilling, as it seems, to have the appearance of escaping by flight, put forth a light on his poop as before, as if for us to follow him, which we did to some purpose. The night being well spent, we againcommended ourselves and our cause to God in prayer. Soon afterwards, theday began to dawn, and appeared as if covered by a red mantle, whichproved a bloody one to many who now beheld the light for the last time. It was now resolved that our four ships were to take their turns insuccession, to endeavour to force this proud Portuguese either to bendor break. Our ship, the Charles, played her part first;[225] and ere shehad been half an hour engaged with her adversary, a shot from the carackhitting one of our iron guns on the half-deck, flew all in pieces, dangerously wounding our new general, and three other mariners who stoodbeside him. Captain Pepwell's left eye was beaten out, and he receivedtwo other wounds in his head, and a third in his leg, a ragged piece ofthe broken shot sticking fast in the bone, which seemed, by hiscomplaining, to afflict him more than the rest. Thus was our newcommander welcomed to his authority, and we all considered his wounds asmortal; but he lived till about fourteen months afterwards, when he diedpeaceably in his bed, on his way back to England. [Footnote 225: This account of the battle is chiefly taken from Terry, who is more particular in his narrative; but Childe says that CaptainPepwell, the new general, gave him leave to begin this day's action, ashis ship sailed better, and that, after three or four broadsides, hegave place to the general. According to modern naval tactics, all fourat once would have assailed the enemy, taking vantage stations on herquarters and bows. --E. ] By the same shot, Mr Richard Hounsell, the master of our ship, had agreat piece of the flesh of his arm carried off, which rendered himunserviceable for a time. The captain and master being thus disabled, deputed their authority to the chief master's mate, who behaved withgreat prudence and resolution. Thus we continued one after the other tofight all day, the vice-admiral and the Globe and James taking theirturns in succession. Between three and four in the afternoon, themainmast of the carack fell overboard, and presently afterwards theforemast and mizen followed, and she had received so many and largewounds in her thick sides, that her case was quite desperate, and shemust soon either yield or perish. Her commander, Don Emanuel de Meneses, a brave and resolute person, stood in for the shore in this distressedcondition, being not far from the island of Gazidia. [226] We pursued asfar as we durst venture, without hazard of shipwreck, but gave over atfive o'clock, when about a league from the shore, which is extremelysteep, and no ground to be had within less than a cable's length of therocks, the shore being moreover to leeward. [Footnote 226: According to Childe, it was the most northern of theislands, named Komoro, or Augasi, not far north from Moelia, where thefight began, --E. ] We now sent off our barge with a flag of truce to speak the carack, andas he waved us with a similar flag, Mr Connock, our chief merchant, whowas employed on this occasion, boldly went aboard the carack, anddelivered a message to Don Emanuel, stating, that he brought an offer oflife and peace if he would accept it; and as he deserved well for hisundaunted valour, so he should be honourably and respectfully treated ifhe would put himself into our hands, and sent to Goa in safety. He, however, as an oak gathering strength from his wounds, [227] andcontemning the misery he could not prevent, resolutely answered MrConnock to the following purpose: "That no misfortune should make himalter his former resolution; for he was determined again to stand out tosea, if possible, and to encounter us again; and then, if forced by fireand sword, he might by bad chance be taken, but he would never yield;and, if taken alive, he hoped to find the respect due to a gentleman, till when we had our answer. " [Footnote 227: Duris, ut ilex tonsa bipennibus-ducit opes animumqueferro. --_Terry. _] Our messenger was thus dismissed, and shortly afterwards this soredistressed ship, being entirely unmanageable for want of masts andsails, was forced by the winds and waves upon the adjacent island ofGazidia or Komoro, where she stuck fast between two rocks. Those whoremained alive in the carack got ashore by means of their boats; andwhen all were landed, willing, as it would seem, to consume what theycould not keep, they set their carack on fire, that she might not becomeour prize. [228] After leaving their ill-fated carack, the poorPortuguese were most inhumanly used by the barbarous islanders, whospoiled them of every thing they had brought on shore for their succour, and slew some of them for opposing their cupidity. Doubtless they hadbeen all massacred, had they not been relieved by two small Arab vesselswho were there engaged in trade, and which, I suppose in hope of a greatreward, took them in, and conveyed them in safety to their own city ofGoa. [Footnote 228: Childe says, he could not say whether she was firedaccidentally or on purpose. --E. ] In the morning of the 9th, Mr Alexander Childe, who commanded one of theEnglish ships, sent his mate, Anthony Fugars, ashore in his long-boat, to see if any of the Portuguese were saved, to fetch such away, and tolearn how she was set on fire. But the carack was still burning, and nota man belonging to her was to be seen. There were many negro islanderson the coast, over against the carack, who held up a flag of truce toinvite the English on shore, but it was impossible to land in thatplace, or any where within three leagues to the east or west, as therocks were all extremely high and rugged. In this long conflict, only five men were lost out of our four ships, three belonging to the admiral, and two out of the James. Besides whom, there were about twenty wounded in our fleet, all of whom afterwardsrecovered. But, of 700 who sailed in the carack, there came not above250 to Goa, as we were afterwards credibly informed. In this fearfulengagement, our ship, the Charles, discharged 375 great shot against theadversary, as reported by our gunners, besides 100 musqueteers who pliedtheir small arms all the time. Neither were the enemy idle, for our shipreceived at least 100 great shot from them, many of which dangerouslytook place in her hull. Our foremast was shot through the middle, ourmainmast wounded, the main stay, and many of the main shrouds, cutasunder. After we had seen the carack set on fire, which was about midnight ofthe 8th, we stood off and on till morning, to see if we might find anything in her ashes. Finding this ineffectual, we sought about for someplace where we might find succour and refreshment for our sick andwounded on shore. The land was very high, and the sea every where toodeep for anchoring, so that it was the 10th before we could find a goodharbour, which was in the S. W. Part of the island, where we anchored. The James came to anchor in twenty-two fathoms, with one of her anchors, while the other was only in fourteen. This harbour was over against atown called Mattoma. This island seemed very pleasant, full of goodly trees, covered all overwith green pasture, and abounding in beeves, goats, poultry, sugar-canes, rice, plantains, lemons, oranges, and cocoa-nuts, with manyother wholesome things; of all which we procured sufficient to relieveour whole company for a small quantity of white paper, a few glassbeads, and penny knives. For instance, we bought as many oranges aswould fill a hat for half a quarter of a sheet of white paper, and allother kinds of provision in the same proportion. The islanders broughtmuch of their fruits to us in their little canoes, which are long andnarrow boats, like troughs, hollowed out of single trees; but theircattle we bought on shore. I observed the people to be straight, well-limbed, and able-bodied men, of a very dark tawny colour. Most ofthe men, and all the women, were entirely naked, except merely enough tohide their parts of shame. Some few of the men wore long garments, afterthe fashion of the Arabs, whose language they spoke, and were likewiseof the Mahometan religion, and so rigid, that they would not suffer usto come near their places of worship. They have good convenientdwellings, and fair sepulchres for their dead. They scorned to live under strict obedience to a king, whose residencewas some miles up the country, as they required to have his leave, whichwas sent for, before they would sell us any provisions. When informed ofour arrival, their king sent a message of welcome to our commander, together with a present of beeves, goats, and choice fruits; in returnfor which, he was well recompensed and contented, by a present of paper, and other English toys. We saw some Spanish money among them, of whichthey made so small account, that some of our men got rials of eight, inexchange for a little paper, or a few beads. What use they made of thepaper, we could not guess. The cocoa-nut tree, of which this island hasabundance, may have the pre-eminence of all trees, in my opinion, by itsuniversal usefulness. Without the help of any other, one may build andfurnish out a ship for sea, with every thing requisite. Of the body ofthis tree may be made timbers, planks, and masts; its gum may serve forpaying the bottom; the rind of the same tree will make sails andcordage; and the large nut, being full of kernel and pleasant liquor, will serve those who navigate the ship both for meat and drink, as alsofor merchandize. Being well stored with these nuts, and other good provisions, after sixdays abode here, the breaches in our ships received in fight being allrepaired, and our men well refreshed, we put again to sea on the 16th ofAugust, with a prosperous wind. On the 24th, we passed under the line, without any heat to offend us, bending our course for Socotora, near themouth of the Red Sea, an island whence comes our Socotorine aloes. Butan adverse wind from the coast of Arabia prevented us from being able tofetch that island, which we passed on the 1st September. In the year before, our English fleet touched at this island, on whichoccasion the petty king came to the water-side, and hearing some of ourwind-instruments, asked if they ever played David's Psalms, which he hadheard of, being a Mahometan. He was answered by one who stood by, thatthey did. On which he observed, that it was an evil invention of him whofirst mingled music with religion; as God, before that, was worshippedin heart, but by this only in sound. I mean not by this story to condemnthe use of music in churches; leaving it to him who bids us praise theLord with stringed instruments and organs, to plead that cause. Missing our port of Socotora, we proceeded on our voyage; and, on the4th of September, we celebrated a solemn funeral in memory of our slaincommander; when, after sermon, the great guns and small arms gave a loudpeal to his honourable remembrance. At night on the 6th September, toour great admiration and fear, the water of the sea seemed as white asmilk. Others of our nation since, passing in the same course, haveobserved the same phenomenon, of which I am yet to learn the cause, asit was far from any shore, and we could find no ground. On the 21st of September we discovered the main land of India; and onthe 22d had sight of Diu and Damaun, cities inhabited by the Portuguese. The 25th we came safely to anchor in Swally roads, within the bay ofCambay, which is the harbour for our fleet while in this part of India, when we were visited by the merchants of the Surat factory, theprincipal of whom was Mr Thomas Kerridge. §2. _Description of the Mogul Empire_ Although this account of Hindoostan, or the Mogul empire in India, bevery incorrect, and in some places hardly intelligible, it is hereretained, as a curious record of the knowledge possessed on that subjectby the English about 200 years ago. We have two editions of this accountin Purchas, one appended to his narrative of Sir Thomas Roe, and theother in this relation by Terry, which he acknowledges to be the mostcorrect, and which therefore is alone retained. On the present occasion, instead of encumbering the bottoms of our pages with the display ofnumerous explanatory notes on this topographical list of places andprovinces, a running commentary has been introduced into the text, sofar as seemed necessary, yet distinguished sufficiently from theoriginal notices by Terry. The observations, by way of commentary, aremarked, as this paragraph. --E. * * * * * The large empire of the Great Mogul is bounded on the east by thekingdom of Maug;[229] on the west by Persia; on the north by themountains of Caucasus [Hindoo-Kho] and Tartary; and on the south by theocean, the Deccan, and the bay of Bengal. The Deccan is divided amongthree Mahometan kings and some Indian rajahs. This extensive monarchy ofthe Mogul is called, in the Persian language, by the Mahometaninhabitants, Indostan or Hindoostan, meaning the land of the Hindoos, and is divided into _thirty-seven_ distinct and large provinces, whichwere anciently separate kingdoms. Their several names, with theirprincipal cities, their rivers, situations, and borders, together withtheir length and breadth, I shall now enumerate, beginning at thenorth-west. [Footnote 229: Meckely, now a province of the Birman empire; perhapscalled Maug in the text, from a barbarous tribe called the Muggs, orMaugs, who inhabit, or did inhabit, the mountains east of Bengal, andwho are said to have laid waste and depopulated the Sunderbunds, orDelta of the Ganges. --E. ] 1. _Candahar, _ the chief city of which is ofthe same name, lies N. W. From the heart or centre of the Mogulterritory, bordering upon Persia, of which kingdom it was formerly aprovince. 2. _Cabul, _ with its chief city of the same name, lies in the extremestnorth-west corner of this empire, bordering to the north on Tartary fora great way. The river Nilab takes its rise in this country, and runs tothe southwards, till it discharges its waters into the Indus. --This is amaterial error. The Nilab is the main stream of the Indus, and rises farto the north in Little Thibet, a great way N. E. Of Cabul. The river ofCabul is the Kameh, which runs S. E. And joins the Nilab, Sinde, orIndus, a few miles above Attock. Another river, in the south of Cabul, called the Cow, or Coumul, follows a similar direction, and falls intothe western side of the Indus, about forty miles below the Kameh. --E. 3. _Multan, _ Moultan or Mooltan, having its chief city of the same name, is south [south-east] from Cabul and Candahar, and on the west joinswith Persia. --This is an error, as Hajykan, to be noticed next inorder, is interposed. --E. 4. _Hajacan, _ or Hajykan, the kingdom of the Baloches, who are a stoutwarlike people, has no renowned city. The famous river Indus, called_Skind_ [Sind or Sindeh] by the inhabitants, borders it on the east, andLar, or Laristan, meets it on the west, a province belonging to ShahAbbas, the present king of Persia. --In modern geography, the country ofthe Ballogees, or Baloches, is placed considerably more to thenorth-west, bordering on the south-east of Candahar; and the Sewees areplaced more immediately west of this province. The seats, however, ofbarbarous hordes, in a waste and almost desert country, are seldomstationary for any continuance; and the Ballogees and Sewees areprobably congeneric tribes, much intermixed, and having no fixedboundaries. We have formerly seen the Baloches, or a tribe of thatnation, inhabiting the oceanic coast of Persia about Guadel, and one oftheir tribes may have been in possession of Hajykan, which perhapsderived its name from their chief or khan having made the Haji, orpilgrimage of Mecca. The assertion that Hajykan joins with Lar, orLaristan, is grossly erroneous, as the eastern provinces of Persia whichconfine with Hindoostan, are Segistan in the north, bordering withCandahar, and Mekran in the south, bordering with the provinces ofHindoostan which are to the west of the Indus. Lar or Laristan is aPersian province within the gulf of Persia, at least 850 English milesfrom the most westerly part of Hindoostan. --E. 5. _Buckor_, or Backar, its chief city being Buckor-Suckor. The riverIndus pervades this province, which it greatly enriches. --In modernmaps, the city of Backar is placed in a small island in the middle ofthe Indus, at the junction of the Dummoddy from the N. E. Suckar, whenceprobably our word sugar is derived, is given as a distinct place, on thewestern side of the Indus. Indeed, in the map of India given in thePilgrims, Backar and Suckar are made distinct places, but theirsituations are reversed. --E. 6. _Tatta_, with its chief city of the same name. This province isexceedingly fertile and pleasant, being divided into many islands by theIndus, the chief arm of which meets the sea at Synde, a place veryfamous for curious handicrafts. --The most western branch of the Indus, called the Pitty river, from a place of that name on its western shorenear the mouth, is probably that here meant. That branch leads toLarry-bunder, the sea-port of Tatta; and the Synde of Terry is probablythe Diul-sinde of other authors, a place situated somewhat in thisneighbourhood, but which is not to be found in modern maps. --E. 7. _Soret_, the chief city of which is called Janagur, is a small, butrich province, which lies west from Guzerat, having the ocean to thesouth. --Soret is not now recognized as a distinct province or district, but seems the modern Werrear, the western district of Guzerat, Rhadunpoor appearing to be its chief town. Janagur, in this district, ison the west side of the river Butlass, or Banass, which runs into thehead of the gulf of Cutch. --E. 8. _Jesselmere_, of which the chief city has the same name, joins withSoret Backar and Tatta, being to the south of Soret and Tatta, andhaving Backar on the west. 9. _Attock_, the chief city being of the same name, lies on the eastside of the Indus, which parts it from Hajykan. --This account iserroneous, as Attock-Benares is much farther up the river Indus thanHajykan, having the eastern extremity of Cabul on the opposite side ofthe Indus. --E. 10. _Punjab_, which signifies the _five waters_, because it is seatedamong five rivers, all tributaries to the Indus, which, somewhat to thesouth of Lahore, form only one river. This is a great kingdom, andextremely rich and fertile. Lahore, the chief city, is well built, verylarge, populous, and rich, being the chief mart of trade in all India. 11. _Chishmeere_, Kyshmir, Cachmir, or Cashmere, its chief city beingSiranakar. The river Phat passes through this country, and, aftercreeping about many islands, falls into the Indus. --The rivers ofCashmere, here called the Phat, are the Chota-sing, or Jellum, in the N. And the Jellium, or Colhumah, in the S. Which unite in the W. To formthe Jhylum or Babut, the Phat or Bhat of Terry and Purchas, and theHydaspes of the ancients, one of the _five rivers_ of the Indus. Thepresent capital of Cashmere is likewise named Cashmere; but has in itsclose neighbourhood a town or fortress called Sheergur, the Siranakar ofTerry. --E. 12. _Banchish_, with its chief city named Bishur. It lies east southerlyfrom Cashmere, from which it is divided by the river Indus. --No suchprovince or city is to be found in the modern geography of Hindoostan, neither any names in the indicated direction that have any resemblanceto these. In the map of the Mogul empire in the Pilgrims, appended tothe journal of Sir Thomas Roe, Banchish and Bishar are placed on a rivernamed the Kaul, being the _fourth_ of the Punjab or five rivers, counting from the west, and therefore probably the Ravey, or Hydraotesof the ancients. Near the head of that river, and to the east ofCashmere, is a town, called Kishtewar, which may possibly have been theBishur of Terry: But there is a little-known district near the head ofthe Jumna, S. S. E. From Cashmere, named Besseer, that has considerableresemblance in sound to Bishur, and is in the indicated direction. --E. 13. _Jeugapor_, with its chief city likewise so named, lies on the Kaul, one of the five rivers that water the Punjab. --The only place upon theRavey, which answers to the Kaul, which has the smallest resemblancewith Jengapor, or Jenupur, as it is likewise called by Purchas, isShawpoor, N. E. From Agra. Yet Jaypoor, otherwise called Jyenagur, inAjmeer, is more probably the district and city here meant, though not inthe Punjab. --E. 14. _Jenba_, its chief city so called, lies east of the Punjab. --Thismay possibly be Jambae, north of Lahore. --E. 15. _Delli_, or Delhi, its chief city being of the same name, liesbetween Jenba and Agra, the river Jemni, which runs through Agra andfalls into the Ganges, begins in this province. Delhi is a great andancient city, the seat of the Mogul's ancestors, and where most of themare interred. --The Jumnah, or Jemni of Terry, rises far to the north ofDelhi, in the high-peaked mountain of Cantal to the east ofCashmere. --E. 16. _Bando_, its chief city so called, borders with Agra on thewest. --No such name is to be found in modern maps. --E. 17. _Malwa_ is a very fertile province, of which Rantipore is the chiefcity. --In the other edition of this list in the Pilgrims, Ugen, Nar, andSering, or Oojain, Indore, and Serong, are said to have been thecapitals of Malwa. The Rantipore of Terry may have been that now calledRamypoor. --E. 18. _Chitor_, an ancient and great kingdom, its chief city being of thesame name. --Chitore is in the south of Ajmeer. In the edition of thislist given by Purchas at the end of the journal of Sir Thomas Roe, hegives the following account of Chitore: "Chitore stands upon a mightyhill, and is walled round in a circuit of ten English miles. There stillremain at this place above an hundred temples, the palace of theancient kings, and many brave pillars of carved stone. There is but oneascent to the place, cut out of the solid rock, and passing through fourmagnificent gateways. Within the walls are the ruins of 100, 000 housesof stone, but it is now uninhabited. This was doubtless one of theresidences of Porus, and was won from the Ranna, his descendant, byAkbar shah, the father of the reigning Mogul. The Ranna fled into thefastnesses of his mountains, and took up his residence at Odeypoor; butwas at length induced, in 1614, to acknowledge the Mogul as his superiorlord, by Sultan Churrum, third son of the present emperor ShahJehanguire. This kingdom lies N. W. From Candeish, N. E. From Guzerat, andin the way between Agra and Surat; the Ranna keeping among the hills tothe west of Ahmedabad. --"_Purch. _ 19. _Guzerat_ is a goodly and mighty kingdom, and exceedingly rich, which incloses the bay of Cambay. The river Taptee waters the city ofSurat, which trades to the Red Sea, to Acheen, and to divers otherplaces. 20. _Khamdesh_, the chief city of which is Brampore, [Boorhanpoor, orBurhampore, ] which is large and populous. Adjoining to this province isa petty prince called Partap-shah, tributary to the Mogul; and this isthe most southerly part of the Mogul dominions. 21. _Berar_, the chief city of which is called Shahpoor. Thesouthernmost part of this province likewise bounds the Mogulempire. --The Shahpoor of Terry may possibly be Saipoor in the north ofBerar. In modern days, the chief cities of the great province or kingdomof Berar, now belonging to a Mahratta chief; are Nagpoor, Ruthunpoor, and Sonepoor. --E. 22. _Narwar_, its chief city being Gohud, is watered by a fair riverthat falls into the Ganges. --This province of Narwar, now called Gohud, from its chief city, is to be carefully distinguished from Marwar to thewestwards. --E. 22. _Gualior_, with its chief city of the same name, in which the Mogulhas a great treasury in bullion. In this city likewise there is anexceedingly strong castle, in which state prisoners are kept. --Gualioris, properly speaking, in the same province or district with Gohud. --E. 24. _Agra_ is a principal and great province, its chief city being ofthe same name. From Agra to Lahore, the two chief cities of this empire, the distance is about 400 English miles, the country in all thatdistance being without a hill, and the road being planted the whole waywith trees on both sides, forming a beautiful avenue. 25. _Sanbal_, with its chief city of the same name. The river Jumnaparts this province from that called Narwar. --This province and city arenot to be traced in modern maps. --E. 26. _Bakar_, the chief city of which is Bikaneer, lies on the west sideof the Ganges. --Nothing resembling either name can now be found in theindicated situation in modern maps. Bicaneer is a district and town inthe desert, far west of the Ganges. --E. 27. _Nagracutt_, or Nakarkut, with its chief city of the same name, inwhich there is a temple most richly adorned, the ceiling and pavementbeing of plates of pure gold. In this place they have an idol calledMatta, visited yearly by many thousands of the Indians, who, fromdevotion, cut out part of their tongues, which they sacrifice at hisaltar. In this province likewise, there is another famous place ofpilgrimage, Jallamaka, where there are daily to be seen incessanteruptions of fire, out of cold springs and hard rocks, before which theidolaters fall down and worship. --In the edition of this list, appendedby Purchas to the journal of Sir Thomas Roe, this district and city aresaid to be in the northeasternmost confines of the Mogul dominions, N. E. From the head of the bay of Bengal. This description is however entirelyat variance with the accompanying map in the Pilgrims, in whichNagracutt and its capital are placed east from the Punjab; the capitalbeing on the easternmost of the five rivers of the Setlege, and towardsits head. In the edition of this list given by Churchill, as an appendixlikewise to Sir Thomas Roe, Nagracutt is said to lie to the north, between the Punjab and Jamboe. In our best modern maps, no district orplace, having the smallest resemblance in name, is to be found in any ofthese indicated situations. Terry gives no reference as to situation; sothat we may conjecture that Nagracutt may refer to Nucker-gaut, thepassage of the Ganges through the Sewalick mountains, between Serinagurand Hindoostan. --E. 28. _Siba_, the chief city of which is Hardwair, or Hurdwar, where thefamous river Ganges seems to begin, and issues out of a rock, which thesuperstitious Gentiles imagine resembles a cow's head, which animal theyhold in the highest veneration; and to this place they resort daily ingreat numbers to wash themselves. 29. _Kakares_, the principal cities being Dankalec and Purhola. Thiscountry is very mountainous, and is divided from Tartary by themountains of Caucasus, being the farthest north of any part of the Moguldominions. --In the map of Purchas, this province or kingdom is calledKares, and is placed directly to the north of where the Ganges breaksthrough the Sewalick mountains, above Hurdwar, at the _Cow's-mouth_. Inthat direction are the little-known districts of Serinagur, Badry-cazram, and others; but no names either of towns or districts thatin the least resemble those given by Terry. --E. 30. _Gor_, its chief city of the same name. This province is full ofmountains, and in it begins the river Persilis, which discharges itswaters into the Ganges. --In the other copy of this list in Purchas, sooften already referred to, Gor is said to lie in the northern part ofthe Mogul dominions. From this, and the mountainous nature of thecountry, as stated by Terry, it may possibly be Gorcah, one of thelittle-known _twenty-four rajahs_, to the west of Napaul; and thePersilis of Terry may be the Sursutty or the Marshandy, both headstreams of the Gunduck. --E. 31. _Pitan_, and its chief city so named. The river Kanda waters thisprovince, and falls into the Ganges on its confines. --This is probablyone of the _twenty-four_ rajahs, called Peytahn, in the mountainouscountry to the north of Oude, which is watered by several of the headstreams of the Gunduck and Booree or Rapty rivers. --E. 32. _Kanduana_, the chief city of which is called Karhakatenka. Theriver Sersili parts it from Pitan; and this province, with Pitan andGor, are the north-east boundaries of this great monarchy. --Theindicated connection with Gor and Pitan, or Gorcah and Peytahn, wouldlead to suppose that Napaul is here meant. Karhakatenka may possibly besome name of Catmandoo, or may have some reference to Kyraut, a districtin the east of Napaul, bordering on Bootan. The river Sersili of thisdistrict is evidently the Persilis mentioned in Gor, and may refer tothe Sursutty. --E. 33. _Patna_, the chief city of which has the same name. The riverGanges bounds this province on the west, and the Sersilis on the east. It is a very fertile province. --In the former edition of this list byPurchas, this province is said to be watered by four rivers, the Ganges, Jumna, Sersili, and Kanda, all of which rivers here unite. Patna isseated on the south side of the Ganges, which is joined a little wayhigher up by the Jumna. Opposite to Patna the Gunduck falls into theGanges, probably the Kanda of Purchas, of which the Sursutty, formerlysupposed to be the same with the Sersili, or Persilis, is one of thefeeders. Patna is well known as a principal city of Bahar. --E. 34. _Jesual_, the chief city of which is called Rajapore, lies east ofPatna. --This may possibly refer to the district and city of Hajipoor inBahar, to the N. E. Of Patna. --E. 35. _Mevat_, the chief city of which province is Narnol, is a verymountainous country. --In the map of the Pilgrims, Mevat and Narnol areplaced to the east of Jesual, but the geography of this part ofHindoostan in that map is utterly unintelligible, and no conjecture canbe hazarded respecting either Mevat or Narnol. --E. 36. _Udessa_, the chief city of which is called Jokanat, is the mosteasterly territory in the kingdom of the Mogul. --In the other edition ofthis list given by Purchas, Udessa, or Udeza, is said to border on thekingdom of Maug, a savage people dwelling between this province and thekingdom of Pegu. Its eastern situation would lead to the province ofChittagong or Islambabad. The Maugs, or Mugs, are probably the barbarousmountaineers of Meckley to the north of Aracan; but no names in modernmaps have any reference to Udessa, Udeza, or Jokanat, unless Jokanat besome strange corruption of Chittagong. --E. 37. _Bengal_, a mighty and fertile kingdom, bounded by the gulf or bayof the same name, into which the river Ganges discharges itself by fourgreat branches, into which it divides. --In the other edition of thislist, by Purchas, so often referred to, Ragamahall and Dakaka, orRajemal and Dacca, are mentioned as the chief cities of Bengal. It wouldrequire far too long a commentary, to explain some farther ignorantindications of the havens and provinces of Bengal, contained in thatformer list, and in the map of the Pilgrims; both being so faulty inpositions, and so corrupted in the names, as to be useless andunintelligible. By the labours of Rennel, as since extended and improvedby Arrowsmith, the geography of Bengal is now as completely elucidatedas that of Britain. --E. Here I must take notice of a material error in our geographers, who, intheir globes and maps, make Hindoostan and China neighbours, though manylarge countries are interposed between them. Their great distance mayappear, from the long travels of the Indian merchants, who are usuallymore than two years in their journey and return, between Agra and thewall of China. The length of these before-named provinces, from N. W. ToS. E. Is at least 1000 cosses, every Indian coss being two English miles. From N. To S. The extent is about 1400 miles. The greatest breadth, fromN. E. To S. W. Is about 1500 miles. The northernmost part is in 43° ofnorth latitude. [230] [Footnote 230: The northern mountains of Cashmere, are only in lat. 35°30' N. So that the 43° of the text is probably a mistake for 34°. --E. ] To give an exact account of all these provinces, were more than I amable to undertake; yet, from what I have observed of a few, I mayventure to conjecture concerning the rest, and I am convinced that theGreat Mogul, considering the extent of his territories, his wealth, andthe rich commodities of his dominions, is the greatest known monarch ofthe east, if not in the whole world. This widely extended sovereignty isso rich and fertile, and so abounding in all things for the use of man, that it is able to subsist and flourish of itself, without the help ofany neighbour. To speak first of food, which nature requires most. Thisland abounds in singularly good wheat, rice, barley, and various othergrains, from which to make bread, the staff of life. Their wheat growslike ours, but the grain is somewhat larger and whiter, of which theinhabitants make most pure and well-relished bread. The common peoplemake their bread in cakes, which they bake or fire on portable ironhearths or plates, which they carry with them on their journeys, usingthem in their tents. This seems to be an ancient custom, as appears fromthe instance of Sarah in our bible, when she entertained the angels. To their bread, they have great abundance of other excellent provisions, as butter and cheese in great plenty, made from the milk of theirnumerous cows, sheep, and goats. They have likewise a large animal, called a buffalo, having a thick smooth skin without hair, the femalesof which give excellent milk. Their flesh resembles beef, but is not sosweet or wholesome. They have plenty of venison of several kinds, as redand fallow deer, elks, and antelopes. These are not any where kept inparks, the whole empire being as it were a forest, so that they are seenevery where in travelling through the country; and they are free gamefor all men, except within a certain distance of where the king happensto reside. They have also plenty of hares, with a variety of land andwater fowl, and abundance of fish, which it were too tedious toenumerate. Of fowls, they have geese, ducks, pigeons, partridges, quails, pheasants, and many other good sorts, all to be had at lowrates. I have seen a good sheep bought for about the value of ourshilling: four couple of hens for the same price; a hare for a penny;three partridges for the same money; and so in proportion for otherthings. The cattle of this country differ from ours, in having a great bunch ofgrisly flesh on the meeting of their shoulders. Their sheep have greatbob-tails of considerable weight, and their flesh is as good as ourEnglish mutton, but their wool is very coarse. They have also abundanceof salt, and sugar is so plentiful, that it sells, when well refined, for two-pence a pound, or less. Their fruits are numerous, excellent, abundant, and cheap; as musk-melons, water-melons, pomegranates, pomecitrons, lemons, oranges, dates, figs, grapes, plantains, which arelong round yellow fruits, which taste like our Norwich pears; mangoes, in shape and colour like our apricots, but more luscious, and ananas orpine-apples, to crown all, which taste like a pleasing compound ofstrawberries, claret-wine, rose-water, and sugar. In the northern partsof the empire, they have plenty of apples and pears. They have everywhere abundance of excellent roots, as carrots, potatoes, and others;also garlic and onions, and choice herbs for sallads. In the southernparts, ginger grows almost every where. I must here mention a pleasant clear liquor called _taddy_, which issuesfrom a spungy tree, growing straight and tall without boughs to the top, and there spreads out in branches resembling our English colewarts. Theymake their incisions, under which they hang small earthenware pots; andthe liquor which flows out in the night is as pleasant to the taste asany white wine, if drank in the morning early, but it alters in the dayby the sun's heat, becoming heady, ill-tasted and unwholesome. It is amost penetrating medicinal drink, if taken early and in moderation, assome have experienced to their great happiness, by relieving them fromthe tortures of the stone, that tyrant of maladies and opprobrium ofthe doctors. At Surat, and thence to Agra and beyond, it only rains during one seasonof the year, which begins when the sun comes to the northern tropic, andcontinues till he returns again to the line. These violent rains areushered in, and take their leave, by most fearful tempests of thunderand lightning, more terrible than I can express, but which seldom do anyharm. The reason of this may be the subtile nature of the air, breedingfewer _thunder-stones_, than where the air is grosser and more cloudy. In these three months, it rains every day more or less, and sometimesfor a whole quarter of the moon without intermission. Which abundance ofrain, together with the heat of the sun, so enriches the soil, whichthey never force by manure, that it becomes fruitful for all the rest ofthe year, as that of Egypt is by the inundations of the Nile. After thisseason of rain is over, the sky becomes so clear, that scarcely is asingle cloud to be seen for the other nine months. The goodness of thesoil is evident from this circumstance, that though the ground, afterthe nine months of dry weather, looks altogether like barren sands, itputs on an universal coat of green within seven days after the rainsbegin to fall. Farther to confirm this, among the many hundreds of acresI have seen in corn in India, I never saw any that did not grow up asthick as it could well stand. Their ground is tilled by ploughs drawn byoxen; the seed-time being in May or the beginning of June, and theharvest in November and December, the most temperate months in all theyear. The ground is not inclosed, except near towns and villages, whichstand very thick. They do not mow their grass for hay as we do; but cutit either green or withered, when wanted. They sow abundance of tobacco, but know not the way to cure it and make it strong, as is done inAmerica. The country is beautified by many woods, in which are a great variety ofgoodly trees; but I never saw any there of the kinds we have in England. In general their trees are full of sap, which I ascribe to the fatnessof the soil. Some have leaves as broad as bucklers; others are muchdivided into small portions, like the leaves of ferns. Such are those ofthe tamarind tree, which bears an acid fruit in a pod somewhat like ourbeans, and is most wholesome to cool and purify the blood. One of theirtrees is worthy of being particularly noticed: Out of its branches theregrow certain sprigs or fibres, which hang downwards, and extend tillthey touch the ground, in which they strike roots, and becomeafterwards new trunks and firm supporters to the boughs and arms; whencethese trees come in time to grow to a great height, and extend to anincredible breadth. [231] All trees in the southern parts of India areperpetually clothed in verdure Their flowers rather delight the eye thanplease the sense of smelling, having beautiful colours, but few of them, except roses and one or two other kinds, are any way fragrant. [Footnote 231: The Banian tree, a species of Indian fig. --E. ] India is watered by many goodly rivers, the two chief of which are theIndus and the Ganges. There is this remarkable in the water of theGanges, that a pint of it weighs less by an ounce than that of any otherriver in the empire; and therefore, wherever the Mogul happens toreside, it is brought to him for his drinking. Besides rivers, there areabundance of well-fed springs, on which they bestow great cost in manyplaces, constructing many stone-buildings in the form of ponds, whichthey call _tanks_, some of which exceed a mile or two in circuit, maderound or square or polygonal, girt all round with handsome stone-walls, within which are steps of well-dressed stone encompassing the water, forpeople to go down on every aide to procure supplies. These tanks arefilled during the rainy season, and contain water for the supply ofthose who dwell far from springs or rivers, till the wet season againreturns. Water, the most ancient beverage in the world, is the commondrink of India, being more sweet and pleasant than ours, and agreesbetter with the constitution in this hot country than any other liquor. Some small quantity of wine is made among them, which they call arrack, but is not common, being distilled from sugar, and the spicy rind of atree, which they call _jagra_. This is very wholesome, if used inmoderation. Many of the people, who are strict in their religion, use nowine at all. They use a liquor which is more wholesome than pleasant, called _cohha_; being a black seed boiled in water, which does not muchalter the taste of the water, but is an excellent helper of digestion, serving to quicken the spirits, and to purify the blood. [232] There isalso another help for digestion and to comfort the stomach, used bythose who refrain from wine. This is an herb called betel, or _paune_, its leaf resembling that of our ivy. They chew this leaf along with ahard nut, called _areka_, somewhat like a nutmeg, mixing a little purewhite lime among the leaves; and when they have extracted the juice, they throw away the remains. This has many rare qualities: It preservesthe teeth, comforts the brain, strengthens the stomach, and prevents abad breath. [Footnote 232: The author here describes coffee, now so universallyknown in Europe. --E. ] Their houses are generally very mean, except in the cities, where I haveseen many fair buildings. Many of the houses in these are high, withflat roofs, where, in the cool of the mornings and evenings, they enjoythe fresh air. Their houses have no chimneys, as they use no fires, except for dressing their victuals. In their upper rooms, they have manywindows and doors, for admitting light and air, but use no glass. Thematerials of their best houses are bricks and stone, well squared andbuilt, as I have observed in Ahmedabad, which may serve as an instancefor all. This is an extensive and rich city, compassed about with astrong stone-wall, and entered by twelve handsome gates. Both in theirtowns and villages, they have usually many fair trees among the houses, being a great defence against the violence of the sun. These trees arecommonly so numerous and thick, that a city or town, when seen at adistance from some commanding eminence, seems a wood or thicket. The staple commodities of this empire are indigo and cotton. To producecotton, they sow seeds, which grow up into bushes like our rose-trees. These produce first a yellow blossom, which falls off, and leaves a podabout the size of a man's thumb, in which the substance at first ismoist and yellow. As this ripens, it swells larger, till at length itbursts the covering, the cotton being then as white as snow. It is thengathered. These shrubs continue to bear for three or four years, whenthey have to be rooted out, and new ones substituted. Of this vegetablewool, or cotton, they fabricate various kinds of pure white cloth, someof which I have seen as fine as our best lawns, if not finer. Some ofthe coarser sorts they dye in various colours, or stain with a varietyof curious figures. The ships that go usually from Surat to Mokha, are of exceeding greatburden, some of them, as I believe, exceeding 1400 or 1600 tons; butthey are ill built, and though they have good ordnance, they are unablefor any defence. In these ships there are yearly a vast number ofpassengers: As, for instance, in that year in which we left India, therecame 1700 persons, most of whom went not for profit, but out ofdevotion, to visit the sepulchre of Mahomet at Medina near Mecca, about150 leagues from Mokha. Those who have been upon this pilgrimage areever after called _hoggeis_, [_hajim_] or holy men. This ship, fromSurat for the Red Sea, begins her voyage about the 20th of March andreturns to Surat about the end of September following. The voyage isshort, and might easily be made in two months; but during the longseason of the rains, and a little before and after, the winds are mostlyso violent that there is no putting to sea without extreme hazard. Thecargo of this ship, on its return, is usually worth £200, 000 sterling, mostly in gold and silver. Besides this, and the quantities of moneywhich come yearly out of Europe, which I do not pretend to calculate, many streams of silver flow continually thither, and there abide. It islawful for all to bring in silver, and to carry away commodities, but itis a capital crime to carry away any great sums. All the coin or bullion that comes to this country is presently melteddown and refined, and coined with the stamp of the Mogul, being his nameand title in Persian characters. This coin is purer silver than anyother that I know, being of virgin silver without alloy, so that in theSpanish dollar, the purest money in Europe, there is some loss. Theirmoney is called _rupees_, which are of divers values, the meanest beingworth two shillings, and the best about two shillings and nine-pence. This is their general money of account. There is in Guzerat a coin ofinferior value, called _mamoodies_, worth about twelve-pence each. Boththese and the rupees are likewise coined in halves and quarters; so thatthree-pence is the smallest piece of current silver in the country. Thatwhich passes current for small change is brass money, which they call_pices_, of which three, or thereabout, are worth an English penny. These are made so massy, that the brass in them, when put to other uses, is well worth the quantity of silver at which they are rated. Theirsilver money is made both square and round; but so thick, that it neverbreaks or wears out. For farther commodities; India yields great store of silk, which theyweave very ingeniously, sometimes mixed with gold or silver. They makevelvets, sattins, and taffetas, but not so rich as those of Italy. Thiscountry also produces many drugs and gums, and particularly the gum-lac, from which hard sealing-wax is made. The earth also yields abundantminerals, as lead, iron, copper, and brass, and, as they say, silver;yet, though this be true, they need not work their silver mines, beingalready so abundantly supplied with that metal from other nations. Theyhave spices from other countries, and especially from Sumatra, Java, andthe Molucca islands. They have curious pleasure gardens, planted withfruit-trees and delightful flowers, to which nature lends daily suchample supply, that they seem never to fade. In these places they havepleasant fountains, in which to bathe, and other delights by variousconveyances of water, whose silent murmurs sooth their senses to sleep, in the hot season of the day. Lest this remote country might seem an earthly paradise, without anyinconveniences, I must notice that it contains many lions, tigers, wolves, and jackals, which are a kind of wild dogs, besides many othernoxious and hurtful animals. In their rivers they have many crocodiles, and on the land many overgrown snakes and serpents, with other venomousand pernicious creatures. In the houses we often meet with scorpions, whose stinging is most painful and even deadly, unless the part beimmediately anointed with an oil made of scorpions. [233] The abundanceof flies in those parts is likewise an extreme annoyance; as, in theheat of the day, their numbers are so prodigious, that we cannot havepeace or rest for them in any part. They cover our meat the moment it isset on the table, wherefore we are obliged to have men standing ready todrive them away with napkins, while we are eating. In the night, likewise, we are much disquieted with musquetos, like our gnats, butsomewhat less; and, in the cities, there are such numbers of largehungry rats, that they often bite people as they sleep in their beds. [Footnote 233: This is a mere fancy, as any bland oil is equallyefficacious. --E. ] In this country the winds, which are called monsoons, blow constantly, or altering only a few points, for six months from the south, and othersix months from the north. The months of April and May, and thebeginning of June, till the rains come, are extremely hot; and the wind, which then sometimes blows gently over the parched ground, becomes soheated, as much oppresses all who are exposed to it: Yet God somercifully provides for our relief, that most commonly he sends sostrong a gale as greatly tempers the sultry air. Sometimes the windblows very high during the hot and dry season, raising up vastquantities of dust and sand, like dark clouds pregnant with rain, andwhich often prodigiously annoy the people among whom they fall. Butthere is no country without its inconveniences; for the wise Disposer ofall events hath attempered bitter things with sweet, to teach mankindthat there is no true or perfect contentment to be found, but only inthe kingdom of God. This country has many excellent horses, which the inhabitants know wellhow to manage. Besides those bred in the country, they have many of theTartarian, Persian, and Arabian breeds, which last is considered as thebest in the world. They are about as large as ours, and are valued amongthem at as dear a rate as we usually esteem ours, perhaps higher. Theyare kept very daintily, every good horse being allowed one man to dressand feed him. Their provender is a species of grain called _donna_, somewhat like our pease, which are boiled, and then given cold to thehorses, mixed with coarse sugar; and twice or thrice a week they havebutter given them to scour their bodies. There are likewise in thiscountry a great number of camels, dromedaries, mules, asses, and somerhinoceroses. These are huge beasts, bigger than the fattest oxen to beseen in England, and their skins lie upon their bodies in plaits orwrinkles. They have many elephants, the Great Mogul having not fewer than 1400 forhis own use, and all the nobles of the country have more or less, somehaving to the number of an hundred. Though the largest of allterrestrial animals, the elephants are wonderfully tractable, exceptthat they are mad at times; but at all other times, a little boy is ableto rule the largest of them. I have seen some thirteen feet high; but Ihave been often told that some are fifteen feet in height at the least. Their colour is universally black, their skins very thick and smooth, and without hair. They take much delight to bathe themselves in water, and they swim better than any beast I know. They lie down and rise againat pleasure, as other beasts do. Their pace is not swift, being onlyabout three miles an hour; but they are the surest footed beasts in theworld, as they never endanger their riders by stumbling. They are themost docile of all creatures, and of those we account merely possessedof instinct, they come nearest to reason. Lipsius, _Cent_. 1, _Epist_. 50, in his observations, taken from others, writes more concerning themthan I can confirm, or than any can credit, as I conceive; yet I canvouch for many things which seem to be acts of reason rather than ofmere brute sense, which we call instinct. For instance, an elephant willdo almost any thing which his keeper commands. If he would have himterrify a man, he will make towards him as if he meant to tread him inpieces, yet does him no hurt. If he would have him to abuse a man, hewill take up dirt, or kennel water, in his trunk, and dash it in hisface. Their trunks are long grisly snouts, hanging down betwixt theirtusks, by some called their hand, which they use very dexterously on alloccasions. An English merchant, of good credit, told me the following story of anelephant, as having happened to his own knowledge at Ajimeer, the placewhere the Mogul then resided:--This elephant used often to pass throughthe bazar, or market-place, where a woman who there sold herbs used togive him a handful as he passed her stall. This elephant afterwards wentmad, [234] and, having broken his fetters, took his way furiously throughthe market-place, whence all the people fled as quickly as possible toget out of his way. Among these was his old friend the herb-woman, who, in her haste and terror, forgot to take away her little child. On comingto the place where this woman was in use to sit, the elephant stopped, and seeing the child among the herbs, he took it up gently in his trunk, and laid it carefully on a stall under the projecting roof of a househard by, without doing it the smallest injury, and then continued hisfurious course. A travelling Jesuit, named Acosta, relates a similarstory of an elephant at Goa, as from his own experience. --The king keepscertain elephants for the execution of malefactors. When one of these isbrought forth to dispatch a criminal, if his keeper desires that theoffender be destroyed speedily, this vast creature will instantly crushhim to atoms under his foot; but if desired to torture him, will breakhis limbs successively, as men are broken on the wheel. [Footnote 234: This temporary madness of the male elephants is usual inthe rutting season. --E. ] The Mogul takes great delight in these stately animals, and often, whenhe sits in state, calls for some of the finest and largest to bebrought, which are taught to bend before him, as in reverence, when theycome into his presence. They often fight before him, beginning theircombats like rams, by running furiously against each other, and buttingwith their foreheads. They afterwards use their tusks and teeth, fighting with the utmost fury, yet are they most careful to preservetheir keepers, so that few of them receive any hurt in theserencounters. They are governed by a hooked instrument of steel, madelike the iron end of a boat-hook, with which their keepers, who sit ontheir necks, put them back, or goad them on, at pleasure. The king has many of his elephants trained up for war; each of whichcarries an iron gun about six feet long, which is fastened to a strongsquare frame of wood on his back, made fast by strong girths or ropesround his body. This gun carries a bullet about the size of a smalltennis-ball, and is let into the timber with a loop of iron. The fourcorners of the wooden frame have each a silken banner on a short pole, and a gunner sits within, to shoot as occasion serves, managing the gunlike a harquebuss, or large wall-piece. When the king travels, he isattended by many elephants armed in this manner, as part of his guard. He keeps many of them likewise, merely for state, which go before him, and are adorned with bosses of brass, and some have their bosses made ofsilver, or even of gold; having likewise many bells jingling about them, in the sound of which the animal delights. They have handsome housings, of cloth, or velvet, or of cloth of silver, or cloth of gold; and, forthe greater state, have large royal banners of silk carried before them, on which the king's ensign is depicted, being a lion in the sun. Thesestate-elephants are each allowed three or four men at least to wait uponthem. Other elephants are appointed for carrying his women, who sit inpretty convenient receptacles fastened on their backs, made of slightturned pillars, richly covered, each holding four persons, who sitwithin. These are represented by our painters as resembling castles. Others again are employed to carry his baggage. He has one very fineelephant that has submitted, like the rest, to wear feathers, but couldnever be brought to endure a man, or any other burden, on his back. Although the country be very fertile, and all kinds of provisions cheap, yet these animals, because of their vast bulk, are very chargeable inkeeping; such as are well fed costing four or five shillings each, daily. They are kept out of doors, being fastened with a strong chain byone of their hind legs to a tree, or a strong post. Thus standing out inthe sun, the flies are often extremely troublesome to them; on whichoccasions they tread the dry ground into dust with their feet, and throwit over their bodies with their trunks, to drive away the flies. Themales are usually mad once a year after the females, at which time theyare extremely mischievous, and will strike any one who comes in theirway, except their own keeper; and such is their vast strength, that theywill kill a horse or a camel with one blow of their trunks. This furylasts only a few days; when they return to their usual docility. Atthese times they are kept apart from all company, and fettered withstrong chains to prevent mischief. If by chance they get loose in theirstate of phrenzy, they run at everything they see in motion; and, inthis case, the only possible means of stopping them is by lighting akind of artificial fire-works called wild-fire, the sparkling andcracking of which make them stand still and tremble. The king allows four females to each of his great elephants, which arecalled their wives. The testes of the males are said to lie about hisforehead, and the teats of the female are between her fore-legs. Shegoes twelve months with young. The elephant is thirty years old beforehe attains his full growth, and they live to seventy or eighty years ofage. Although very numerous, elephants are yet so highly prized inIndia, that some of the best are valued at a thousand pounds or more. §3. _Of the People of Hindoostan, and their Manners and Customs_. The whole inhabitants of Hindoostan were anciently Gentiles, ornotorious idolaters, generally denominated Hindoos, hot ever since thetime of Tamerlane they have been mixed with Mahometans. [235] There are, besides, many Persians, Tartars, Abyssinians, and Arminians, and somefew of almost every nation in Asia, if not in Europe, that reside here. Among these are some Jews, but not esteemed, for their very name isproverbial, as a term of reproach. In stature, the natives of Hindoostanare equal to ourselves, being in general very straight and well-made, for I never saw any deformed person in that country. They are of a darktawny or olive colour, having their hair as black as a raven, but notcurled. They love not to see either a man or a woman very fair, as theysay that is the colour of lepers, which are common among them. Most ofthe Mahometans, except their molahs or priests, or such as are old andretired, keep their chins shaved, but allow the hair on their upper-lipsto grow long. They usually shave all the hair from their heads, leavingonly one lock on their crowns for Mahomet to pull them by up to heaven. Both among the Gentiles and Mahometans they have excellent barbers. Thepeople often bathe and wash their bodies, and anoint themselves withperfumed oils. [Footnote 235: The Mahomedans made extensive conquests in India longbefore the era of Timor. --E. ] The dresses of the men and women differ very little from each other, andare mostly made of white cotton cloth. In fashion, they sit close tothe shape to the middle, and from thence hang loose to below the knee. Under this they wear long close breeches down to their ancles, crumpledabout the small of their legs like boots. Their feet are put bare intotheir shoes, which are made like slippers, that they may be readily putoff on entering their houses, the floors of which are covered withexcellent carpets of the country manufacture, as good as any made inTurkey or Persia. Instead of these carpets, some have otherfloor-cloths, according to the quality of the owner. On these they sitwhen conversing or eating, like tailors on the shop-board. The men'sheads are covered by turbans, being sashes, or long webs of thin cloth, white or coloured, wreathed many times about. They do not uncover theirheads in making reverence, instead of which they bow their bodies, placing the right hand on the top of the head, after which they touchthe earth with that hand, as if indicating that the party saluted maytread upon them if he please. Those who are equals take each other bythe chin or beard, as Joab did Amasa; but salute in love, not intreachery. The Mahometan women, except such as are poor or dishonest, never appearabroad. Though not fair, they are all well favoured, have their headscovered with veils, and their hair hanging down behind, twisted withsilk. Those of quality are decorated with many jewels hung around theirnecks, and about their wrists and arms; and they have several holesround their ears in which they hang pendents, besides that every womanhas a hole in her nostrils, in which to wear a ring, which seems to havebeen an ancient ornament, being mentioned in the Old Testament. Theirwomen are happy above all others I have ever heard of; in the ease withwhich they bear their children, being one day able to ride with theirinfants unborn, and to ride again the next with their child in theirarms. The language of the common people of this country, called Hindoostanee, is smooth, and easily pronounced, and is written from left to right, aswe do. The learned tongues are the Persian and Arabic, which are writtenbackwards, from right to left, like the Hebrew. There is but littlelearning among them, which may be owing to the scarcity of books, whichare all in manuscript, and therefore few and dear; but they are a peopleof good capacity, and were they to cultivate literature among them, would assuredly produce many excellent works. They have heard ofAristotle, whom they name _Aplis_, and have some of his writingstranslated into Arabic. The noble physician, Avicenna, was a native ofSamarcandia, the country of Tamerlane, and in this science they possessgood skill. The most prevalent diseases of this country are dysenteries, hot fevers, and calentures, in all which they prescribe abstinence as aprincipal remedy. The filthy disease produced by incontinence islikewise common among them. They delight much in music, having manyinstruments, both stringed and wind; but, to my ears, their music seemedall discordant. They write many pretty poems, and compose histories andannals of their own country. They profess great skill in astrology, andthe king places great confidence in men of that profession, so that hewill not undertake a journey, nor do any thing whatever of importance, unless after his wizard has indicated a prosperous hour for theundertaking. The idolaters begin their year on the 1st of March, and the Mahometansat the instant when the sun enters Aries, as calculated by theirastrologers. From which time the king keeps a festival, called the_norose_, or nine days, for which time it continues, like that made byAhasuerus in the third year of his reign. On this occasion, all hisnobles assemble, bringing great gifts, which he repays with princelyrewards. Being myself present on this occasion, I beheld most incredibleriches, to my amazement, in gold, pearls, precious stones, and manybrilliant vanities. I saw this festival celebrated at Mandoa, where theMogul has a most spacious house or palace, larger than any I everbeheld, in which the many beautiful vaults and arches evince theexquisite skill of his artists in architecture. At Agra he has a palace, in which are two large towers, at least ten feet square, covered withplates of pure gold. The walls of his houses have no hangings, on account of the heat, butare either painted or beautified with a white lime, purer even than thatwe term Spanish. The floors are either paved with stone or are made oflime and sand, like our Paris plaster, and are spread with rich carpets. None lodge within the King's house but his women and eunuchs, and somelittle boys, whom he always keeps about him for a wicked use. He alwayseats in private among his women, being served with a great variety ofexquisitely dressed meats, which being proved by his taster, are putinto golden vessels, as they say, covered and sealed up, and brought inby the eunuchs. He has meats made ready at all hours, and calls forthem at pleasure. These people do not feed freely, as we do, on fulldishes of beef or mutton, but use much rice, boiled up along with piecesof flesh, or dressed in a variety of ways. They have not many roasted orbaked meats, but stew most of their meat. Among their many dishes, Ishall only notice one, called by them _deupario_. This is made ofvenison cut into slices, to which are put onions and sweet herbs, withsome roots, and a little spice and butter, forming the most savoury dishI ever tasted; and I almost think it is the same dish that Jacob madeready for his father Isaac when he got his blessing. In this kingdom there are no inns or houses of entertainment fortravellers and strangers. But, in the cities and large towns, there arehandsome buildings for their reception, called _serais_, which are notinhabited, in which any passengers may have rooms freely, but must bringwith them their bedding, cooks, and all other necessaries for dressingtheir victuals. These things are usually carried by travellers oncamels, or in carts drawn by oxen; taking likewise tents along withthem, to use when they do not find serais. The inferior people ride onoxen, horses, mules, camels, or dromedaries, the women riding in thesame manner as the men; or else they use a kind of slight coaches on twowheels, covered at top, and close behind, but open before and at thesides, unless when they contain women, in which case they are close allround. These coaches will conveniently hold two persons, besides thedriver, and are drawn by a pair of oxen, matched in colour, many of thembeing white, and not large. The oxen are guided by cords which gothrough the middle cartilage of the nose, and so between the horns intothe hand of the driver. The oxen are dressed and harnessed like horses, and being naturally nimble, use makes them so expert, that they will gotwenty miles a-day or more, at a good pace. The better sort ride onelephants, or are carried singly on men's shoulders, in a slight thingcalled a _palanquin_, like a couch, but covered by a canopy. This wouldappear to have been an ancient effeminacy used in Rome, as Juvenaldescribes a fat lawyer who filled one of them: _Causidici nova, cam venial lectica Mathonis; plena ipso--_ They delight much in hawking, and in hunting hares, deer, and other wildanimals. Their dogs of chase somewhat resemble our greyhounds, but aremuch less, and do not open when in pursuit of their game. They useleopards also in hunting, which attain the game they pursue by leaping. They have a very cunning device for catching wild-fowl, in the followingmanner:--A fellow goes into the water, having the skin of any kind offowl he wishes to catch, so artificially stuffed, that it seems alive. Keeping his whole body under water except his face, which is covered bythis counterfeit, he goes among the wild-fowl which swim in the water, and pulls them under by the legs. They shoot much for their amusementwith bows, which are curiously made of buffaloe's horn, glewed together, their arrows being made of small canes, excellently headed andfeathered, and are so expert in archery, that they will kill birdsflying. Others take great delight in managing their horses. Though theyhave not a quarter of a mile to go, they will either ride on horsebackor be carried, as men of any quality hold it dishonourable to go on footany where. In their houses, they play much at that most ingenious game which wecall chess, or else at draughts. They have likewise cards, but quitedifferent from ours. Sometimes they are amused by cunning jugglers, ormountebanks, who allow themselves to be bitten by snakes which theycarry about in baskets, immediately curing themselves by means ofcertain powders which they smell to. They are likewise often amused bythe tricks of apes and monkeys. In the southern parts of Hindoostan, there are great numbers of large white apes, some of which are as tallas our largest greyhounds. Some of those birds which make their nests ontrees are much afraid of the apes, and nature has instructed them in asubtle device to secure themselves, by building their nests on the mostextreme twigs, and hanging them there like purse-nets, so that the apescannot possibly come to them. Every city or great town in India has markets twice a-day, in the coolof the morning just after sun-rise, and again in the evening a littlebefore it sets; and in these they sell almost every thing by weight. Inthe heat of the day, every one keeps within doors, where those of anyrank lie on couches, or sit cross-legged on carpets, having servantsabout them, who beat the air with fans of stiffened leather, or thelike, to cool them. While thus taking their ease, they often call theirbarbers, who tenderly grip and beat upon their arms and other parts oftheir bodies, instead of exercise, to stir the blood. This is a mostgratifying thing, and is much used in this hot climate. The Mahometans and Hindoos are much to be commended for theirtruthfulness as servants; for a stranger may safely travel alone amongthem with a great charge of money or goods, all through the country, having them for his guard, and will never be neglected or injured bythem. They follow their masters on foot, carrying swords and bucklers, or bows and arrows, for their defence; and so plentiful are provisionsin this country, that one may hire them on very easy terms, as they donot desire more than five shillings each moon, paid the day after thechange, to provide themselves in all necessaries; and for this smallpittance give diligent and faithful service. Such is their filial piety, that they will often give the half of these pitiful wages to theirparents, to relieve their necessities, preferring almost to famishthemselves rather than see them want. Both among the Mahometans and Hindoos there are many men of mostundaunted courage. The _Baloches_ are of great note on this accountamong the Mahometans, being the inhabitants of _Hjykan_, adjoining tothe kingdom of Persia; as also the Patans, taking their denominationfrom a province in the kingdom of Bengal. [236] These tribes dare looktheir enemies in the face, and maintain the reputation of valour at thehazard of their lives. Among the many sects of the Hindoos, there is butone race of warriors, called _Rashbootes_, or Rajaputs, many of whomsubsist by plunder, laying in wait in great troops to surprise poorpassengers, and butchering all who have the misfortune to fall intotheir hands. These excepted, all the rest of the natives are in generalpusillanimous, and had rather quarrel than fight, being so poor inspirit, in comparison with Europeans, that the Mogul often says, proverbially, That one Portuguese will beat three of them, and oneEnglishman three Portuguese. [Footnote 236: This is a strange mistake, confounding the city of Patna, in Bengal, in the east of Hindoostan, with the Patans, a race ofmountaineers between Cabul and Candahar, far to the west of India, called likewise Afgans, and their country Afghanistan. --E. ] In regard to arms for war, they have good ordnance, which, so far as Icould learn, were very anciently used in this country. [237] I havealready described the iron pieces carried on elephants. They havesmaller guns for the use of their foot-soldiers, who are somewhat longin taking aim, but come as near the mark as any I ever saw. All theirpieces are fired with match, and they make excellent gun-powder. Theyuse also lances, swords, and targets, and bows and arrows. Their swordsare made crooked like faulchions, and very sharp; but, for want of skillin tempering, will break rather than bend; wherefore our sword-blades, which will bend and become straight again, are often sold at highprices. I have seen horsemen in this country, thus accoutered, carryingas it were a whole armory at once; a good sword by their sides, underwhich a sheaf of arrows; on their back a gun fastened with belts, abuckler on their shoulders; a bow in a case hanging on their left side, and a good lance in their hand, two yards and a half long, with anexcellent steel head. Yet, for all these weapons, dare he not resist aman of true courage, armed only with the worst of all these. The armiesin these eastern wars often consist of incredible multitudes, and theytalk of some which have exceeded that we read of in the Bible, whichZerah, king of Ethiopia, brought against Asia. Their martial musicconsists of kettle-drums and long wind-instruments. In their battles, both sides usually begin with most furious onsets; but, in a short time, for want of good discipline, they fall into disorder, and one side isrouted with much slaughter. [Footnote 237: Vertoman says the Portuguese who deserted at the firstdiscovery of India, and entered into the service of the native princes, taught them this art. --_Purch_. I have somewhere read, many years ago, but cannot recollect theauthority, "That, when Alexander besieged a certain city in India, theBrachmans, by the power of magic, raised a cloud of smoke around thewalls, whence broke frequent flashes of lightning, with thunder, and thethunderbolts slew many of his soldiers. " This would infer the veryancient use of fire-arms of some kind in India. --E. ] The Mahometans have fair places of worship, which they call _mesquits_, well built of stone. That side which looks to the westwards is aclose-built wall, while that towards the east is erected on pillars, thelength being from north to south. At the corners of their great mosques, in the cities, there are high turrets or pinnacles, called _minarets_, to the tops of which their molahs or priests resort at certain times ofday, proclaiming their prophet in Arabic, in these words, --_Alla illaAlla, Mahomet resul Alla_; that is, There is no God but God, and Mahometis the ambassador of God. This is used instead of bells, which theycannot endure in their temples, to put religious persons in mind oftheir duty. On one occasion, while Mr Coryat was residing in Agra, hegot up into a turret over against the priest, and on hearing thesewords, he contradicted him, calling out, in a loud voice, --_La Alla illaAlla, Hazaret Esa Ebn-Alla_; there is no God but God, and Christ, theSon of God, is his prophet. He farther added, that Mahomet was animpostor, in any other country of Asia, in which Mahomet is zealouslyfollowed, this bold attempt had surely forfeited his life, with all thetortures which cruelty could invent, or tyranny inflict; but in thiscountry every one is permitted to follow his own religion, and may evendispute against theirs with impunity. In regard to their burials, every Mahometan of quality provides a fairsepulchre for himself and his family, in his life-time, surrounding aconsiderable space of ground with a high wall, and generally in theneighbourhood of some tank, or else near springs of water, that they maymake pleasant fountains. Within the enclosure, he erects a round orsquare tomb, either on pillars or of closed walls, with a door forentrance. The rest of the enclosure is planted with trees and flowers, as if they would make the elysian fields of the poets, in which theirsouls may repose in delight. They have many such goodly monuments builtin memory of those they esteem as saints, of whom they have an amplecalendar, in these there are lamps continually burning, and thither manyresort in blind devotion, to contemplate the happiness enjoyed by these_peires_, as they call the holy men. Among many sumptuous pilesdedicated to this use, the most splendid of them all is to be seen at_Secuadra_, a village three miles from Agra. This was begun by AkbarShah, the father of the present king, and finished by his son, thereigning Mogul. Akbar lies here interred, and Jehanguire Shah means tobe here buried when he dies. The molahs, or priests of the Mahometans, employ much of their time asscribes, doing business for other men, having liberty to marry as wellas the laity, from whom they are no way distinguished by their dress. Some live retiredly, spending their time in meditation, or in deliveringprecepts of morality to the people. They are in roach esteem, as areanother set called _Seids_, who derive their pedigree from Mahomet. Thepriests neither read nor preach in the mosques; yet there is a set formof prayers in Arabic, not understood by most of the people, but whichthey repeat as fluently as the molahs. They likewise repeat the name ofGod, and that of Mahomet, a certain number of times every day, tellingover their beads, like the misled papists, who seem to regard the numberof prayers more than their sincerity. Before going into their mosquesthey wash their feet, and, in entering, put off their shoes. Onbeginning their devotions, they stop their ears, and fix their eyes, that no extraneous circumstances may divert their thoughts, and thenutter their prayers in a soft and still voice, using many wordssignificantly expressive of the omnipotence, goodness, eternity, andother attributes of God. Likewise many words full of humility, confessing their unworthiness with many submissive gestures. Whilepraying, they frequently prostrate themselves on their faces, acknowledging that they are burdens upon the earth, poisonous to theair, and the like, and therefore dare not look up to heaven, but comfortthemselves in the mercy of God, through the intercession of their falseprophet. Many among them, to the shame of us Christians, pray five tunesa-day, whatever may happen to be their interruptions of pleasure orprofit. Their set times are at the hours of six, nine, twelve, three, and six, respectively. The manner in which they divide the day is quite different from us; asthey divide the day and the night each into four equal parts, which theydenominate _pores_, and these again are each subdivided into eightsmaller parts, called _grees_. [Hence each _pore_ contains three of ourhours, and each _gree_ is equal to 22-1/2 of our minutes. ] These aremeasured, according to an ancient custom, by means of water, droppingfrom one small vessel into another, beside which there always standservants appointed for the purpose, who strike with a hammer upon aconcave plate of metal, like the inner portion of a plate, hung by awire, thus denoting the _pores_ and _grees_ successively as theypass. [238] Like the mother and her seven sons, mentioned in theMaccabees, such is the temperance of many, both among the Mahometans andGentiles, that they will rather die than eat or drink of any thingforbidden by their law. Such meats and drinks as their law allows, theyuse only in moderation, to satisfy nature, not to please theirappetites, hating gluttony, and esteeming drunkenness a sin, as itreally is, or a second madness; and indeed their language has only oneword, mest, for a drunkard and a madman. [Footnote 238: This device for measuring time is the same with the_clepsydra_, or water-clocks, of the ancients. --_Purch. _] They keep yearly a solemn feast, or Lent, which they call _Ram jan_, [Ramadan] about the month of August, which continues a whole moon;during which time, those who are strict in their religious observances, avoid the embraces of their women, and abstain from meat or drink solong as the sun is above the horizon, but eat after it sets, at theirpleasure. Towards the close of this Lent, or ramadan, they consecrateone day of mourning, in memory of their departed friends; on whichoccasions, I have seen many of the meaner people making bitterlamentations. Besides this ordinary and stated time of sadness, manyfoolish women are in use, oft times in the year, so long as theysurvive, to water the graves of their husbands or children with thetears of affectionate regret. On the night succeeding the day of generalmourning, they light up innumerable lamps, and other lights, which theyset on the sides and tops of their houses, and all other mostconspicuous places, taking no food till these are burnt out. When theramadan is entirely ended, the most devout Mahometans assemble at somenoted mosque, where some portion of the _Alcoran_ is publicly read; thisbeing their holy book, like our Bible, which they never touch withoutsome mark of reverence. They keep a festival in November, which theycall _Buccaree_, signifying the _ram-feast_; on which occasion they killand roast a ram, in memory, as they say, of the ram which redeemedIshmael, when about to be sacrificed by his father Abraham. They havemany other feasts or holidays consecrated to Mahomet, and their_pieres_, or pretended saints. They have the books of Moses, whom they name _Moosa curym Alla_, therighteous of God. Abraham they call _Ibrahim calim Alla_, the faithfulof God. Thus Ishmael is called the true sacrifice of God; David is named_Dahoode_, the prophet of God; Solomon is _Seliman_, the wisdom of God, and so forth; all neatly expressed, as the former instances, in shortArabic epithets. In honour of these our scripture worthies, theyfrequently sing songs or ditties of praise; and, besides, all of them, except those of the ruder sort, when at any time they happen to mentionour Saviour, always call him _Hazaret Eesa_, the Lord Jesus; and everspeak of him with respect and reverence, saying, that he was a good andjust man, who lived without sin, and did greater miracles than were everperformed before or since. They even call him _Rhahew Alla_, whichsignifies the breath of God, but cannot conceive how he could be theSon of God, and therefore deny that. Yet the Mahometans look upon us asunclean, and will neither eat with us, nor of any thing that is cookedin our vessels. There are many men among the Mahometans called _Dervises_, whorelinquish the world, and spend their days in solitude, expecting arecompence in a better life. The strict and severe penances these menvoluntarily endure, far exceed all those so much boasted of by theRomanist monks. Some of these live alone on the tops of hills, remotefrom all society, spending their lives in contemplation, and will ratherdie of famine than move from their cells, being relieved from devotionby those who dwell nearest them. Some again impose long fasts uponthemselves, till nature be almost exhausted. Many of those whom theycall religious men, wear no garments beyond a mere clout to cover theirshame, and beg for all their provisions, like the mendicant friars ofEurope. These men usually dwell about the outskirts of the cities andtowns, like the man mentioned by our blessed Saviour at the city of the_Gadarens_, who had devils, and wore no clothes, neither abode in anyhouse, but dwelt among the tombs. They make little fires during the day, sleeping at night among the warm ashes, with which they besmear theirbodies. These men never suffer a razor to come upon their heads, andsome of them let their nails grow like to bird's claws, as it is writtenof Nebuchadnezzar, when driven out from among the society of men. Thereis also a sort of men among them called _mendee_, who often cut andslash their flesh with knives, like the priests of Baal. I have seenothers, who, from supposed devotion, put such massy fetters of iron ontheir legs, that they are hardly able to move, yet walk in that mannermany miles upon pilgrimages, barefooted, upon the parching ground, tovisit the sepulchres of their deluding saints; thus, _tantum religiopotuit suadere malorum_, taking more pains to go to hell than anyChristian that I know does to attain heaven. These do not marry. SuchMahometans as choose to marry, are allowed four wives by the law ofMahomet, but they keep as many concubines as they can maintain. Thepriests content themselves with one wife. Notwithstanding their polygamy, such is the violent jealousy of theselustful Mahometans, that they will scarcely allow even the fathers andbrothers of their beloved wives or concubines to converse with them, except in their own presence. Owing to this restraint, it has becomeodious for such women as have the reputation of virtue, to be seen atany time by strangers. If any of them dishonour their husbands beds, or, being unmarried, are found incontinent, even their own brothers will putthem to death rather than they should escape punishment; and for suchunnatural actions they shall be commended, rather than called inquestion. Yet is there full toleration for harlots, who are as littleashamed of receiving visits as the men are of frequenting their houses. The women of any fashion are waited upon by eunuchs instead ofwomen-servants; and these eunuchs are deprived in their youth of everything that can provoke jealousy. Their marriages are solemnised in greatpomp. After the molah has joined their hands, with certain ceremoniesand words of benediction, they begin their revels at the first watch ofthe night. Whether the man be poor or rich, he mounts on horseback, attended by his friends, having many _oressets_, or great lights, carried before him, and accompanied by drums, and wind-instruments ofmusic, and various pageantry. The woman follows with her friends, incovered coaches. And having thus paraded through the principal places ofthe city or town, they return home and partake of a banquet, the men andwomen being in separate apartments. They are mostly married at the ageof twelve or thirteen, the matches being made by their mothers. §4. _Of the Sects, Opinions, Rites, Priests, and other Circumstances ofthe Hindoo Religion; with other Observations_. The Hindoos[239] are distributed into eighty and four several sects, allof which differ materially in opinions. This has often filled me withwonder; but I know that they are all deluded by Satan, who is the fatherof division. Their illiterate priests are called _Bramins_, being thesame with the _Brachmanni_ of the ancients; and, for aught I couldlearn, are so sottishly ignorant and unsteady, that they know not whatthey believe. They have little round-built temples, which they call_pagodas_, in which are images in most monstrous shapes, which theyworship. Some of them dream, of Elysian fields, to which their soulspass over a Styx or Acheron, and there assume new bodies. Others holdthat ere long, this world shall have an end, after which they shall livehere again, upon a new earth. They talk of four books which were sentthem about 6000 years ago by their prophet _Ram_, two of which weresealed up and might not be opened, the other two being read by theBramins only. They say that there are seven orbs, above which is theseat of God; and they hold that God knoweth not of petty things, or, ifhe doth, regardeth them not. They circumscribe God in place ordimensions, alleging that he may be seen, but far off as in a mist, andnot near or clearly. They believe in the existence of devils or evilspirits; but that they are so bound in chains, as to be incapable ofdoing hurt. They call man Adam, from the first man of that name; whosewife, as they say, when tempted with the forbidden fruit, swallowed itdown; but, as her husband was about to do the same, it was stopped inhis throat by the hand of God: Whence men have a protuberance in thatpart, which we call the _pomum adami_, which women have not. [Footnote 239: By Terry, the Hindoos are uniformly denominated the_Gentiles_, a word of vague and general meaning, merely signifyingidolaters, or unbelievers, literally the nations, as contradistinguishedfrom the Jews. By some authors, the natives of Hindoostan are calledGentoos, a word of uncertain origin. The term of Hindoo seems the moreappropriate name; at least it has now become universal. --E. ] As anciently among the Jews, the priesthood is hereditary with thispeople; every son of a Bramin being a priest, and marries with thedaughter of a Bramin. So also among all the Hindoos, the men take theirwives among the daughters of those who are of the same tribe, sect, andoccupation, with their own fathers. Thus the son of a merchant marries amerchant's daughter, and every man's son that lives by his labour, marries the daughter of one of the same profession with himself, so thatthey never advance themselves to higher situations. The Hindoos take butone wife, of whom they are not so fearful as are the Mahometans of theirnumerous women, for they are suffered to go abroad. They are alwaysmarried very young, at six or seven years of age, their parents makingthe contracts, and they come together when twelve years old. Theirnuptials are celebrated with as much pomp and jollity as those of theMahometans. The habits of the Hindoos differ little from those of theMahometans, already described; but many of their women wear rings ontheir toes, and therefore go barefooted. They have likewise broad ringsof brass, or of more valuable metal, according to their rank and wealth, which they wear about the small of their legs, being made to put off andon. These seem to resemble the tinkling ornaments about the feet, mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, or the ornaments of the legs, ancientlyin use among the Jewish women. They have also such on their arms. Thelaps of their ears are pierced when young, and the hole is dailystretched and widened, by things put in on purpose, so that it at lengthbecomes large enough to hold a ring as broad as a little saucer, madehollow in its edges to contain the flesh. Both men and women wash theirbodies every day before they eat, and they sit entirely naked at theirfood, excepting only the covering of modesty. This outward washing, asthey think, tends to cleanse them from sin, not unlike the Pharisees inscripture, who would not eat with unwashed hands. Hence, they ascribe acertain divine influence to rivers, but above all to the Ganges, dailyflocking thither in great companies, and throwing in pieces of gold andsilver, according to their devotion or abilities, after which they washthemselves in the sacred stream. Both men and women paint theirforeheads, or other parts of their faces, with red or yellow spots. In regard to their grosser opinions, they do not believe in theresurrection of the flesh, and therefore burn the bodies of their dead, near some river if they can, into which they strew the ashes. Theirwidows never marry again; but, after the loss of their husbands, cuttheir hair close off, and spend all their remaining life in neglect;whence it happens, that many young women are ambitious to die withhonour, as they esteem it, throwing themselves for lore of theirdeparted husbands into the flames, as they think, of martyrdom. Following their dead husband to the pile, and there embracing hiscorpse, they are there consumed in the same fire. This they dovoluntarily, and without compulsion, their parents, relations, andfriends joyfully accompanying them; and, when the pile of this hellishsacrifice begins to burn, all the assembled multitude shout and make anoise, that the screams of the tortured living victims may not be heard. This abominable custom is not very much unlike the custom of theAmmonites, who made their children pass through the fire to Moloch, during which they caused certain tabrets or drums to sound, whence theplace was called _Tophet_, signifying a tabret. There is one sect amongthe Hindoos, called _Parsees_, who neither burn nor inter their dead. They surround certain pieces of ground with high walls, remote fromhouses or public roads, and there deposit their dead, wrapped in sheets, which thus have no other tombs but the maws of ravenous fowls. [240] [Footnote 240: These Parsees, called _Parcees_ in the Pilgrims, andGuebres by other writers, are a remnant of the ancient Persians, who arefire-worshippers, or followers of Zerdust, the Zoroaster of theGreeks. --E. ] The Hindoos are, generally speaking, an industrious race; being eithercultivators of the ground, or otherwise diligently employed in variousoccupations. Among them there are many curious artificers, who are thebest imitators in the world, as they will make any thing new veryexactly after a pattern. The Mahometans, on the contrary, are generallyidle, being _all for to morrow_, a common saying among them, and live bythe labours of the Hindoos. Some of these poor deluded idolaters willeat of nothing which has had life, feeding on grain, herbs, milk, butter, cheese, and sweet-meats, of which last they have various kinds, the best and most wholesome of which is green ginger remarkably wellpreserved. Some tribes eat fish, and of no other living thing. TheRajaput tribe eat swine's flesh, which is held in abomination by theMahometans. Some will eat of one kind of flesh, and some of another; butall the Hindoos universally abstain from beef owing to the reverencethey entertain for cows; and therefore give large sums yearly to theMogul, besides his other exactions, as a ransom for the lives of thesesacred animals. Whence, though they have other and good provisions inabundance, we meet with very little meat in that country. The most tender-hearted among the idolaters are called _Banians, _ whohold the _metempsychosis_ of Pythagoras as a prime article of theirfaith, believing that the souls of the best men and women, when freedfrom the prison of their human bodies, transmigrate into the bodies ofcows, which they consider as the best of all creatures. They hold thatthe souls of the wicked go into the bodies of viler beasts; as the soulsof gluttons into swine, those of the voluptuous and incontinent intoapes and monkies; the souls of the cruel, furious, and revengeful, intolions, tigers, and wolves; the souls of the envious into serpents; andso forth, according to their qualities and dispositions; transmigratingsuccessively from one to another of the same kind, _ad infinitum;_ and, by consequence, believing in the eternal duration of the world. Thus, according to them, there does not exist even a silly fly but is actuatedby a soul formerly human, considering these to have formerly belonged tolight women; and so incorrigible are their sottish opinions, that theycannot be persuaded out of them by any reasoning. Owing to theseopinions, they will not put to death the most offensive animals, noteven the most venemous snakes, saying, that it is their nature to doharm, and that man is gifted with reason to shun these noxiouscreatures, but not at liberty to destroy them. Many men devote their fortunes to works of charity, as in building_serais, _ or lodging-houses for travellers, digging wells, orconstructing tanks near highways, that the travellers may have water;and where such cannot be had, they will hire poor men to sit by theway-sides, and offer water to the passengers. The day of rest among theHindoos is Thursday, as Friday is among the Mahometans, Saturday withthe Jews, and Sunday with the Christians. [241] They have many solemnfestivals, and they make pilgrimages, among which the most famous are_Nagracut_ and _Syba, _ formerly mentioned; where, if Mr Coryat may bebelieved, who says he carefully observed the same, people cut off partof their tongues out of devotion. It were easy to enlarge on thissubject, but I will not any farther describe their stupid idolatry. Thesum of the whole is, that both the Hindoos and Mahometans ground alltheir opinions on tradition, not on reason, and are content to perishwith their fore-fathers, out of preposterous zeal and fond perverseness, never rightly considering the grounds of their belief. [Footnote 241: Monday is the day of rest with the people of Pegu. InJava, each individual keeps that day holy on which he has begun somegreat work. --_Purch. _] Both the Mahometans and Hindoos are under subjection to the Great Mogul, the term _Mogul_ signifying a circumcised man, so that Great Mogul meansthe Chief of the Circumcision. The present king is the ninth in linealdescent from that famous eastern conqueror, whom we name Tamerlane, andwho in their histories is named Timor. Towards the close of his life, hehad the misfortune to fall from his horse, which made him halt duringthe remainder of his days, whence he was called Timur-lang, or Timur thelame. The emperor styles himself The King of Justice, the Light of theLaw of Mahomet, and the Conqueror of the World. He himself judges anddetermines on all matters of importance which occur near his residence, judging according to allegations and proofs, by his own sense of right. The trials are conducted quickly, and the sentences speedily executed, culprits being hanged, beheaded, impaled, torn by dogs, destroyed byelephants, bitten by serpents, or other devices, according to the natureof the crimes; the executions being generally in the publicmarket-place. The governors of provinces and cities administer justicein a similar manner. I could never hear of any written law, the will ofthe king and his substitutes being the law. His vicegerents are notallowed to continue long in one place, lest they acquire popularity, andare therefore usually removed yearly. They receive the letters of theking with every possible indication of respect. They look to receivepresents from all who have occasion to apply to them; and, if not oftengratified with these, will ask for them, and will even send back such asthey do not approve, demanding better to be substituted. The cadi haspower to imprison debtors and sureties, who are bound by written deeds;and men in power, for payment of debts due to them, will often sell thepersons, wives, and children of their debtors, which is warranted by thecustoms of the land. The king appears in public three times every day. His first appearanceis at sun-rise, from a bow-window looking; towards the east, where greatmultitudes assemble to salute him, or give him the _salam, _ calling out_padishah salamet, _ which signifies Live, O King! At noon he again sitsin public seeing his elephants fight, or some other pastimes. A littlebefore sun-set, he shews himself a third time, at a window looking tothe west, whence he retires amid the sound of drums and wind-instrumentsof music, the acclamations of the people adding to the noise. At any ofthese three appearances, all who have any suit to him hold up theirpetitions to be seen, and are heard in their own causes. Between sevenand nine in the evening, he again sits in private, attended by hisnobles. No subject of this empire holds any lands by inheritance, neither havethey any titles but such as depend on the will of the king. Owing tothis, many of the grandees live up fully to the extent of their means. Merchants also, and others, are very careful to conceal their wealth, lest they be made spunges. Some small means of living are allowed by theking to the sons of his great men, which they can never make better, unless they succeed to the favour enjoyed by their fathers. His pensionsare reckoned by the numbers of horsemen allotted to each; and of thesehe pays a million in the whole extent of his empire, to the amount oftwenty-five pounds being yearly allowed for each horseman, which aredrawn from lands, specified in the particular grants or commissions. There are about twenty of his courtiers who have each the pay of 5000horse; others of 4000, 3000, 2000, and so downwards. He who has the payof 5000, is bound to have 2000 always on foot ready for service, and soin like proportion for all others. This absolute dependence rendersthem dissolute parasites. When the Mogul gives advancement to any one, he adds a new name or title, as Pharaoh did to Joseph. These names ortitles are very significant; as _Mahobet Khan_, the beloved lord; _KhanJahaun, _ the lord of my heart; _Khan Allum, _ the lord of the world, &c. The principal officers of state are, the treasurer, the master of theeunuchs, who is steward and comptroller of the household, the secretary, the master of the elephants, the tent-master, and the keeper of thewardrobe. The subordinate titles of honour are Khan, Mirza, Omrah orCaptain, Haddee, which last is a soldier or horseman. Gorgeous apparelis in a great measure prohibited, owing to the great heat of the sun;even the Great Mogul himself being usually clothed in a garment of purewhite calico or fine muslin. Blue, being the colour of mourning, may notbe worn in his presence, neither the name of death pronounced in hishearing. This circumstance is usually expressed by some circumlocution, as that such a person has sacrificed himself at the feet of his majesty. Owing to the great heat of this country, there is but little demand forEnglish cloth, which is almost only employed for the housings ofelephants and horses, and the linings of coaches. This sovereignassuredly exceeds all others in the splendour of his thrones, and thevariety and richness of his jewels. In his palace at Agra, he has athrone upon a raised platform, to which he ascends by several steps, onthe top of which are four figures of lions of massy silver, gilded andset with precious stones, and supporting a dome or canopy of pure gold. I may mention, that when I was at his court, he had a tame lion whichwent up and down at liberty, as harmless as a dog. The jewels with whichhe daily adorns his head, neck, and arms, and the hilts of his sword anddagger, are rich and valuable beyond all computation. On his birthday, which happens on the 1st of September, he being now sixty years of age, he is weighed, and an account thereof carefully noted down by hisphysicians, who thereby guess at his bodily condition. [242] [Footnote 242: See of these and other things, formerly stated, in theJournal of Sir Thomas Roe, and therefore here omitted. _Purch. _] The following are parts of two letters from the Great Mogul to hismajesty King James I. Translated out of Persian, and sent through SirThomas Roe, one written a year before the other. What followed in bothletters, was merely complimentary assurances of his love for theEnglish. These letters were rolled up and covered with cloth of gold, the covering being sealed up at both ends, which is the fashion in thatcountry. Copies were sent to the lord ambassador, from which thesespecimens were translated out of the Persian language. * * * * * "When your majesty shall open this letter, let your royal heart be freshas a sweet garden. Let all people make lowly reverence at your gate, andmay your throne be exalted among the kings of the prophet Jesus. Mayyour majesty be the greatest of all monarchs; and may others drawcounsel and wisdom from you, as from a fountain, that the law of thedivine Jesus may revive and flourish under your protection. Your lettersof love and friendship, and the tokens of your affection towards me, Ihave received by the hands of your ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe, who welldeserves to be your trusted servant, and who delivered them to me in ahappy hour. Upon them mine eyes were so fixed, that I could not easilyremove them to any other object, and have accepted them with much joy, "&c. --The other began as follows: * * * * * "How gracious is your majesty, whose greatness God preserve and prosper. As upon a rose in a garden of pleasure, so are mine eyes fixed upon yourmajesty. May God maintain your greatness, so that your monarchy mayprosper and increase, that you may obtain all your desires, worthy thegreatness of your renown. As your heart is noble and upright, so may Godgive you a prosperous reign, because you powerfully defend the majestyof Jesus, which may God render yet more flourishing, having beenconfirmed by miracles, " &c. * * * * * We travelled two years with the Great Mogul, who was in progressthrough his dominions, moving only during the temperate months, betweenOctober and April. On this occasion, I am confident that the _leskar_, or camp, contained not less than 300, 000 persons, including men, women, and children, besides elephants, horses, and other beasts, that were fedupon grain; yet we never experienced any scarcity of provisions, noteven in our nineteen days journey through a wilderness, between Mandoaand _Amadavar_, [Ahmedabad. ] On this occasion, a road was cut for usthrough the forest. The tents of the leskar were of various colours, being regularly arranged, and represented a large and splendid city. Theking's tents were red, and raised on poles to a great height, beingplaced in the middle of the camp, and covering a great extent of ground;the whole of the royal quarter being encircled by _canats_, or walls, made of red calico, held up by canes at every breadth, and standingupright about nine feet high, which was guarded all round by soldiersevery night. The king removed ten or twelve miles every day, more or less accordingto the convenience of procuring water. His wives and women of all sorts, which are not less than a thousand, all lodged and provided for in histents, were carried along with the leskar, some in palanquins, othersupon elephants, or in cradles or panniers slung upon dromedaries, allclosely covered up that they might not be seen, and attended upon byeunuchs. In the choice of his wives, the Great Mogul respects fancy morethan honour, not seeking affinity with neighbouring princes, but toplease his eye at home. _Noormahal_, the best beloved among his wives, whose name signifies the _Light of the Court_, was of mean origin, buthas since advanced her friends to high rank and employments, and in amanner commands the commander of the empire, by engrossing his wholeaffections. The king and his great men continue to maintain their women, but little affect them after thirty years old. Notwithstanding the multitude of his women, the Great Mogul has only sixchildren, five sons and a daughter. All his sons are styled sultans, orprinces. The eldest is Sultan _Cursero_, the second, Sultan _Parrveis_, the third, Sultan _Caroon_, the fourth, Sultan _Shahar_, and theyoungest, Sultan _Tauct_. [243] The name of this last signifies a_Throne_; and he was so named by the king, because he was informed ofhis birth at the time when he got quiet possession of the throne. Theeldest-born son of one of his legitimate wives has right to inherit thethrone, and has a title signifying the _Great Brother_. Although theothers are not put to death as with the Turks, yet it is observed thatthey seldom long survive their fathers, being commonly employed on somedangerous expedition. [Footnote 243: These names seem to have been written by Terry from theear. By others, they are respectively named Cusero, Parvis, Churrum, Shahar, and Taucht. --E. ] Akbar Shah, the father of the reigning Mogul, had threatened todisinherit him, for some abuse to _Anar-Kalee_, his most beloved wife, whose name signifies pomegranate kernel; but on his death-bed herestored him to the succession. Akbar was wont, upon taking anydispleasure at one of his grandees, to give them pills to purge theirsouls from their bodies, and is said to have come by his death in thefollowing manner. Intending to give one of these pills to a nobleman whohad incurred his displeasure, and meaning to take at the same time acordial pill himself, while he was cajoling the destined victim withflattering speeches, he, by mistake, took the poisoned pill himself, andgave the cordial to the nobleman. This carried him off in a few days, bya mortal flux of blood. [244] [Footnote 244: Neque enim lex justior ulla est, quam necis artificesarte perire sua. --_Purch. _] The character of Jehanguire, the reigning Mogul, seems strangelycompounded of opposite extremes. He is at times excessively cruel, andat other times extremely mild. He is himself much given to excess inwine, yet severely punishes that fault in others. His subjects know notwhat it is to disobey his commands, forgetting the natural bonds ofprivate life, even those between father and son, in the fulfilment oftheir public duty. He daily relieves numbers of the poor; and often, asa mark of his filial piety, is in use to carry the palanquin of hismother on his own shoulders. He speaks with much reverence of ourSaviour, but is offended by his cross and poverty, deeming themincompatible with his divine Majesty, though told that his humility wason purpose to subdue the pride of the world. All religions are tolerated, and even their priests are held in goodesteem. I used often to receive from the Mogul the appellation of_Father_, with many other gracious words, and had a place assigned meamong his nobles. The jesuits are not only admitted into his presence, but encouraged by many gifts, and are permitted to convert the subjects, who do not on that event lose their favour at court. On one occasion, the Mogul put the sincerity of a convert to a severe trial. Having usedmany threatenings to induce him to abandon his new faith, and findinghim undaunted, he tried by flatteries and high promises to draw himback; but these also being unavailing, he bade him continue a Christian, and dismissed him with a reward; saying, if he had been able to terrifyor cajole him from his religion, he would have made him a terribleexample for all waverers. When I was in this country, the chief jesuit residing at the court ofthe Mogul, was Francisco Corsi, a Florentine by birth, who actedlikewise as agent for the Portuguese. I wish I could confirm the reportsthey have made of conversions; but the real truth is, that they havemerely spilt the water of baptism on the faces of a few, working on thenecessities of some poor men, who from want of means to live, with whichthe jesuits supplied them, have been persuaded to wear crucifixes, butwho, for want of instruction, are only Christians in name. Of these fewmendicants, or so called by Christians, I noticed that five of themwould beg in the name of Maria, for one who asked in the name of Jesus. I also desired to have put my hands to the holy work, but found extremedifficulty in the way, owing both to the Mahometan laxity in regard tothe use of women, and the debauched lives of some unchristianChristians. --May he who hath the key of David open their eyes, and inhis good time send labourers into this vineyard. _Amen_. SECTION VIII. JOURNEY OF THOMAS CORYAT BY LAND, FROM JERUSALEM TO THE COURT OF THEGREAT MOGUL. [245] INTRODUCTION. Without proposing to follow this singularly bold English traveller andwhimsical writer, in all his _crudities_, as he has quaintly termed hisown writings, it has seemed proper to give some abbreviated extracts ofhis observations, which may serve in some measure to illustrate those ofSir Tomas Roe and the Reverend Edward Terry. --E. [Footnote 245: Purch. Pilgr. I. 607. In regard to this short article, see introduction to the immediately preceding Section. --E. ] §1. _Letter from Ajimeer, the Court of the Great Mogul, to Mr L. Whitaker, dated in the Year 1615_. My last letter to you was from _Zobah_, as it is called by the prophetSamuel, B. II. Ch. Viii. V. 3. Now named Aleppo, the principal emporiumof all Syria, or rather of the eastern world; which was, I think, aboutfifteen months ago. I returned from Jerusalem to Aleppo, where Iremained three months afterwards, and then departed in a caravan boundfor Persia. Passing the river Euphrates, the chiefest of the riverswhich irrigated the terrestrial paradise, when about four days journeyfrom Aleppo, I entered into Mesopotamia, or Chaldea. Hence, in two daysjourney, I reached _Ur_ of the Chaldees, where Abraham was born, a verydelicate and pleasant city. [246] I remained here four days; and in otherfour days journey reached the Tigris, which I also passed, at a placewhere it was so shallow that it only reached to the calf of my leg, sothat I waded over a-foot. I then entered into the greater Armenia; andthence into lower Media, and resided six days in its metropolis, formerly called _Ecbatana_, the summer residence of Cyrus the Great, nowcalled Tauris. More woeful ruins of a city I never beheld, exceptingthose of Troy and of Cyzicum in Natolia. [Footnote 246: Probably Orfa in Diarbekir is here meant. --E. ] From that place I went to _Cashbin_, called by Strabo, _Arsacia_, inhigher Media, once the residence of the Tartar prince; four days journeyfrom the Caspian Sea. From Cashbin, I went in twenty-three days to_Ispahan_ in Parthia, the residence of the king of Persia; but while Iwas there, he was in _Gurgistan_, [Georgia, ] ransacking the poorChristians of that country with fire and sword. I remained two months atIspahan, whence I travelled with a caravan to the eastern India, passingfour months and several days in travelling from that city, through partof Persia proper, and a large extent of the noble and renowned India, tothe goodly city of _Lahore_. This is one of the largest cities in theworld, being, at the least, sixteen miles in circuit, and larger eventhan Constantinople. Twelve days before coming to Lahore, I passed overthe famous river Indus, which is as broad again as our Thames at London, having its original from the mountain of Caucassus, so ennobled byancient poets and historians, both Greek and Latin. When about midway between Ispahan and Lahore, just about the frontiersbetween Persia and India, I met Sir Robert Shirley and his lady, travelling from the court of the Mogul to that of Persia. They weregallantly furnished for their journey, and shewed me, to my greatsatisfaction, both my books, very neatly kept, and promised to shewthem, especially my itinerary, to the king of Persia, and to interpretsome of the principal contents to him in Turkish, that I may have themore gracious access to him at my return. Besides other rarities whichthey carried with them, they had two elephants and eight antelopes, being the first of either I had ever seen. But afterwards, when I cameto the Mogul's, court, I saw many. They intended to present theseanimals to the king of Persia. Both Sir Robert and his lady used me withmuch respect; especially his lady, who presented me with forty shillingsin Persian money; and they seemed joyful at meeting me, promising tobring me into good grace with the king of Persia, as I mean, with God'shelp, to return through Persia to Aleppo. From Lahore, I travelled in twenty days to another goodly city namedAgra, through such a beautiful and level country as I had never seenbefore. In this way, from the town's end of Lahore to the skirts ofAgra, we had a row of trees on both sides of the road, the mostincomparable avenue I ever beheld. Some ten days journey from Lahoretowards Agra, but about ten miles off the road on the left hand, thereis a mountain, the inhabitants of which have a singular custom, all thebrothers of one family having but one wife among them, so that one womensometimes has six or seven husbands. The same is related by Straboconcerning the inhabitants of Arabia Felix. Agra is a very great city, but in every respect much inferior to Lahore. Here the Mogul used alwaysto keep his court, till within these two years. From Agra I went in ten days to the Mogul's court, at a town calledAsmere, [Ajimeer, ] where I found an English. Cape merchant with ninemore of our countrymen, residing there in the way of trade for our EastIndia Company. In. My journey from Jerusalem to the court of the GreatMogul, I spent fifteen months and some days, travelling all the waya-foot, having been so great a _propatetic_, or walker forwards on foot, as I doubt if you ever heard of the like; for the whole way, fromJerusalem to Ajimeer, contains 2700 English miles. My wholeperambulation of the greater Asia is likely to extend almost to 6000miles, by the time I have returned back through Persia, by Babylon andNineveh to Cairo in Egypt, and thence down the Nile to Alexandria, whenI propose, with God's blessing, to embark for Christendom. The reigning Great Mogul is named Selim. [247] He is fifty-three years ofage, his birth-day having been celebrated with wonderful magnificencesince my arrival. He was that day weighed in a pair of golden scales, which by great chance I saw that same day, the opposite scale beingfilled with as much gold as counterpoised his weight, and this isafterwards distributed among the poor. This custom is observed everyyear. His complexion is of an olive colour, something between white andblack; being of a seemly stature, but somewhat corpulent. His dominionsare very extensive, being about 4000 English miles in circumference, nearly answerable to the compass of the Turkish territories; or, if theMogul kingdom be any way inferior in size to that empire, it is morethan equally endowed with a fertile soil beyond that of any othercountry, and in having its territory connected together in one goodlycontinent, within which no other prince possesses one single foot ofland. The yearly revenue of the Mogul extends to forty millions ofcrowns, of six shillings each, while that of the Turk does not exceedfifteen millions, as I was credibly informed in Constantinople, nor thatof the Sophy five millions, as I learnt at Ispahan. It is said that thepresent Great Mogul is not circumcised, in which he differs from allother Mahometan sovereigns. [Footnote 247: He was Sultan Selim before his accession to the throne, but was afterward known by the new name of Jehunguire. --E. ] The Great Mogul speaks with much revrence of our Saviour, naming him_Hazaret Eesa_, that is to say, the Great Prophet Jesus. [248] Helikewise uses all Christians, and especially the English, with morebenevolence than does any other Mahometan prince. He keeps many wildbeasts, such as lions, elephants, leopards, bears, antelopes, andunicorns, [rhinoceroses, ] of which I saw two at his court, the strangestbeasts in the world. They were brought out of Bengal, a kingdom in hisdominions of most wonderful fertility, above four months journey fromthis place, the mid-land parts of which are watered by various channelsand branches of the famous river Ganges. I have not yet seen thatcountry, but mean to visit it, God willing, before my departure, thenearest part of it being only about twelve days journey from hence. [Footnote 248: The Persian word _Hasaret_, here erroneously renderedGreat Prophet, seems to signify literally _face_ or _presence_, and ismetaphorically used as a term of highest dignity, of which an instanceoccurs in the present section, used by Coryat himself in addressing theGreat Mogul--E. ] Twice every week elephants are made to fight before the Mogul, formingthe bravest spectacle that can be imagined, many of them being thirteenfeet and a half in height, and they jostle together as though they weretwo little mountains; and were they not separated in the midst of theirfighting, by means of certain fire-works, they would exceedingly hurtand gore each other, by their murderous tusks. The Mogul is said to keep30, 000 elephants, at a most enormous expence; and in feeding them, together with his lions and other beasts, he expends an incredible sumof money, being at the least 10, 000 pounds sterling daily. I have myselfrode upon an elephant since I came to this court, meaning in my nextbook to have my effigies represented in that form. This king keeps athousand women for his own use, the chiefest of whom, called Normal, (Noormahal) is his queen. In my ten months journey between Aleppo and this court, I spent justthree pounds sterling, yet fared reasonably every day; victuals being socheap in some of the countries through which I travelled, that I oftenlived competently for one penny a-day. Of that three pounds, I wasactually cozened out of ten shillings, by certain evil Christians of theArmenian nation; so that in reality I only expended fifty shillings inall that time. I have been in a city of this country called_Detee_, [249] where Alexander the Great joined battle with Porus king ofIndia, and defeated him; and where, in memory of his victory, he causederect a brazen pillar, which remains there to this day. At this time Ihave many irons in the fire, as I am learning the Persian, Turkish, andArabic languages, having already acquired the Italian. I have beenalready three months at the court of the Great Mogul, and propose, Godwilling, to remain here five months longer, till I have got these threelanguages; after which I propose to visit the river Ganges, and then toreturn to the court of Persia. [Footnote 249: This is obviously a misprint for Delee, meaning Delhi;but it is more probable that Alexander never was beyond the Punjab. --E. ] In the course of my journey, I was robbed of my money, but not of all, having some concealed in certain secret corners. This was done at thecity of Diarbekir in Mesopotatamia, by a Turkish horse soldier, whomthey call a _spahee_. Since my arrival here, there was sent to this kingthe richest present I ever heard of. It consisted of various things, thewhole amounting to the value of ten of their lacks, a lack being £10, 000sterling. Part of this present consisted of thirty-one elephants, two ofwhich were more gorgeously adorned than any thing I ever saw, or shallsee in the course of my life. They had each four massy chains all ofbeaten gold, around their bodies, with two chains of the same abouttheir legs, furniture for their buttocks of the same rich material, andtwo golden lions on their heads. §2. _Letter from Agra, the Capital of the Great Mogul, to his Mother, dated 31st October, 1616_. Most dear and well-beloved Mother, This city is the metropolis of the whole dominions of the Great Mogul, and is at the distance of ten days journey from Ajimeer, whence Ideparted on the 12th September this year, after having abode theretwelve months and sixty days. This my long stay in one place, was fortwo principal causes; one being to learn the languages of thesecountries through which I am to pass between this country andChristendom, namely, Persian, Turkish, and Arabic, which I havecompetently attained to by labour and industry, being as available to meas money, and the chiefest, or rather the only means to get me money ifI should happen to be in want; and, secondly, that, by the help of thePersian, I might get myself access to the Mogul, and be able to expressmy mind unto him about what I proposed to lay before him. During allthis time, I abode in the house of the English merchants, my dearcountrymen, not expending any money at all for lodging, diet, washing, or any other thing. I attained to a reasonable skill in the Persian tongue, by earnest studyin a few months, so that I made an oration to the king in thatlanguage, before many of his nobles; and afterwards discoursed with himvery readily. The copy of this speech I have sent you, as a novelty, though the language may seem strange and uncouth to an Englishman; and Ihave sent you herewith a translation, which you may shew along with thePersian original to some of my learned friends of the clergy, and alsoof the laity, who may take some pleasure in reading so rare and unusuala tongue. The Persian is this that follows: _Hazaret Aallum-pennah, Salamet: fooker Darceish, ce jehaun-geshthastam; ke mia emadam az wellageti door, yanne as muik Ingliz-stan, kekessanion pesheen mushacar cardand, _ _ke wellageti mazcoor der akerimagrub bood, ke mader hamma jezzaereti dunia ast, &c. _[250]--The Englishof it is this: "Lord protector of the world, all hail! I am a poor traveller andworld-seer, who am come here from a far country called England, whichancient historians thought to have been situated in the farthest boundsof the west, and which is the queen of all the islands in the world. Thecauses of my coming hither are four. First, that I might behold theblessed countenance of your majesty, whose great fame has resounded overall Europe, and through all the Mahometan countries. When I heard of thefame of your majesty, I made all possible haste hither, and cheerfullyendured the labour of travelling, that I might see your glorious court. Secondly, I was desirous of seeing your majesty's elephants, which kindof beasts I have not seen in any other country. Thirdly, that I mightsee your famous river the Ganges, the captain of all the rivers in theworld. Fourthly, to entreat your majesty, that you would vouchsafe togrant me your most gracious phirmaund, that I may travel into thecountry of Tartaria to the city of Samarcand, to visit the blessedsepulchre of the _Lord of the Corners_, [251] whose fame, by reason ofhis wars and victories, is published over the whole world, so thatperhaps he is not altogether so famous in his own country of Tartary asin England. I have a strong desire to see the sepulchre of the Lord ofthe Corners for this cause, that, when in Constantinople, I saw anotable old building in a pleasant garden near the said city, where theChristian emperor, Emanuel, made a sumptuous banquet to the Lord of theCorners, after he had taken Sultan Bajazet in a great battle near thecity of Brusa, when the Lord of the Corners bound Sultan Bajazet ingolden fetters, and put him into an iron cage. These causes have inducedme to travel thus far from my native country, having come a-foot throughTurkey and Persia into this country, my pilgrimage having extended sothree thousand miles, with much labour and toil, such as no mortal manhath ever yet performed, to see the blessed countenance of your majesty, since the first day of your being inaugurated in your imperial throne. " [Footnote 250: The whole discourse, of which the following paragraph inthe text is the translation, is contained in the Pilgrims: But doubtingits accuracy, as that book is most incorrectly printed throughout, theeditor requested the favour of the late learned professor of orientallanguages in the University of Edinburgh, Dr Alexander Murray, to reviseand correct this first sentence, which he most readily did, adding thefollowing literal translation: "Presence, [or face. ] of theworld--protector, salutation to thee: A poor dervish and world-wandererI am; that I have come from a kingdom far, to-wit, from the kingdom ofIngliz-stan, which historians ancient, relation have made, that kingdomsaid, in the end of the west was, which the mother of every island ofthe world is, " &c. ] [Footnote 251: This is the title given to Tamerlane in this country, inthe Persian language, meaning that he was lord over the four corners ofthe earth, that is, the highest and supreme monarch of theworld. --_Purch. _] When I had ended my speech, I conversed with him for a short space inPersian, when, among other things, he told me that he could do me noservice in regard to my proposed journey to Samarcand, as there was nointimacy between him and the princes of the Tartars, so that hiscommendatory letters would avail me little. He also added, that theTartars bore so deadly a hate against all Christians, that they wouldcertainly kill any who might venture into their country, wherefore heearnestly dissuaded me from this proposed journey, as I valued my lifeand welfare. At last, he concluded his discourse by throwing down to me, from a window in which he stood, that looked into the street, an hundredpieces of silver, worth two shillings each or ten pounds in all, whichwere thrown into a sheet hanging by the four corners. I had conducted this affair so secretly, by the help of the Persianwhich I had learnt, that neither our English ambassador, nor any otherof my countrymen, excepting one special and private friend, knew anything at all about the matter till I had thoroughly accomplished mydesign. For I well knew, if the ambassador had got the smallest noticeof my purpose, that he would have counteracted me, as indeed hesignified to me after I had effected my purpose, alledging that thismight redound to the discredit of our nation, for one of our country topresent himself in that poor and beggarly manner before the king, tocrave money from him by flattery. But I answered our ambassador soresolutely, that he was glad to let me alone. Indeed, I never had moreneed of money in all my life than at this time, having only to the valueof twenty shillings remaining, owing to my having been stripped ofalmost all my money by a miscreant Turk, in a city called _Imaret_, inMesopotamia. After my interview with the Mogul, I went to visit a certain noble andgenerous Christian of the Armenian nation, two days journey from court, to observe certain remarkable matters at that place; and, by means of myknowledge of the Persian language, he made me very welcome, entertainingme with much civility and kindness; and, at my departure, gave me verybountifully twenty pieces of the same coin as the king had done, worthforty shillings of our money. About ten days after this, I departed fromAjimeer, the court of the Great Mogul, to resume my pilgrimage, after mylong rest of fourteen months, proposing to go back into Persia. On thisoccasion, our ambassador gave me a gold piece of this king's coin, worthtwenty-four shillings, which I shall save till my arrival in England, ifit be possible. I have thus received in benevolences, since I came intothis country, twenty marks sterling, [252] bating two shillings andeight-pence, besides £1:13:4 sterling, in Persian money, from LadyShirley, upon the confines of Persia. At this present, being in Agra, whence I write this letter, I have about twelve pounds, which, accordingto my manner of living on the way, at two-pence a-day, will verycompetently maintain me during three years travel, considering thecheapness of all eatables in Asia. Drink costs me nothing, as I hardlyever drink any thing beyond pure water during my pilgrimage. [Footnote 252: Twenty marks are £15:6:8 sterling. --E. ] I mean to remain in Agra for six weeks longer, waiting an excellentopportunity of going to the famous river Ganges, about five days journeyfrom hence, to see a memorable meeting of the idolatrous people of thiscountry, called Banians, of whom to the number of 400, 000 go thither, onpurpose to bathe and shave themselves in the river, and to sacrifice aworld of gold to that same river, partly in stamped coin, and partly ingreat massy lumps and wedges, thrown into the river as a sacrifice, besides many other strange ceremonies, worthy of being observed. Sonotable a spectacle is no where to be seen, neither in this the_greater_ Asia, nor in the _lesser_, now called Natolia. This shew ismade once in every year, on which occasion people flock thither fromalmost a thousand miles off, worshipping the river as a god andsaviour; a most abominable and impious superstition of these brutishheathens, aliens from Christ. As soon as I have seen this ceremony, Ipropose, by God's help, to repair to Lahore, twenty days journey fromhence, and so into Persia, &c. Your dutiful, loving, and obedient son, Now a desolate pilgrim in the world, THOMAS CORYAT. §3. _Some Observations concerning India, by Thomas Coryat_. [253] Whereas in this country the beggars beg from a Christian in the name of_Bibbee Maria_, and not of _Hazaret Eesa_, we may gather that theJesuits have preached our _Lady Mary_ more than the _Lord Jesus_. [Footnote 253: Purchas informs us, that these were taken from certainnotes written by Coryat, given him by Sir Thomas Roe; "whence, omittingsuch things as have been given before from the observations of SirThomas Roe himself, I have inserted a few. "--_Purch. _] A great rajah of the Hindoos, who was a notorious atheist, and acontemner of all diety, and who boasted that he knew of no God exceptthe king, and neither believed nor feared any other, happened one day tosit dallying among his women, when one of them plucked a hair from hisbreast, which hair being fast-rooted, plucked off along with it a smallbit of skin, so that a small spot of blood appeared. This small scarfestered and gangrened incurably, so that in a few days his life wasdespaired of, and being surrounded by all his friends, and several ofthe courtiers, he broke out into these excellent words:--"Which of youwould have thought that I, a warrior, should not have died by the strokeof a sword, a spear, or an arrow? But now am I enforced to confess thepower of the great God I have so long despised, who needs no other lanceto slay so blasphemous a wretch and contemner of his holy majesty, suchas I have been, than a small hair. " Akbar Shah, the former king, had learnt all manner of sorceries; andbeing once in a strange humour to shew a spectacle to his nobles, hebrought forth his favourite Sultana before them, and cut off her headwith a sword in their presence. Seeing them struck with horror andamazement at this action, by virtue of his exorcisms and sorceries, hecaused her head to fix on again, and no sign remained of any wound. The same prince, who was very fortunate during his reign, shewed theutmost attention and respect to his mother, of which he one day gave thefollowing striking instance:--Being on a journey between Lahore andAgra, on which occasion his mother accompanied him, being carried in apalanquin, and having to pass a river, he took one of the poles of thepalanquin on his own shoulder, commanding his greatest nobles to do thesame, and in this manner carried her across the river. He never deniedher any request that ever she made, except one, and this was, that ourBible might be hung about the neck of an ass, and so beaten about thetown of Agra. The reason of this strange request was, that thePortuguese had taken a ship of theirs, in which they found a copy of the_Koran_, or bible of the Mahometans, which they tied about the neck of adog, and beat the dog about the streets of Ormus. But he denied her thisrequest, saying, That if it were evil in the Portuguese to have so donewith the Koran, it did not become a king to requite evil with evil, asthe contempt of any religion was contempt of God, and he would not berevenged upon an innocent book. The moral of this is, that God would notpermit the sacred book of his law and truth to be contemned among theinfidels. One day in every year, for the amusement of the king's women, all thetradesmen's wives are admitted into the _Mahal_, having each somewhat tosell, after the manner of a fair, and at which the king acts as brokerfor his wives, no other man being present, and by means of his gains onthis occasion, provides his own supper. By this means he attains to asight of all the pretty women of the city; and at a fair of this kind hegot his beloved _Noor Mahal_. After _Shaof Freed_ had won the battle of Lahore by a stratagem, all thecaptains of the rebel army, to the number of two thousand, who had beentaken by the king, were hung up upon flesh-hooks, or set upon stakes, forming an avenue for the king's entrance into Lahore. On this occasion, his son _Curseroo_, [Cusero] who had been made prisoner, rode besidehim, bare-footed, on an elephant, and the king asked him how he likedthat spectacle? To this the prince answered, That he was sorry to see somuch cruelty and injustice in his father, in thus executing those whohad only done their duty, as they had lived on his bread and salt: butthat his father had done justly if he had pardoned these brave men, andpunished him, who was their master, and the author of this rebellion. Sultan Cusero has only one wife, owing to the following circumstance:During his confinement, the king proposed to make a hunting progress offour months, and consulted how he might keep his son in safe custodyduring his absence. He at length determined to build a tower in which toimmure him, having neither door nor window, and only a few small holesto let in air, and these so high as to be beyond reach. Into this towerwere to be put along with the prince all sorts of provisions andnecessaries, with a few servants to attend him. While this was building, the wife of Cusero fell at the king's feet, and would not leave him tillshe obtained his consent to be shut up along with her husband. The kingendeavoured to persuade her to enjoy her liberty, but she utterlyrefused any other comfort than to be the companion of her husband'smiseries. Among these, this was the greatest, that if any of those whowere to be shut up along with him, to the number of fifty in all, shouldhappen to die during the king's absence, there were no means either toremove or bury the body, as no person was to be allowed to come near thetower. It is a frequent custom of the present Mogul, when he happens to beawake in the night time, he calls for certain poor old men, making themsit beside him, and passes his time in familiar discourse with them, giving them clothes and bountiful alms when he dismisses them. At onetime, when residing at Ajimeer, he went a-foot on pilgrimage to the tombof a saint or prophet called Haji Mundin, and there kindled a fire withhis own hands, under an immense _Heidelbergian equipolent_ brass pot, inwhich victuals were cooked for five thousand poor persons. When thevictuals were ready, he took out the first platter with his own hands, and served the mess to a poor person. Noor Mahal took out and served thesecond, and the rest was served by the other ladies of hiscourt. --_Crack me this nut, all ye papal charity-vaunters_. One day an Armenian procured a nobleman to present him to the king, asone who desired to become an Mahometan; on which the king asked him, ifhe had been converted from hope of preferment; to which the Armeniananswered, that be had no such motive. Some months afterwards, the newconvert craved some courtesy from the king, which he denied, saying, "Ihave already done you the greatest of all favours, in allowing you tosave your soul; but you must provide for your own body the best way youcan. " The king likes not those who change their religion, being himselfof none but according to his own fancy, and freely allows therefore ofall religions in his dominions. Of which I may give the followingnotable example: He had an Armenian in his service, named Scander, whom he one day askedif he thought any of the _padres_ had ever converted a single Mahometanto be a true Christian, for conscience sake, and not for money. Scanderanswered, with great confidence, that he had one as his servant, who wasa sincere Christian, and would not be of any other for any worldlyconsideration. The king immediately caused this man to be sent for, andbidding Scander depart, he examined the convert as to his reasons forhaving become a Christian. In reply, he quoted certain feeble jesuiticalreasons, declaring his determination to be of no other religion, thoughthe king made him many fair speeches and large offers to return toMahometism, offering him pensions, and the command of horse. He said hehad now only four rupees a month, which was a poor recompense forbecoming a Christian, but if he would recant, he would give him highdignities and large means. The fellow answered, that he had not become aChristian for such small wages, as he was able to earn as much in theservice of a Mahometan; but was a Christian in his heart, and wasdetermined so to continue. Finding this method ineffectual, the kingturned his tune, and tried him with threats of severe punishment, unlesshe returned to the faith of Mahomet. But the proselyte manfully declaredhe would suffer any thing, being ready to endure whatever the king waspleased to order. Upon this declaration, when all the by-standersexpected present and severe castigation, the king suddenly changed hismanner towards him, highly commending his constancy and resolution, bidding him return to his master, and to serve him faithfully, andordered him an allowance of one rupee a-day for his integrity. About two months afterwards, the king returned from hunting wild-hogs, an animal which is held in abhorrence by all Mahometans, and which kindof venison, therefore, the king was in use to distribute among theChristians and Rajaputs. On this occasion, the king sent for theconverted catechumen above mentioned, and commanded him to take up a hogfor his master, which no Mahometan will touch. He did so, but on goingout of the court gate, he was so hooted at by the Mahometans, that hethrew down his burden in a ditch, and went home; concealing what hadpassed from his master. Some four days afterwards, the Armenian being onduty in presence of the king, he asked him if the hog he had sent himwas good meat. The Armenian replied, that he had not seen or heard ofany. The king therefore immediately ordered the convert to be sent for, who confessed that he had not carried home the hog, as being mocked bythe Mahometans for touching so great an abomination, he had for shamethrown it away. On this the king observed, "By your Christian law thereis no difference of meats. Are you ashamed of your law, or do yououtwardly forsake it to flatter the Mahometans? I now see that you areneither a good Christian nor a good Mahometan, but a knave dissemblingwith both. When I believed you sincere, I gave you a pension, which Inow take from you for your dissimulation, and I farther condemn you toreceive an hundred stripes. " These were presently paid him, instead ofhis money; and the king desired all to take warning by this example, that, having given liberty of conscience to all religions, he would haveall to adhere to what they professed. SECTION IX. ACCOUNT OF THE WRONGS DONE TO THE ENGLISH AT BANDA BY THE DUTCH, IN 1617AND 1618. [254] INTRODUCTION. This section contains a letter from Mr Thomas Spurway, merchant orfactor, addressed from Bantam, "To the Honourable and Right Worshipfulthe East India Company of England, touching the wrongs done at Banda tothe English by the Hollanders; the former unkind disgusts and brablingquarrels now breaking unexpectedly out into a furious and injuriouswar. " Such is the account given of this section by Purchas, who fartherinforms his readers, "That the beginning of this letter was torn, andtherefore imperfect in his edition; but, what is here defective, was tobe afterwards supplied from the journals of Nathaniel Courthop, andother continuations of these insolences of the Dutch at Banda, by MrHayes, and others. " These journals of Courthop and Hayes are sointolerably and confusedly written, and so interlarded with numerousletters _about_ the subject of these differences with the Dutch, that wehave been reluctantly under the necessity of omitting them, being somonstrously inarticulate as to render it impossible to make them at allpalatable to our readers, without using freedoms that were altogetherinadmissible in a work like the present. [Footnote 254: Purch. Pilgr. I. 608. ] From this letter, and other information of a similar nature, it appearsthat the attempts to form establishments for trade at Banda and theMolucca islands were found to be difficult or impracticable, owing tothe opposition of the Dutch, who were much stronger in that part ofIndia, and had not only conceived the plan of monopolizing the spicetrade, but even avowed their determination to exclude the English andall other European nations from participating in any share of it. We donot pretend, in our Collection, to write the history of the English EastIndia Company, but merely to give a series of the voyages whichcontributed to the establishment of that princely association ofmerchant adventurers. Yet it seems proper, occasionally at least, in theintroductions to leading voyages, like the present, to give some shorthistorical notices of the subject, for the materials of which we arechiefly, if not solely, indebted to the Annals of the Company, a work ofmeritorious and laborious research, already several times referred to. Under the difficulties which had long attended the exertions of theEnglish to acquire a share in this peculiarly called _spice trade_, theagent and commercial council of the English company at Bantam, gaveauthority to the commanders of the Swan and Defence to endeavour toobtain from the native chiefs of the islands of Puloroon and Puloway, asurrender of these islands to the king of England, with the stipulationof paying annually as a quit-rent, a fruit-bearing branch of the nutmegtree; yet stipulating that these islanders were to continue entirelyunder the guidance of their own laws and customs, providing only thatthey should engage to sell their spices exclusively to the agents of theEnglish company, who were, in return, to supply them with provisions andHindoostan manufactures at a fair price, in exchange for their peculiarproductions, nutmegs and mace. They were likewise authorised, if theyprocured the consent of the natives, to establish fortified stations, orfactories, at Puloroon, Puloway. Pulo-Lantore, and Rosinging, orRosengin. [255] The views of the Bantam factory on this occasion seem tohave been generally judicious, as to the measure they now authorised, but exceedingly ill judged in attempting to execute so very important apurpose with a force entirely inadequate to that with which it had tocontend. [Footnote 255: An. Of E. I. Co. I. 187. ] The Dutch had expelled the Portuguese, at that time the subjects oftheir tyrannical oppressors, the Spaniards, from a great portion of thespice islands, in which warlike measure, and its consequences, they hadalways to support a considerable force, both naval and military, inthese seas, and in various forts upon these islands; and besides, thatthey felt their preponderance from these circumstances, and used it verynaturally for their own exclusive benefit, they alleged, and with nosmall appearance of equity, that the English had no right to enjoy theadvantages of a trade, which they, the Dutch, had conquered from thePortuguese and Spaniards. This opposition of interests proceeded in thesequel to great extremities, in which the greatly superior power of theHollanders in these seas, enabled them effectually to oppress theEnglish, in what are peculiarly called the spice islands, and even toexpel them from all participation in that trade, as will appear in someof the subsequent sections of this chapter. It would be not only premature in this place, but incompatible with thenature of our work, which is intended as a Collection of Voyages andTravels, to attempt giving a connected history of these dissensionsbetween the Dutch and English in Eastern India, which will be founddetailed in the Annals of the English Company. It is hardly possible, however, to refrain from one observation on the subject, --that the Dutchcompany, and the government of Holland, appear to have mainly proceeded, in their hostile opposition to the English East India trade, on theirknowledge of the pusillanimous character of King James, which he vainlythought to veil under the pretensions of loving peace, but which theDutch, as will be seen in the present section, clearly understood, andopenly expressed, as _the childhood of St George_, the tutelary martialsaint of England. _Beati pacifici_, his favourite adage, is an excellentChristian and moral sentiment, but is incompatible with the unavoidableexigencies of government, at least as they were then situated. --E. * * * * * _May it please your Worships_, We arrived at Macassar on the 19th of November, 1616, from Bantam, withthe Swan and Defence, under the command of Captain Nicholas Courthop, who sailed in the Swan, of which ship Mr Davis was master, the otherbeing commanded by Mr Hinchley. We remained there for the purpose oftaking in an hundred _quoines_[256] of rice. On the 4th December, we sawa large Dutch ship in the offing, which came to anchor about fiveleagues off, and on the 5th they sent their skiff ashore, which madedirectly for the English house, having eight men on board. As soon as weperceived this boat coming ashore, we ran to the sea side; but, beforewe got there, two of her men were landed, whom we acquainted with thedanger they were in, as the king of Macassar, and all the other kingsthereabouts, were become their mortal enemies, because of the manyinjuries done them by the Hollanders, who had forcibly carried away aprincipal sabander, and other persons belonging to Macassar, for whichthey were determined upon revenge; and, therefore, that they might allexpect to be put to death, unless the king could be prevailed upon tospare them. The Dutchmen were so much alarmed at this intelligence, thatthey wished to have gone back to their boat, but the Macassers hadalready gathered about us, and laid hands upon them. [Footnote 256: The amount or quantity of these _quoines_ are no wherestated, or even hinted at; but, from circumstances in the sequel, theyappear to have been considerable. --E. ] I, and other English, immediately went in all haste to the king, acquainting him with what had happened, lest, if the Dutch had intendedany treachery, he might have suspected us as being accessary. The kinggave us thanks, and desired us to take the two Dutchmen who had landedto our house, that we might learn from them their intentions in cominghere. This we did, and they informed us that they belonged to a fleetlately fitted out from Holland, and had lost company of their consorts. One of these called himself John Staunch, and reported himself to be anunder-factor. The other was an English sailor. Perceiving themselves tobe in great danger, they earnestly entreated us to stand their friendsand procure their liberty. We promised to do every thing we could forthem. Soon after this, the kings of Macassar and Talow, together withabout 2000 attendants, came to the sands near the sea side, where theyheld a council upon these men. The king of Talow was clear for puttingthem to death, but we used our interest so successfully for them, thatthey were commanded to be gone instantly in their boat; The king ofMacassar observing, that these were too few for satisfying his revenge, and that he should wait for one more ample. So they departed and went totheir ship. Next day another boat was observed coming towards the shore from thesame ship; and, on the king being informed of this, he gave immediateorders for twenty proas and corracorras to be manned and launched. Thiswas done immediately, and the whole made towards the Dutch boat, whichwas rowing for the land directly towards our house. On observing thenative craft endeavouring to intercept them, the Dutch turned theirboat, and rowed back to regain their ship; but the Macassars soon gotup, boarded them on both sides, and slew every man of the Hollanders, being sixteen in number. There were at this time near 5000 people at thesea side, and we were commanded to keep the house. The name of this Dutch ship was the Endraught, and imagining that wewere bound for Banda or the Moluccas, she remained at sea waiting forus. We set sail from Macassar road on the 8th December, 1616, and whenthe Dutchmen, saw us under sail, they also weighed and kept company withus. We would gladly have gone from them, but could not, owing to the badsailing of the Defence. They sent their boat to us, requesting we wouldspare them two quoines of rice, four tons of water, and some poultry, all of which we gave them, only taking payment for the rice, being fortydollars, giving the water and poultry freely. We asked why they hadattempted to land the second time; when they told us their first boathad not then returned to the ship, so that they believed the Dutchfactory had still remained at Macassar. But I believe it proceeded fromobstinacy, believing their first boat had been denied access at ourinstigation, and meaning to make a second trial, when they hoped to haveflattered the king to allow them to return, and reinstate their factory. For both their boats passed within musket-shot of our ships on their wayto the land, yet did not go aboard to enquire what were the situation ofaffairs on shore, which if they had done, we should have forewarned themof their danger. They kept company with us till we came near Amboina, for which place they stood in, while we continued our course. We havesince learnt that they gave out we had been the cause of their men beingslain at Macassar, which is most false: For I solemnly protest that weused our best endeavours to save them, and if it had not been for us, the eight men in their first boat had also been slain. The Swan and Defence arrived in the road of Puloroon on the 13thDecember. Next day the people of that island came on board, andconferred with us about surrendering the island to us. We representedthat our nation had come often to their island, at great cost, and attheir particular request, to settle a factory, and trade with them in afriendly manner, bringing them rice and other provisions, with cloth andsundry commodities, in exchange for their spices; that we had no desireto usurp over them, or to reduce them under bondage, as had been doneformerly by the Hollanders and other nations; and that, if they wouldsurrender their island of Puloroon to our sovereign the king of England, by a formal writing, and by the delivery of some earth, with a tree andfruits of the island, as true tokens of their fidelity, and thereafter anut-tree yearly as an acknowledgment, we should settle a factory, andwould furnish them with rice, cloth, and other commodities, both now andyearly afterwards. We also assured them, if we were once settled on theisland, that sufficient supplies would come to them yearly, much betterthan now; and that we would use our utmost efforts, both by means of ourmen and ships, to defend them and ourselves from all enemies. We alsodemanded, whether they had come under any contract with the Hollanders, or had made them any surrender of their island. To this they unanimouslyreplied, that they had made no such engagement, and never would, butheld the Hollanders as their mortal enemies. This was earnestly declaredto us, both by the men of Puloroon and by divers chiefs from Puloway, who had fled from that island on its forcible reduction by theHollanders. And they all declared that the island of Puloway had beenlawfully surrendered to Richard Hunt, for the king of England, beforethe Hollanders came into the road, the English colours having beenhoisted in the castle, which the Hollanders shot down, using manydisgraceful words of his majesty. They farther declared, that theydefended their island for his majesty's use, as long as they possiblycould; and, being constrained by force, they had fled to Puloroon, Lantor, and Serran. After this conference had continued the whole day, the writings ofsurrender were drawn up, and confirmed by all the chief men of Puloroonand Puloway, and so delivered by their own hands to us, NathanielCowthorp, Thomas Spurway, and Sophonie Cozocke, for his majesty's use. They also that same instant delivered to us a nutmeg-tree, with itsfruit growing thereon, having the earth about its root, together withoilier fruits, and a live goat, in symbolical surrender of thesovereignty of the island, desiring us to hoist the English colours, andto fire a salute of ordnance. Accordingly, the colours were set up, andwe fired thirty pieces of ordnance, as a mark of taking possession; andat night all the chiefs went ashore, parting from us on the mostfriendly terms. On Christmas-day we descried two large Dutch ships edging towardsPuloroon. On seeing our ships in the road, they bore away to leeward forNero, and next day another of their ships hove in sight, which went tothe same place. The 28th, a Dutch pinnace stood right over for Puloroon, and came bravadoing within gun-shot of our fort, having the Dutchcolours flying at her poop; but presently tacked about, lowered hercolours, and hoisted a bloody ensign instead, as if in defiance, andthen stood over for Nero. By this bravado, we daily looked for theircoming against us, according to their old injurious custom. We landedfour pieces of ordnance on the 30th, besides two others formerly landedon the 25th, and set to work to construct fortifications for ourdefence. By the assistance of the Bandanese, we erected two forts, whichwere named the Swan and Defence, after our two ships, each mounted withthree guns; the fort called the Swan being within caliver shot of theships, and entirely commanding the road on the eastern side, where isthe principal anchorage for the westerly monsoon. The 3d of January, 1617, the three Dutch ships came from Nero into theroad of Puloroon, being the Horne, of 800 tons, the Star, of 500 tons, and the Yaugar, of 160 tons. The Home anchored close by our ship theSwan, the Star close beside the Defence, and the Yaugar a-head of all, to cut off our intercourse with the shore. Our commission directed us, on receiving the surrender of Puloroon, and forming a settlement there, to give due notice thereof in writing to the Hollanders, warning themnot to come there to molest us under the pretence of ignorance, as theyhad been formerly accustomed to do. We had accordingly a letter writtento that effect, but knew not how to have it sent, not daring to dispatchit either by Englishmen or natives, for tear of being detained. Oncoming into the road, however, we sent George Muschamp aboard theiradmiral, the Star, to deliver the before-mentioned letter to MynheerDedall, the Dutch commander; and with a message desiring them to departfrom the road of Puloroon before six glasses were run, as the islanderswould not allow them to remain in the roads, or to come near theirisland, and would even have already fired upon them, if we had notprevailed upon them to forbear. Soon afterwards, the Dutch commander, Dedall, came on board the Swan, attended by their chaplain, to enquire the reason of our message; whenwe told him that we suspected they came to injure us, as they hadformerly done at Paloway, Cambella, and other places; and, as they hadformerly turned the glass to Mr Ball, when in their power, threateningto hang him if he did not immediately cause the English to quit theland, we had now in like manner appointed a time for them to quit theroads. We also shewed him the instrument by which Puloroon wassurrendered to us, and our consequent right to keep possession for theking of England, which we were determined upon doing to the utmost ofour power, wishing them to be well advised in their proceedings, as theymight expect to be shortly called to answer for their abusive words andinjurious conduct to the English. We also demanded the restoration ofPuloway, which had likewise been lawfully surrendered to the king ofEngland. After this, we enquired if they had received any previoussurrender at Puloroon, but they could not say they had any; and, when weshewed the formal surrender made to our king, which their chaplainperused, he acknowledged that it was a true surrender. All this while the glass was running in the great cabin before theireyes, putting them in mind to be gone. We also told them plainly, thatwe believed their only purpose in coming here was to betray us, and todrive us from the island by treachery or force, of which scandalousconduct our nation had already had divers experience from theirs;wherefore we neither could nor would trust them any more, and we mustinsist upon their departure; as, when the glass was six times run out, they must expect to be shot at from the shore; and, if they fired inreturn against the islanders, or shewed any discourtesy or wrong tothem, we should consider it as hostility to us, and would defend them, being now the subjects of our king. They desired to remain till nextday, which we would not agree to, doubting that more of their shipsmight come to join them. They then desired to stay till midnight; whichwe agreed to, on condition that we saw them preparing to weigh theiranchors, in which case we said that notice should be sent ashore to theBandanese, not to fire upon them. I also demanded to know from Dedall, what was their purpose in thuscoming into the road of Puloroon, unless to molest us. He pretended thatit was their usual custom in passing that island. But I told them thatwas not true, as the islanders had declared there never was anychristian ship in their roads till we came. So he remained silent. Theycame to anchor in the roads this day about three in the afternoon, anddeparted about eleven at night. We have been since certainly informed, that their purpose was to have taken possession of our ships bytreachery, or to have driven us out of the roads, and only gave up theirintentions on seeing that we were fortified on shore. Had they thenassailed us, we had little doubt of being able to have defendedourselves against them, as we had both forts in readiness, the cannoncharged, and the gunners prepared to give fire, on the first signal fromour ships. A Dutch ship and pinnace came from Nero on the 10th January; the pinnaceedging near the small island or high sand, called _Nylacka_. This islandis uninhabited, but full of trees and bushes, being daily resorted to bythe men of Puloroon for fishing; and as belonging to Puloroon, belongednow to the English. On coming near the island, the people in the pinnacewere observed continually sounding, wherefore we made four shots towardsher from Fort Defence; but, not intending to strike her, shot wide. Atevery shot, the pinnace answered with a base, or some such piece, firinginto the small island among the trees and bushes, where were someEnglishmen and Bandanese of Puloroon, who were in no small danger fromthe shot. Seeing they braved us in this manner, the gunner was desiredto do his best, and his next shot fell close over the stern of thepinnace or frigate, which made her presently go away. Their purpose ofcoming thus to sound about the small island, seemed to be to look outfor a landing-place; meaning to come there with their forces, and thereto fortify themselves, on purpose to compel us to quit the large island. On the 13th, Mr Davey complained that he was in want of water, andproposed to go over for that purpose to Wayre upon Lantore; but on thepeople of Puloroon being informed of this, they would by no meansconsent to his going out of the roads, and indeed neither would we, fearing the Hollanders might do us some injury in his absence. Thepeople of Puloroon, said they would rather bring him water from Lantore, in their proas. I went on board Mr Davey to acquaint him with this; buthe and his people would not consent, saying the Bandanese would bringthem rain water, or such other as was unwholesome, and that they wouldonly be six days absent, or eight at most. At this time, the principal people of Wayre, a free town on the islandof Lantore, and of the separate island of Rosinging, came over to us, toenter into a parley respecting the surrender of both to the sovereigntyof his majesty; and the formal deed of surrender being agreed upon anddrawn up, they desired that some Englishmen might go over to receive thesame in a public manner from all their hands, and to witness theceremonial. As Mr Davey still persisted to go over with his ship, it wasresolved upon, that Messrs Sophonie Cozocke, George Muschamp, RobertFuller, and Thomas Hodges, should go over in the Swan to Wayre andRosinging, to see that business accomplished, while the Swan wasprocuring water; after which, it was appointed that Mr Cozocke was toreturn in the Swan, while the other three were to remain upon the islandof Rosinging for possession, till farther orders. All business beingthere concluded to our satisfaction, several persons in Wayre andRosinging desired to load nutmegs and mace in the Swan, and to have apassage for Puloroon, there to sell us their spices for rice and cloths. All this was agreed to, and twelve of these persons came on board, witha great quantity of nutmegs and mace. The Swan then set sail for Geulegola, which is only a little way fromWayre, and there watered, after which she again set sail. When abouteight leagues from the land, a Holland ship or two gave them chace. Thepeople of the Swan now asked Mr Davey what he proposed to do. Heanswered, "They see my colours and I see theirs: I know them to beDutch, and they know us to be English: I know of no injury I have donethem, and I will continue my course for Puloroon. " In short time, theStar, for such was the Dutch ship, got up within shot of the Swan, andwithout hailing, or giving the smallest intimation of her intention, let fly both with great guns and small arms in the most violent manner. The Swan received two or three great shot through and through before shereplied, and even had some of her men slain. After this, as Mr Daveywrites, the fight continued an hour and a half, during which five menwere killed in the Swan, viz. Mr Sophonie Cozocke, merchant, who wasdriven to pieces by a cannon-ball, Robert Morton, quartermaster anddrummer, Christopher Droope, Edward Murtkin, and a Bantianese passengerfrom Wayre. Three others were maimed, having lost arms or legs, withvery little hopes of recovery; and eight others were wounded, most ofthem mortally. During the engagement, a Dutchman stood upon the poop ofthe Star with a drawn sword, calling out in the Dutch language, Englishvillains and rogues, we will kill you all. The people of the Swan were much discouraged, on seeing so many of theircompanions dead and wounded, insomuch that none of them would stand bythe sails to trim the ship to the best advantage so that the Hollanderlay upon her quarter pouring in great and small shot, and at last lookher by boarding, both with soldiers and others. They immediately brokeopen and pillaged the cabins, plundered the men basely of their clothesand every thing else worth taking, and throwing overboard whatever didnot please their fancies. Even the Spaniards never used more sterncruelty in their professed wars, than did now the Dutch to us, with whomthey were in peace and amity. The Star had on board 160 men, mostlysoldiers taken from the castles of Nero and Puloway, while the Swan hadnot above thirty able to stand to quarters, the rest being sick or lame, and all much worn out in toilsome labour at Puloroon, in landing theordnance and constructing the two forts. Ten also of their complementhad been left in Puloroon to defend the two forts, two of whom, HermanHammond and John Day, were gunners. The Swan being thus taken and sorebattered in the action, was carried away under the guns of the castle atNero. The Dutch gloried much in their victory, boasting of their exploitto the Bandanese, saying, That the king of England was not to becompared with their great king of Holland: _That Saint George was nowturned a child_, and they cared not for the king of England; for oneHolland ship was able to take ten English ships. They landed all our menat Nero, and kept them all strict prisoners, many of them in irons. The Swan left us at Puloroon on the 16th of January, and we expected herback in eight or ten days at farthest, but never heard of her till the25th of February, when Robert Fuller came over to us from Rosinging andWayre; to acquaint us that be had heard of an English ship being underthe guns of Nero castle. We immediately sent away Robert Hayes, thepurser of the Defence, accompanied by some of the chief men of Puloroon, with directions to land on that side of Lantore which was in friendshipwith us, and to go as near as possible to the Dutch ships with a flag oftruce, to enquire into the matter. After staying almost two hours, therecame at last a boat to fetch him off, but made him wade to the middlebefore they would take him in. Being taken on board one of the Dutchships, the president and assistants of Nero met him, when he demanded toknow why they had made prize of the Swan, what was become of her men, and wherefore they detained our ship and goods. They answered, that_time should bring all to light_. Still urging for an answer, they usedmany opprobrious words against the English, threatening to come over toPuloroon with their forces, and to drive us from there and other places. To this Hayes replied, that they had already done much more than theycould answer for, and was obliged to come away without seeing any onebelonging to the Swan. He could however see our poor ship all rent andtorn, in view of the natives, as an ill-got and dishonourable trophy ofDutch treachery and ingratitude. In a short time after, they sent over amessenger to us with a letter, which we answered, as we did othersafterwards, their messengers frequently coming over with flags of truce, all of which letters, together with the surrenders, I brought over withme to Bantam, and delivered to Captain Ball. The Dutch continually threatened us, by their letters and messengers, that, as they had now taken tee Swan, they would soon come and takepossession of the Defence, and drive us from the island of Puloroon. Wealways answered, that we expected them, and would defend ourselves tothe last. They made many bravados, daily shooting off forty, fifty, orsixty pieces of ordnance at Nero and Puloway, thinking to frighten us. Also the people of Lantore brought us word that they were fitting outtheir ships, and shipping planks and earth, which we imagined was forland service. They had then seven ships, four gallies and frigates, anda great number of men, with all which force they threatened to comeagainst us. We were told likewise, that they had endeavoured to prevailon their black slaves, by promise of freedom and great rewards, to comeover secretly to Puloroon and set fire to the Defence. The Hollandersalso, threatened that we should carry no spices from Puloroon or anyother of the Banda islands. Thereupon, considering our engagements withthe people of Puloroon, Wayre, and Rosinging, to all of whom we hadtrusted our goods, and that we had ready at Puloroon a good quantity ofnutmegs and mace, and the threats of the Hollanders, we resolved tomaintain the honour of our king and country, and to defend the interestof our employers, the honourable Company, to the utmost of our power. For this purpose, we determined to land all the guns, provisions, andstores, from the Defence, and to fortify the small island of Nylackaadjoining to Puloroon; which the Hollanders proposed to have fortifiedformerly; which, if they had done, would have commanded the road, anddone us much injury, as the people of Puloroon would have been preventedfrom fishing, and English ships could not have come into the roads. Having therefore landed all the ordnance of the Defence, except fourpieces of cannon, and being busied in erecting a fortification with theassistance of the Bandanese, Mr Hinshley also, the master of theDefence, being ashore, and every one hard at work landing the things, except a few left on board to keep the ship, a conspiracy was enteredinto by some of the men on the 20th March, 1617; and that same nightthey cut the cables and so drove out to sea. Perceiving this from thesmall island, we immediately sent a boat after them, advising them toreturn with the ship: But the mutineers would neither listen to them, nor suffer the boat to come near the ship, pointing their pieces atthem, and even fired one musket-shot to keep off the boat; which wastherefore compelled to return to the small island. There went away inthe Defence nine of our men, including John Christmas, the boatswain'smate, and we could distinctly see them next day going into Nero roadsunder sail, and come to anchor under the guns of the castle. As weafterwards learnt, some of the runaways went immediately on shore toinform the Dutch of their exploit, contending among themselves which ofthem had piloted the ship. They even brought a can of wine ashore withthem, and drank to the Hollanders on landing. The Dutch took immediate possession of the Defence, and brought all ourrascally deserters into their castle, where they examined them as to ourproceedings at Puloroon and Nylacka, in regard to our fortificationsand means of defence. By this scandalous affair, we were in great dangerof being all put to death by the Bandanese of Puloroon, as theysuspected the desertion of our ships to have been a concerted matterbetween us and the Hollanders, on purpose to betray them. By thislikewise, as our weakness was made known to the Hollanders, they mightbe encouraged to attack us. Indeed they made many violent threateningsof so doing, and we daily looked for their appearance; which, if theyhad so done, must have cost many lives, as we were greatly enragedagainst them for the capture of the Swan, and the severe usage of herpeople. On the 23d of March, we sent a letter to the Hollanders at Nero, byRobert Fuller, who landed upon Lantore; but, owing to some differencebetween the people of that island and the Dutch, he could not be allowedto pass, so that he had to return. The 25th there came a messenger to usfrom Lawrence Ryall, the principal commander of the Hollanders, newlycome to Nero from the Moluccas, desiring Mr Courthop and I would come ina proa to hold a conference with two of his principal merchants, half-way between Puloroon and Puloway; but we refused this request, being afraid of treachery. By this messenger we had a letter from MrDavies, then a prisoner at Nero, intimating his disapprobation of ourproceedings in keeping possession of Puloroon, alleging that ourcommission did not warrant us in so doing, and recommending a parleybetween us and the Dutch general, to prevent the loss of any more lives. It appeared that he was instigated to give us this advice by theHollanders, who had made him believe that they had authority in writingfrom our king, to make prize of any English ships they found to the eastof Celebes, as we afterwards learnt to our great surprise, since, ifthey actually had such authority we must have obeyed. We wrote to Lawrence Ryall, by his messenger, that, if he would sendover Henrick de Watterfoord and Peter de Yonge, two of his principalmerchants, to remain as pledges in Nylacka, Mr Courthop and anothershould be sent to confer with him. We got back for answer, that themerchants we demanded as pledges could not be sent, as the one was goneto sea, and the other could not be spared, being their chiefbook-keeper; but offering us two other principal merchants, whom weagreed to accept. Accordingly, on the 6th April, the Dutch galleybrought over these two, whom we lodged in a tent near the landing-placeunder a guard of twelve Englishmen to protect them from the Bandanese, as we did not think it right to bring them into our fort, that theymight not have an opportunity of viewing our fortifications. Mr Courthop went immediately over to Nero in their galley, and had along conference with the Dutch, in which they used many threats, andcomplained of many injuries they pretended to have suffered from theEnglish, but of which I shall only briefly treat, as the letter from MrCourthop, which I brought over from Banda and delivered to Captain Ball, will certify your worships at large on this matter. They complained, that Sir Henry Middleton had used the Dutch colours, when in the RedSea, pretending to be Holland ships, to their injury and discredit. Tothis Mr Courthop replied, that it was false, as he had sailed with SirHenry, and never knew him to wear Dutch colours; which, moreover, SirHenry was too much a gentleman to have done. They pretended to have ourking's letter, authorizing them to capture any English ship seen to theeastwards of the Celebes. Mr Courthop urged them to produce this letter, on seeing which he declared his readiness to obey the authority of hissovereign, and to evacuate Puloroon; but they had none such to produce. They alleged many other things, equally false, and used many argumentsto induce us to quit Puleroon. All this time, neither Mr Davies nor anyother of the English in their hands were permitted to come near MrCourthop. Finding he could not prevail, Lawrence Ryall, the Dutch general, grewmuch discontented, throwing his hat on the ground and pulling his beardfor sheer anger. At length Mr Courthop told him, that he could concludenothing of his own authority, being joined with a council, but shouldrelate every thing that had passed at Puloroon, which should be takeninto consideration and an answer sent. I had advised him to say this, toget the easier away. Mr Courthop also urged them to restore our ship theDefence, with her men and goods; but they would not, unless we agreed tosurrender Puloroon: offering, if we would deliver up Nylacka and ourfort, in which we had twelve pieces of ordnance, that they would thenrestore both the Swan and Defence, with all our men and goods. Ryallthen desired Mr Courthop to sign a note which he had drawn, acknowledging the proffers he had made, but this Mr Courthop refused. They had so wrought upon Mr Davies, that they expected he might be ableto prevail upon Mr Courthop to come into their terms, and now thereforebrought him to Mr Courthop, with whom he had much discourse, andparticularly urged the truth of the letter they pretended to have fromthe king of England, as before mentioned. When Mr Courthop told him whathe had offered, in case that letter were produced, Mr Davies distinctlysaw he had been imposed upon, and broke out into a rage against them, for having told so many falsehoods;[257] adding, that they had promisedhim and his men good treatment, but that his men complained of being ingreat want of food and clothing, and of general hard usage. They had satin judgment upon him and his men, condemning them to remain as prisonerstill they had orders from Holland as to their ultimate destination. Heeven said, that he was willing to continue in durance, provided we couldkeep them out of Puloroon. The conference being ended, Mr Courthop cameback to Nylacka in the galley, and the pledges were restored. [Footnote 257: Purchas, in a side note at this place, quaintly convertsthe name of the Dutch general into Lawrence _Ly-all_. --E. ] The eastern monsoon being now come, we fitted out a proa to send withdispatches to Bantam, giving an account of what had passed; and it wasagreed that Mr Hinchley and I were to go, accompanied by four Englishmenand fourteen natives of Puloroon, of whom five were chiefs, or_orancays_, one of them being son to the sabander, who is the principalman of the island. We set sail from Puloroon on the 17th April, 1617, and when in sight of Bottone on our way for Macassar, we descried alarge ship and a pinnace, which gave us chase under a press of sail, sothat we had no means of escape, except by standing in for Bottone. Afterbeing chased half a day, we got near the town of Bottone by night, thinking the ships could not have got so far up the river; but seeingthe ship and pinnace almost within musket-shot of us next morning, wepresently landed most of what we had in the proa, taking refuge in thewoods. Having so done, we went immediately to the king, to whom we gavea present of such things as we had, to the value of about thirtydollars, desiring his protection, which he promised in the kindestmanner, and faithfully performed. He sent his servants along with us, to put all our things into a house, giving us also two houses for ourlodging, desiring us to remain within, that we might not be discoveredby our enemies. Almost immediately afterwards, the Hollanders went to the king, givinghim a present three times the value of ours, and enquired who we werethat had landed. To which the king answered that he knew not who wewere. On being asked by the king how long they meant to stay, the Dutchsaid they proposed remaining six days; of which the king sent us notice, advising us to keep close for that time, that we might proceed ingreater security after they were gone. But at the end of these six daysthe Dutch said they would stay six days longer, pretending they had torepair one of their masts. Seeing their intention, and because our proalay in view of the Dutch, we bought another proa, into which the kingmade all our things be carried by his slaves, causing them to navigatethat proa past the Hollanders, and to carry her to the back of theisland, whither he sent us over land under the protection of fifty men. We went immediately aboard, but remained under the island till nearnight, when we stood our course for Macassar, and saw no more of theHollanders. We arrived at Macassar on the 7th May, where we found the Attendanceintending for Banda, but was unable to beat up, owing to the change ofthe monsoon. Having shipped in the Attendance 180 _suckles_ of mace, purchased at Macassar, we sent the proa to Banjarmassen and Succadaneain Borneo, with advice that a supply of goods could not be sent there asexpected, owing to the non-arrival of the Solomon, which had been longexpected at Bantam. The 3d June we arrived at Bantam. As Captain GeorgeBarkley was dead, to whom Mr Ball succeeded as chief of the factory, Ihave delivered all the papers to him, and doubt not that your worshipsmay receive them by the first conveyance. Those are, two surrenders, theletters from the Hollanders with our answers, and every thing relativeto our proceedings in Banda. When I left Puloroon, it was agreed that another proa was to bedispatched for Bantam in twenty days after our departure, lest we mighthave been pursued and taken by the Hollanders. Accordingly a proa[258]was sent, in which was laden 170 suckles of mace, containing 3366cattees, each cattee being six English pounds and nearly two ounces, costing at the rate of one dollar the cattee;[259] which, had it gonesafe, might have sold in England for £5000. In this proa there wereeight Englishmen and thirty Bandanese, under the charge of WalterStacie, who had been mate under Mr Hinchley in the Defence. Hisknowledge and care, however, did not answer expectation, for he ran theproa on the rocky shoals near the island of Bottone, where she bilgedand lost all the mace, the men getting ashore. Stacie is much blamed bythe rest, some of whom told him they saw land on the lee-bow, but he waspeevish and headstrong, calling them all fools, and would not listen tothem. [Footnote 258: In a marginal note, this is called a junk. --E. ] [Footnote 259: From the statement in the text, the suckle appears tohave been about 122 English pounds, and the quantity of maceaccordingly, shipped on this occasion, about 185 cwt. Or 9 1/4tons. --E. ] May it please your worships to understand, that the Hollanders replied, when told that their vile abuses to us would lie heavy on them whenknown in Europe, "That they can make as good friends in the court ofEngland as your worships; that this which they have done will obligeyour worships and them to join, so that a gold chain will recompenceall, and they have dollars enough in Holland to pay for a ship or two, providing they can hinder us from trading at Banda. " In regard to the trade of the Banda islands, Puloroon is reported to bethe worst island. It is about eight English miles in circuit, and thesmall adjoining island of Nylacka is about a mile round. There is atolerable quantity of nutmegs and mace grown on Puloroon, andconsiderably more might be got there if the island were well cultivated. Rosengin is a fine island, producing the largest nutmegs and best maceof all the Banda islands; and, if we hold possession of Puloroon, abundance of nutmegs and mace could be had from Rosengin, Lantore, andother places; as the natives would come over to us with their spices, provided we supply them with rice, cloth, salt, pepper, molasses, andother necessaries, and some Macassar gold, which passes as current inBanda as Spanish rials of eight, and at the same rate, though only worthat Bantam two shillings and fourpence or two and sixpence, for the piececalled mass. Our cargo was small, having only 100 _quoines_ of rice, andour cloth was much decayed, having lain two or three years at Macassar. If we had had three times as much, we could have sold it all atPuloroon for mace and nutmegs, being entreated for cloth and rice bypeople from Lantore, Rosengin and other places, but had it not, so thatsome returned home again with part of their spices. They came over toPuloroon in the night with proas and corracorras. The mace and nuts werevery good, but must be injured by lying so long, owing to themolestations of the Hollanders, while we had no lime for preserving thenuts. The trade will turn out very profitable, if we may quietly possessthe island of Puloroon; but we must buy rice at a lower rate than inMacassar, and I understand it can be had in Japan for about half theprice. In regard to our right to the Banda islands, especially Puloway, CaptainCastleton might have made that secure, as I have often been told; and atall events, we have a much better right than the Hollanders, who byforce of arms have dispossessed us. Except Puloroon be supplied thisyear, and the possession maintained, the English name will be utterlydisgraced, with little chance of our ever being received there again. Ifwe are able to hold it until your worships have determined what to do inthe matter, we shall soon be able to procure there as much mace andnutmegs as the Hollanders; and it may also serve as an entrance into theMoluccas for cloves. The Hollanders pretend an exclusive right to theBandas and Moluccas, in consequence of having the son of the king ofTernate in their hands as a prisoner. But the Bandanese deny that theking of Ternate has any right of dominion in their islands, every one oftheir islands being free, and governed by sabanders and orancays oftheir own appointment. It is indispensible, that supplies of rice and other victuals, andcloth, should be sent for the English and Bandanese, and to bring awaythe nutmegs and mace we have there in godowns or warehouses. TheHollanders give out that they will take all your ships that go to thoseparts, so as to famish both the English and Bandanese; wherefore itrequires earnest and speedy attention, that we may quietly enjoy ourtrade to these islands, which have been surrendered to us, and desireour trade. These are Puloway, Puloroon, Rosengin, and Wayre, which lastis a town in Lantore. Puloway is reported to be a paradise, and theHollanders allege that it is as much worth to them as Scotland is tohis majesty. Even should your worships not be able to get Pulowayrestored, yet, if you enjoy the other three, we shall be able to procureenough of nutmegs and mace for the supply of England, and also for thetrade of Surat and other places in India. Now is the time or never, considering the vile abuses and murders committed upon us by theHollanders. At this time, the Charles and the Hope are bound home fromBantam, and I pray God to send them safe to London. I have sent yourworships a brief abstract of our cargo for Banda, and of the sales madethere. If I seem tedious, I humbly crave pardon; and, with my humbleduty, beseeching the Almighty to prosper and give good success to allyour designs, I humbly take leave, being your worships most humble servant in all duty, _Thomas Spurway_. SECTION X. FIFTH VOYAGE THE JOINT STOCK BY THE ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANY, IN 1617, UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN MARTIN PRING. [260] INTRODUCTION. The fleet appointed for this voyage consisted of five ships; the JamesRoyal of 1000 tons, Rowland Coytmore master; the Ann Royal of 900 tons, Andrew Shilling master; the Gift of 800 tons, Nathaniel Salmon master;the Bull of 400 tons, Robert Adams master; and the Bee of 150 tons, JohnHatch master; the whole under the supreme command of Martin Pring, general, who sailed in the James Royal. --_Purch. _ [Footnote 260: Purch. Pilgr. I. 63. ] §1. _Occurrences on the Voyage out, and at Surat, Bantam, and Jacatra_. On Tuesday the 4th February, 1617, our fleet dropt down from Gravesend. Thursday the 6th, Mr deputy Maurice Abbot, with several of thecommissioners, came aboard and mustered all our men, paying theirharbour wages. These gentlemen left us next day, when all our men wereentered upon whole pay. After much foul weather, we departed from theDowns on the 5th March. The 22d of June we Lad sight of Saldanha point, and anchored that same afternoon in the bay, whence we departed on the13th July. The moon was totally eclipsed at night of the 6th August; itbegan at eight o'clock and continued till past eleven, being totallyeclipsed for an hour and half. On the 25th August at night, betweenseven and eight o'clock, being in latitude 4° 20' S. The water of thesea seemed almost as white as milk, and so continued till morning, whenit began to alter. Next night we found the water similar, but notaltogether so white. Before day on the 30th, the water was again white, and likewise the next night; but on all these occasions we could find noground. On the night of the 8th September at twelve o'clock, our ship sprung aleak, which, when discovered, had raised the water in our hold six feetand a half. In four hours, with both pumps, the ship was freed, but weafterwards found that the water increased at the rate of a foot in thehalf hour. In the morning of the 9th, I summoned the chief commanders ofthe fleet on board, desiring them to send their carpenters to assist insearching for the leak, and some of each of their companies to aid ourmen in pumping. Some were set to rummage the hold in search of the leak, and others to stick our sprit-sail full of oakum, with which we madeseveral trials under the ship's bilge, but could not find the leak. Weat length found, by divers trials within board, that the leak was beforethe main-mast; and we, next morning, fitted the sprit-sail again, letting it down at the stern, and brought it forwards by degrees, and atlength, by God's blessing, our leak was partly stopped, as the wateronly rose about six inches in a glass, which had before risen twelveinches. Bat within three glasses, the oakum being washed out, the leakincreased as before. This night we got an additional pump from the Bull, to free the water from the fore part of our ship, where it stoodeighteen inches deeper than in our well. The 11th, we again fitted oursprit-sail with oakum and let it down again, when it pleased God so tofavour us, that in an hour after our ship was tighter than ever. On the morning of the 12th we espied a sail, which the Gift came up within the afternoon, being a Portuguese ship belonging to Don Pedro deAlmeyda, from Mozambique bound for Diu, laden principally with aboutfifty quintals of elephants teeth. In the morning of the 20th the Beerejoined us from Swally roads, informing us that the rest of our fleetwas safe in that anchorage. They had brought in with them a junk and twoother ships, which they had chased on the 16th. The junk was a greatship of Surat, belonging to the mother of the Great Mogul, burden about1200 or 1400 tons, having in her above 1000 persons, and twenty-ninetons of silver, though some said a great deal more. The other two wereEnglish interlopers, called the Francis and the Lion: the former of 160tons, belonging to-----, and commanded by Captain Neuce; and the latterof 120 tons, fitted out by Philip Bernardy, an Italian merchant inLondon, commanded by Thomas Jones, who had formerly been boatswain ofthe Hector. This evening we anchored in the road of Swally, where we found the restof our fleet, with the foresaid junk and the two English privateers. Onoar arrival, we heard of two Dutch ships having been cast away at_Gowdever_;[261] the Rotterdam of 1000 tons, and a small pinnace. The9th October, I sent up twenty-one chests of coral to Surat, which werelanded two days before from the Ann; and at night I sent up eight tonsand four hundredweight of elephants teeth, taken out of our Portugueseprize. This afternoon twenty sail of frigates from Goa arrived at thebar of Surat, commanded by the Captain-major Don Pedro de Asadedo, [_Asovedo_?] From one of these, five of the country people came ashoreamong our men, two of whom were taken by our guard, and confessed theycame from Goa a month before, having orders from the viceroy to rangethe coast, to discover the English, when they were to return; but if theEnglish were not on the coast, they were to proceed for Cambay, tocapture the caffila, or convoy of country vessels. [Footnote 261: This name is inexplicably corrupt. --E. ] In the morning of the 14th October, seventeen of the frigates departedfor Cambay, passing fairly by us. This day likewise I sent fourteen tonsof elephants teeth to Surat, under a guard of thirty-six men, wholikewise conveyed our treasure to Ahmedabad; and, on the 17th, I sentother twelve tons four hundredweight of elephants teeth. This day thePortuguese frigates returned again, and passed in our sight to thesouthwards. Next day we sent off all the rest for our ivory; and on the22d we landed sixteen chests of coral, and two of sea-horse teeth, outof the Bull. The 14th November, a month's pay was distributed to all the shipscompanies, except the chief commanders and merchants, amounting to 3302Spanish dollars. After this, the Bee was sent off for Jasques; and welanded from the other ships cloth, tin, cases of wine and strong waters, and all the rest of the presents that were in the cabin. The 17th January, 1618, the Bee returned from Persia. This day sevenMalabar junks were seen in the offing, two of which were brought in bythe Francis, and two by the Bee. We departed from Swally roads on the12th March, and anchored that same evening near the bar of Surat. The17th, in the morning, the wind coming about northerly, the Ann departedfor the Red Sea, and on the 18th I dispatched the Bull. At noon of thisday, standing to the southward, we were in lat. 11° 25' N. The wind, asfor four or five days before, being, at night, a slight breath from theland, and, by day, in the afternoon, a fresh breeze from the sea. In theforenoon of this day, we saw eight sail to the southward of us, andthree between us and the land, besides two sallies and ten frigates. Inthe afternoon of the 28th, the Francis and the Bee being near the shoreabreast of Calicut, the Zamorin sent off a boat desiring to speak withme, but I was too far shot to the southwards before the message reachedme. The 2d April we got in the morning into the bay of _Brinjan_, where weanchored in fourteen fathoms, within half a league of the town, a highpeaked hill, like a sugar-loaf; bearing N. E. By E. By the compass, whichis the best mark to know this place by, when the weather is clear. Thisis a good place for refreshments, having hens, cocoa-nuts, and goats inabundance, and plenty offish, together with excellent water springingfrom the rock; but we had to pay seventy dollars, a cloth vest, afowling-piece, a mirror, and a sword, for leave to provide ourselveswith water, and all too little to satisfy the governor, who, afterreceiving our money and giving us leave, came down with seven or eighthundred men, demanding more money, and if we had not kept a strong guardat the spring, would have put us from it after our money was paid. The5th, the wind being fair off shore, we weighed anchor and departed, andin the evening were abreast of a headland eight leagues S. E. By E. FromBrinjan, from which to Cape Comorin it is seven leagues E. Two-thirds S. At six in the evening of the 7th, we had Cape Comorin N. N. E. One-thirdN. Five leagues off, and had soundings in thirty fathoms. And on the19th June we were in Bantam roads, when Captain Ball and Mr Pickham cameon board. On the 24th I visited the pangran, to accommodate matters for CaptainBall, who had arrested a Chinese junk for certain debts they owed ourfactory, making offer to restore the junk, if the pangran would give usjustice, which he gave me his word to do. I went to him again on 6thJuly, accompanied by Mr Ball, Mr Rich, Mr Pickham, and several othermerchants, when he was so inveterate against Mr Ball, that he refused tosee him. On which I sent him word, that Mr Ball had brought the bills ofour debt due by the Chinese, and was the only person among us who couldexplain the transactions between our factory and the Chinese, of which Iwas entirely ignorant. The messenger returned, saying that Mr Ball couldnot be received, on which we all left the court. The 1st September, having the wind off the land, we weighed in themorning, and stood for point Ayre, keeping in seven fathoms till withinthree miles of the point, where one cast we had a quarter less seven, and the next cast only three fathoms. Some supposed we here touched, butit was not perceived by me. Off this point there is a shoal almost evenwith the surface of the water, but having seven fathoms within twocables length of its edge. This afternoon, while standing towards threeDutch ships that rode right in the fair-way, and when within a mile ofthem, our ship grounded; but, God be praised, we got her off againwithout any hurt, and so into the bay, where we again fell in with ashoal, of which we came within two cables length, which lies one and ahalf league from the Flemish islands. We got safely into the road ofJacatra, [now Batavia road] in the afternoon of the 2d September, havingbeen providentially delivered from three several dangers the day before, of which may we be ever thankful. The 19th, the Angel, a Dutch ship of 500 tons, came in from Amboina, laden with nutmegs and cloves, and departed again on the 25th. Early inthe morning of the 26th, I went to visit the king, and found him in agood humour, and conferring with him upon some former business, we cameto a conclusion before I left him, to the following purpose: That he wasto give us a convenient piece of ground for building upon, for which wewere to pay 1500 dollars, and were to be free from all customs onexports and imports on payment of 800 dollars yearly. §2. _Dutch Injustice, and Sea-fight between them and Sir Thomas Dale_. The 27th of September, Mr Bishop arrived from Jappara in the roads in aproa, in which was a _Cogee_, bringing a letter from the Matron toCaptain Ball, wherefore I sent him away to Bantam that night. He lefttwo English behind him at Jappara, one of whom had fled from the Dutch. He likewise brought letters from several of our people who wereprisoners in the Moluccas, and one of these was directed to me, from MrRichard Tatten, in which he complained much of the gross usage of theDutch, who would hardly allow them a sufficiency of rice to subsistupon, and who constantly clapped them in irons, on every idle rumour ofthe coming of our ships. On the evening of the 30th October, Cornelius Marthen, who commanded theFrench ship taken by the Dutch, came into the roads, and came aboard myship that same night. After some discourse, he told me we had six shipscoming from England for these seas, commanded by Sir Thomas Dale, forsome special business at the Moluccas, whither he was bound with theStathouder, the Neptune, and this French prize, to wait the coming ofgood friends. The 27th, in the evening, we had four feet and a halfwater in our hold, which we freed in two hours with both our pumps, andkept under afterwards with one pump, till next morning about teno'clock, when we let down a sail wadded with oakum, which fortunatelystopped our leak. The 31st, I found an excellent place for putting ourship on the careen, on a small island within Taniam point, in the bay ofBantam, on which we made all preparations to remove to that place. The Rose arrived from Tecoo on the 15th of November, bringing news thatthe Hollanders had established a Factory there soon after ours wasdissolved. The 19th, the Moon, Clove, Samson, and Peppercorn arrivedfrom England, and anchored between Vium point and Pulo Paniang. Perceiving the Clove to be admiral, I went first on board her, takingsuch fresh victuals as we could spare. I here found Sir Thomas Daleadmiral, and Mr Jordain president, and learnt that they had lost companyof the Globe to the westward of the Cape, and, what was far worse, theyhad left the Sun, the flag ship, in great danger of being cast away onthe isle of Engano, the whole fleet having much difficulty to doublethat island. They had afterwards waited two days for the Sun, but shehad been bilged on the rocks, as we afterwards learnt, to our greatregret. In the morning of the 22d, these ships sailed into Bantam roads, and on passing the island where our ship lay, we saluted them withfifteen guns we had planted on the shore, and struck my flag incompliment to Sir Thomas Dale, who was admiral of that fleet. Two boats arrived on the 28th from Engano, with sixty-eight menbelonging to the Sun, bringing the lamentable news of the loss of thatship, with many of her company, on, that island. The 29th, the Globearrived in the morning, and this day our leak broke out afresh, but wasquickly stopped by removing the bonnet. [262] The 30th, our ship beingentirely cleared from stem to stem, the carpenters went below to searchfor the leak; and as they passed forwards, removing the lining as theywent, they found an auger hole left open in the middle of the keel, inthe foremost room save one, which hole was four inches and threequarters about, and, had it sprung upon us while at sea and alone, wouldhave tired out our whole company in twenty-four hours. In this the greatmercy of God was manifest, that it never broke out upon us but when wehad a fleet along with us for our aid. [Footnote 262: Perhaps this means by shifting the wadded sail. --E. ] A fast being proclaimed to be held on board the fleet, and the exerciseto be in the James on Sunday the 3d December, Mr Wren, the chaplain ofthe Sun, preached in the morning, and our own minister, Mr Copland, inthe afternoon. This day the Bee sailed for Engano, in hopes to recoversome money and goods belonging to the Swan, from the inhabitants of thatisland. The 4th, a Dutch ship, called the Black Lion, arrived fromPatania, and rode to the westward of Pulo Paniang. As Mr Denton was wellacquainted among the Dutch, he was sent aboard in the barge to enquirewhence she came. On coming aboard, he met an old acquaintance, HendrickJanson, who had been a long time chief factor for the Dutch in Patania. He, and another inferior factor, came aboard the Moon along with MrDenton, where they were well entertained till Sir Thomas Dale came onboard, and were soon after set ashore at Bantam. That same night we helda council, when it was determined to proceed before day with four ships, the Moon, Clove, Globe, and Samson, against the Black Lion, the betterto prevent her escape. At break of day on the 6th, we were close aroundher, and after a short parley, they yielded their ship, on condition ofbeing allowed to land with all their private property; and we broughther that same day near the island, among the rest of our fleet. The Bee returned on the 14th, having been forced back by contrary wind, and unable to get through the straits. On the 16th, twenty Portuguesecame on board the James Royal, who had fled from the Dutch at Jacatra, and whom we received kindly. This evening we were ready to sail, havingeleven ships, great and small, and being in hopes to drive the Dutchfrom Jacatra. Our fleet consisted of the following ships:--The Moon, inwhich Sir Thomas Dale sailed as admiral; the Gift, in which I sailed asvice-admiral; the Unicorn, Clove, Globe, Samson, Pepper-corn, Thomas, Bee, Rose, and Black Lion. We left behind us the James Royal, theAdvice, and our prize, because the James was not ready, and the othertwo had most of her provisions and stores on board. We sailed in the morning of the 19th, and anchored that evening betweenPulo Paniang and Pulo Tunda. In the evening of the 20th, we anchoredwith our whole fleet about a league to the northward of Hector island. This night we sent a barge to the Flemish islands, where they found nopersons on the southern island: but there lay there a Dutch galley, which they set on fire, and so returned on board. That same evening wesaw seven Dutch vessels in the bay of Jacatra. Early in the morning ofthe 21st, they all stood out towards us till near the islands, when theyanchored all together, and we stood towards them in the afternoon, coming to anchor about a mile to windward of their fleet. In theevening, we held a consultation on board the Moon, when it was resolvedto assault the Butch fleet in the following manner:--The Globe andSamson were appointed to assail the Sun, and the Thomas was to pass inbetween them, filled with combustible matter as a fire-ship, to set theSun on fire. The Moon and Clove were to attempt the Golden Lion; theGift and Bee were to assail the Angel; the Unicorn and Rose were toattack the Devil of Delft; and the Pepper-corn was ordered to surprisethe burger-boat come from Jambee, which rode about three leagues fromthe rest, and whose boat, with thirteen men, had been intercepted by ourbarge, while making for the Dutch fleet, about seven this evening. Thisarrangement being written down, we departed, every man to his ownparticular charge. After we were gone, the admiral, Sir Thomas Dale, sent his boat to theThomas for three _sackers_, which kept them at work till next morning ateight o'clock, so that the Hollanders were all away before these gunswere got on board the Moon. We were then all in a Burly-burly to weighand get out to sea, that we might have sea-room, and the advantage ofthe turn of the tide, which we at length attained, getting without theisles of Point Aire. In the mean time, the Dutch fleet passing betweenthese isles and the main of Java, anchored that night on the coast ofJava, and our fleet in the offing, without the islands. On the 23d, inthe morning, the Dutch fleet stood off to the westwards, close under_Anti-Lackie_, in which course the Devil of Delft borrowed so near, thatshe got aground, and remained fast for a quarter of an hour. On seeingthis, we made towards them, but she was got off before we could get anything near, when she and all the rest of their fleet stood to thenorthwards. As our fleet had the weather-gage, we _paid room uponthem_[263] till we came within shot, and then the Moon, commanded by ouradmiral, Sir Thomas Dale, began the fight with the headmost ship of theenemy, called the San. The battle continued for the space of threehours, during which time we spent upon them some 1200 cannon-shot, whenwe left them for the night, they standing so for to the northwards, thatthey got the _burger-boat_ again into their company, and then anchoredabout half a league from us to the westwards, where they remained allnight. [Footnote 263: This antiquated expression evidently means bearing downupon them to leewards. --E. ] Both fleets weighed anchor on the 24th, ours plying to the westwards togain the wind, and the Hollanders ran in shore towards Point Aire. Inthe mean time, we descried three sail coming before the wind from thewestwards, which at length we perceived to be the Little James, theHound, and the Francis. By and bye we joined altogether, and chased theDutch fleet through the bay of Jacatra, to its eastern point, where weall came to anchor for the night. During the night, the Dutch fromJacatra sent a junk filled with combustible matter, and on fire, whichcame so near our fleet that we were fain to weigh our anchors and getout of her way. The 25th, being Christmas-day, we again saw the Dutchfleet standing to the eastwards, and we sent our barge to follow themall night, to see what course they took, because we had left the JamesRoyal in the bay of Bantam, with the Advice and our prize, which theymight have surprised, if they got to Bantam before us, as there was noship of force but the James, and she was unprepared, being busied intaking in her goods and stores, after being emptied to find her leak. The 27th of December, after midnight, the Black Lion, our Dutch prize, was set on fire by the carelessness of three wicked fellows, and burntto the water's edge. The president went ashore on the morning of the30th, to wait upon the king of Jacatra, accompanied by Mr Henry Jackson, when an unfortunate shot carried away his leg, of which wound hedied. [264] [Footnote 264: It appears in the sequel that it was Jackson who lost hisleg and life though the text leaves it dubious whether he or thepresident. --E. ] The 1st of January, 1619, the James Royal, the Advice, and the prize, joined us from Bantam. The 2d, Sir Thomas Dale went ashore to Jacatra tovisit the king, and to learn what were his intentions respecting theDutch fort. The king gave to both him and the president muchsatisfaction, in words at least, promising to grant the English anyreasonable conditions, if they would assist him to surprise the Dutchcastle. This morning, before day, the Francis departed for Puloroon, with provisions for the relief of Mr Nathaniel Courthop and hiscompanions. The 6th we held a council of war aboard the Moon, when itwas determined that we should land from our greater ships six pieces oflarge cannon, three culverines, and three demi-culverines, with aproportional store of powder and shot, to assist the king of Jacatraagainst the Dutch; that Sir Thomas Dale was to remain in that road witheight sail, to cover this business, while five ships, under my command, were to ply up for the straits of Sunda, to lie in wait for the Dutchships. The 25th, we got into the road of Becee, and anchored in fifteenfathoms, about two miles from the shore; the S. Point of Becee bearingS. W. 1/4 W. And the N. Point _Sabaicas_, which shut in the western isleof Pirio Tigs, bearing N. By W. Three leagues off. We watered our shipson the 27th and 28th, and cut wood. I and Mr Coytmore, with severalother masters, went twice ashore to view the harbour, which we found tobe an excellent place of refuge for a small fleet against a superiorenemy. The 31st, by order of the president, we repaired with our fleetinto Bantam roads. The 1st February, Captain John Jourdan the president came on board, whoacquainted me with all that had taken place between them and the Dutch, in regard to the castle of Jacatra, during my absence, the Dutch havingagreed to deliver up that fort to the English, on condition of beingallowed to depart with bag and baggage, and a ship, _for two thousandrials of eight_, to carry them to the coast of Coromandel. [265] SirThomas Dale arrived in Bantam roads on the 4th, with the Moon, Clove, James, Pepper-corn, Hound, and Advice. As the pangran of Bantam hadpractised underhandedly with the Dutch to have the castle of Jacatradelivered into his hands, by which we had been unjustly deprived of thatacquisition, we agreed, in a general consultation, that the president, and all the rest of the principal persons of our factory at Bantam, should repair on board, and get all our goods and provisions put aboardthe ships. Accordingly, we were occupied from the 10th to 16th, bothinclusive, in getting all the money and goods belonging to thehonourable Company on board. During this time, the pangran sent severalobscure persons to the president, as of their own accord, to enquire thereason of his departure, pretending that the pangran had given no justcause for leaving the country. Upon this the president drew up amemorial, enumerating the several grievances and wrongs which theEnglish had suffered from him, meaning to have it translated into theJavan language, and then to be transmitted to the pangran. [Footnote 265: This agreement was crossed by the Pangran of Bantam, whogave us leave to beat the bush, and thought to have caught the birdshimself, but was deceived in the end. --_Purch. _] The 17th, advice was received from Mr Ufflet, at Jacatra, that the Dutchwere daily occupied in repairing and strengthening their fortifications;and that, when the messengers of the pangran demanded the surrender oftheir fort, with part of their money, goods, and ordnance, they gave foranswer, That all these things were the property of their masters, whichtherefore they could not give away. We this day received news of twoDutch ships in the road of Jacatra, and that same night Sir Thomas Daleset sail with eight ships in quest of them, while I remained with fourto attend upon the president. The 26th, having certain intelligence thatfour Holland ships were at anchor in the mouth of the Straits of Sunda, I went out that same evening to look for them, with the James, Gift, Unicorn, and the Little James. Next morning we anchored near PuloPaniang, to take in water, and to put our ships into order, by takingaboard some planks that were alongside. We weighed again in the morning of the 1st March, making sail towardsthe mouth of the Straits, where we observed the two Dutch ships atanchor near the island of Tamporan, about three leagues to the westwardsof Viun, or Palambangan point. We immediately made all sail towardsthem, while they, as in a careless manner, plied to and fro, havingtheir topsails half mast down. At length, as we drew nigh, the Dutchadmiral and all the rest of his ships bore up with my ship, which wasmost to windward, and gave us two shots, one of which went through theship's side under the half-deck, and the other through the steerage. They had no sooner begun than they were as quickly answered from myship, and in such measure, that, in the space of two hours, they becameas quiet as lambs; their admiral, who gave the onset with so mucharrogance, being the first to run away, followed by all the rest. Wechased them till night, and then finding them too swift of foot, we gaveover the chase, standing over towards Pulo Tunda. We came to anchoragain on the 2d of March in the road of Bantam, on which day we hadintelligence that one of the two ships lately come to Jacatra had gotaground near the castle, and had been set on fire by themselves onseeing Sir Thomas Dale. The other ship, which had taken in a valuableloading from the castle, was also cast away on some rocks, ten leagueseast of Jacatra. On the 4th, we had a letter from John Powell, residing at Jacatra, stating that Sir Thomas Dale had sailed on the 1st, with the Moon, Hound, Rose, and Bee, in search of the stranded Dutch ship. The 14th weheard from Sir Thomas that he had got almost within shot of the fourDutch ships we met with, but had been taken by a dead calm for twelvehours, succeeded in the night by a tempest, which scattered them so farasunder by next morning, that they lost all hopes of the chase, and hadtherefore returned to Point Ayre, whence he proposed bringing the Moonimmediately to Bantam, leaving the rest of his ships to take inprovisions at Jacatra. In a consultation as to the best course to betaken with the fleet, it was resolved to go to the coast of Coromandel, which we were informed was a good country for recovering the health ofour men, and abounding in rice, wheat, butter, and other, provisions, which could not be procured here for any money. §3. _Departure for Coromandel, with Occurrences there, and the Death ofSir Thomas Dale, --Capture of English Ships by the Dutch; and Occurrencesat Tecoo_. On Monday the 19th of April, 1619, all our ships being together inBantam roads, with three Chinese junks riding among us, it was resolvedin council to execute the commission given us by the Honourable Company, by appropriating to them the goods in these junks, in payment of formerdebts due by the Chinese. Next day _Kewee_ came aboard to the president, accompanied by the three _nockhadas_, or captains of the junks, to knowhis intentions. He gave him the following answer:--If the young king ofBantam would displace the pangran, who had treated us with so muchinjustice, he would then return on shore and _bichar_[266] with him, andrestore the junks. The 28th, being ready to sail, intending to go forMorrogh to take in water and unload the junks, we descried a sail comingfrom the westwards round Palinbangan point, which turned out to be aPortuguese frigate, captured at Jasques, manned by twenty Englishmen, and sent by Captain Bonnar with advice to the president at Bantam. Welearnt from these men that Sir Thomas Roe, the lord ambassador to theMogul, was gone for England in the Ann Royal, having left the countrywith great honour and reputation to himself, and much advantage of theHonourable Company. Bodman, who was the cause of setting the Black Lionon fire, was hanged on the 22d of May, and that same night we set sail. [Footnote 266: This unexplained term probably means to make peace. --E. ] The 30th May, Sir Thomas Roe stood in with his fleet under the island, while we held on our course for Masulipatam, having the Unicorn, Gift, and Bee in our company. The 30th June we anchored in nine fathoms, abouttwo leagues from the coast of Coromandel, where we rode four days, being hardly able to visit each other in all that time, owing to W. S. W. Winds, and a continual current setting to E. N. E. The surf also broke solofty on the beach, that we durst not attempt landing with any of ourboats. We were at length able to communicate together, when Mr Roberts, the master of the Unicorn, gave us notice of a bay on this coast in thelatitude of 17° N. About five leagues to the eastwards of Nassapore, [Narsipore] where there was good riding during the westerly monsoon. This was exactly what I wanted, having no hope to recover Masulipatamagainst wind and current. We accordingly set sail on the 4th, in themorning, and stood to the eastwards, the coast trending W. S. W. AndE. N. E. And having run about nine leagues by estimation, with the windand current, we found the land to turn away N. And N. By W. [267] givingme hopes of a good road. At this point of land there cometh put a greatriver, [268] by the stream of which there has been raised a reef orshoal, extending half a mile into the sea from the point, andoccasioning a smoother road. Bringing that sand to bear S. S. W. There isgood and safe anchorage in six and a half fathoms, two miles from theland. Two leagues north from this point, which, for distinction, I nameCape Comfort, there issues forth another branch of the same river, bywhich the headland is made an island, and off the mouth of this riverthere is likewise a long spit of sand, which is dry at low water. [Footnote 267: Obviously rounding Cape Godawery, in lat. 16° 83' N. ] [Footnote 268: One of the two main branches forming the Delta of theGodawery. --E. ] The 4th of July I sent the boat belonging to the Unicorn into the secondbranch of the river, which we called Mullet Sound, to see if they coulddiscover any town where a guide might be procured, to conduct RobertPickering and William Clarke to Masulipatam, by whom we proposed sendinga letter to Mr Methwould. Our boat returned on the morning of the 6th, reporting that a guide had been procured at a little village threeleagues up the river. They likewise brought aboard twenty hens, whichthey had bought for two shillings. The 8th, the barge returned fromCaptain Ball with seventy-one sheep and goats, and thirty-nine hens, having left Captain Ball and others at a town called _Narsapela_, sixleagues up in the country. The 12th, Mr Methwould came from Masulipatamin one of the country boats, and brought with him twenty hogs, two largejars of arrack, six goats, and two baskets of bread. He also brought usnews of a Dutch ship richly laden, then in the port of Masulipatam, andready to depart for Holland. In the evening of the 26th, I went in the barge to seek out some bar orcreek by which we might reach Coringa, the principal town in these partsnear the sea side. That same night, I got over the bar of Coringa, whichplace I came to about two miles up the river, and was well received bythe principal persons of the place, who were very ready to trade withus, and sent notice that same night of my arrival to the governor ofVingeron. Next morning, having rowed about three miles up the mainriver, and two miles up a little creek, we had sight of Vingeron, abouttwelve miles off. [269] I now landed, and walked towards Vingeron; but, before I reached it, the governor sent his horse for me, with all themusic the place afforded; and among these instruments there were twogreat brass horns instead of trumpets. The governor received me verykindly, but more kindly my present, which consisted of two pieces ofChina velvet, and six pieces of China taffeta. Our compliments ended. Itook leave of him, when he caused me to be conveyed in his own palanquinto a house near at hand, which he had appointed for my lodging. [Footnote 269: The town of Rajahmundry exactly answers to thesecircumstances, in reference to Coringa, and is in fact the head town ofthe province in which Coringa is situated. --E. ] I returned on board the James on the 1st of August, when I learnt, to mysorrow, that the shallop belonging to the Unicorn had been cast awaythree days before, near Ponara, on which occasion Mr Harris was drowned, together with two of the coxwain's crew, and a black; Captain Spaulding, Mr Yard, and others, escaping with much difficulty. In the morning ofthe 2d, the governor of Vingeron came aboard to see our ship, expectingsome great present; on which occasion I gave him a piece of Chinadamask, and four pieces of taffeta, which gave him more delight than thesight of a thousand ships, and he departed when he found he got nothingmore by begging. The 23d I caused all the men to come on board, intending to proceed for Masulipatam, and this evening we got on board150 goats, to serve us for fresh provisions at sea. The 24th therearrived a ballegat from Narsepore, bringing twenty-six candees ofgaravances, a candee of butter, and an hundred gallons of arrack. [270] Ialso, had letters from Masulipatam, announcing the melancholy news thatSir Thomas Dale had died at that place on the 9th of August. [Footnote 270: Though not so expressed, these seem to have been intendedfor the use of the English ships. --E. ] In the morning of the 6th September, having rode most part of thepreceding night in nineteen fathoms, about three leagues S. S. E. From thebar of Narispore, and having the wind at N. W. We again set sail towardMasulipatam, [271] and anchored at night four leagues to the eastward ofthat place. Off the river of Narsipore we found the current to set byday to the S. S. E. And N. N. E. In the night, at the rate of half a leaguean hour. In the morning of the 7th we could see the English ships in theroad of Masulipatam, in which road we came to anchor in the evening, finding here the Moon, Clove, Globe, and Advice, which last being foundunserviceable, was here cast off, and her stores and provisions put onboard the Moon and Clove. Next day, Mr Spaulding, Mr Ball, and MrMethwould came aboard the James, giving me a report of all matters thathad passed in my absence, as also a state of the Company's business. Iaccompanied them ashore in the afternoon, that we might the betterconsult together how to proceed in the important concerns committed toour charge. The first thing proposed was the union of both fleets, whichwas thought adviseable, and I was made choice of as admiral and chiefcommander of the whole ships and men thus united, according to thedirection of the Honourable Company. [Footnote 271: The true name of this place is Mutchelipatnam; in Purchasit is called Messulapitan and Masulpatam. --E. ] The 18th of October, a ship belonging to Masulipatam arrived from Mokha, by which we had news of the Lion being at Mokha, having a small frigateor bark in her company. The same day the Bee arrived fromNarsipore-pete, with provisions for the fleet. The 19th, the Dragon'sClaw came from Narsipore-pete[272] almost laden with rice andpaddy. [273] On Thursday the 9th December, Mr Ball, Mr Methwould, and theother merchants who were to remain in the country, went ashore in theafternoon. In the morning of Friday the 10th, we left the road ofMasulipatam, and anchored in the afternoon off the headland, to wait forthe Pepper-corn, which came to us in the evening. By my estimation, thedifference of longitude between the island of Engano and Masulipatam is19° 30' of a great circle; and, although this does not give the truelongitude in these parts near the equator, as custom has so called it, Ido, that I may not savour of innovation. [Footnote 272: This may designate the road of Narsipore; but petahusually signifies in India the suburb or town connected with afortress. --E. ] [Footnote 273: Paddy is rice in its natural state as it comes from theplant on which it grows; rice is paddy deprived by art of its coarsehusk. --E. ] Next morning, very early, we descried the land of Sumatra, the hill ofPassaman bearing E. N. E 1/2 N. Twelve leagues distant, [274] and the highland of Priaman E. 1/2 S. Fourteen leagues off. We here met with twoshoals, within a mile of each other, E. And W. The Gift came over theeastermost, and had not less than four and a half fathoms. I sent theClaw over the other, on which were four fathoms where she first crossed, but only two fathoms in returning, a little more to the northward. Aboutnine this morning the wind came to the S. E. And so continued till threein the afternoon, by which time we had got to the southward of all theshoals; and so, with little wind, we spent the night between theseshoals and the island of Battoo, [Batoa. ] In this situation, a saggingcurrent bore us to the northwards near the shoals, which, if it had setS. E. As formerly experienced, it ought to have carried us near to Tecoo. [Footnote 274: Purchas must here have omitted a part of the text, particularly the series of dates between Masulipatam and Passaman inSumatra. As the text now stands, it would seem as if they had gone fromMasulipatam to the coast of Sumatra, a run of about 1600 miles, in onenight, an utter impossibility. But from the context, instead of the 11thDecember, 1619, the day after leaving Masulipatam, it would appear theyreached the coast of Sumatra on the 23d January, 1620, giving forty-fourdays for the run across the bay of Bengal. --E. ] The 24th, in the evening, we had sight of the isles of Tecoo, and cameto anchor about eight o'clock, in forty-four fathoms, these islesbearing E. By N. Seven leagues off. The 25th, with the first of thetide, we again weighed and steered for Tecoo; and, as we drew near, weespied three sail standing to the northwards, which came to anchor nearthe coast that night, while we anchored with our whole fleet about aleague without them. Next morning they weighed anchor and joined us, when we found them to be the Palsgrave, Elizabeth, and Hope. From themwe had the doleful news of the Dragon, Bear, Expedition, and Rose, having been taken by six Dutch ships, while at anchor, within the islesof Tecoo; as also that the Star had been taken by the Dutch in thestraits of Sunda. They also said that the Hollanders had sent four greatships, doubly manned, in quest of the Samson and Hound, and that theywere exceedingly doubtful as to the safety of these ships. Thus theEnglish ships now taken by the Hollanders were almost equal in number toour three fleets now joined in one under my command. On Monday the 31st January, 1620, we held a consultation aboard theJames Royal as to our future proceedings, when it was unanimously agreedto go to Acheen, in hopes to meet our ships from Surat, that we mightkeep our force together, according to the instructions of the HonourableCompany. Our chief reasons for this proceeding were the want of rice andother provisions, which could not at this time be had at Bantam;secondly, the strong naval force of the Hollanders, as we did not thinkit prudent to risk the entire property now belonging to the Company inIndia upon such desperate terms, as the Dutch had four ships for everyone of ours; and, lastly, which was an imperious necessity, that wemight careen three of our ships, the James, the Gift, and the Unicorn, which could not be much longer deferred without imminent hazard. For allthese reasons, we resolved to proceed for Japan, where, as we were givento understand, all things necessary for careening our ships, andabundance of provisions for our relief, were to be had. The 11th, Mr Mills arrived in the Bee from Priaman, with 300 sacks ofvery good rice, and eleven hogsheads of oil, giving us greatencouragement to send there again. The 12th, the Claw was sent off forPedang and Cuttatinga, to procure rice and other provisions; and, on the15th, the Bee was sent back to Priaman for more rice and oil. The 19ththe Claw returned with thirty-four bags of rice, 16, 000 cocoa-nuts, andten goats; and the same night the Bee came back with 980 sacks of rice, procured with much difficulty by Mr Mills, merchant of the Elizabeth. The 3d March we departed from the road of Tecoo, intending first totouch at _Mintaon_, on purpose to dispatch the Bee for England, andthence to go for Acheen, in hopes of meeting the Charles and the Rubyfrom Surat. The 30th March we all anchored in the bay of Samanca, abouta mile from shore, where we took in wood, water, and other necessaries. Next day we sent to recall the Bee from Balembeen. The 1st April we sentthe shallop belonging to the Unicorn for Anniar, to enquire concerningthe Dutch force, and how the pangran stood affected towards us. [275] Ateleven this night, twenty-two of our men ran away with our barge. Nextmorning the shallop returned from Anniar, and brought news that therewere fifteen sail of Dutch ships at Bantam and Jacatra, upon which weresolved to proceed to Bantam, to treat with the pangram, hoping thatthe Dutch _might not venture to attack us_. The Bee arrived in theafternoon from Ballambeen, [Palimbangan. ] The 6th we set sail forBantam, and on the 7th, between Crackastaw and Becee, we met a proa withsome of our people coming from Anniar. [Footnote 275: The intended voyage to Acheen seems to hate been laidaside; perhaps the monsoon had become adverse, and forced them to theS. E. Towards Bantam. --E. ] §4. _News of Peace between the English and Dutch_. At four in the morning of Saturday the 8th April, 1620, we met the Bull, newly come from England, bringing the joyful news of peace having beenconcluded between us and the Dutch. She was accompanied by a small ship, called the Flying Hart, with letters of advice for us, or any other ofthe English ships, giving notice of the agreement and union that hadtaken place between the two Honourable East India Companies of Englandand Holland. We came to anchor with all our fleet in the afternoon, nearthe point of Palimbangan. In the morning of the 11th, we descried theDutch fleet coming from Jacatra to meet us, and to congratulate with uson the joyful intelligence of peace. General Coen was there in person, and as soon as he came to anchor, the Holland fleet and ours began tosalute each other with peals of ordnance, to communicate theintelligence to the natives, and to express our own joy of the happynews of peace. The 12th, we came altogether into Bantam roads, the Dutch fleetconsisting of fifteen sail, besides two others of their nation which wefound already in the roads, and ours of twelve sail. This day, MrJanson, commander of the Dutch fleet, accompanied by their fiscal, anddivers others, came to visit me, and invited Mr Brockendon, Mr Spalding, and myself on board the Dutch admiral's ship, where we conferred withGeneral Coen concerning our future conjunct arrangements. After we hadcompared the articles and letters, the Dutch general agreed that weshould jointly proceed in conformity with the instructions we hadreceived from our Honourable Company; but he declined publishing thearticles till the arrival of some ship from Holland, with the articlesand instructions from their Company. On the 14th, in the morning, bymutual concert between us and the Hollanders, we sent Mr Beaumont andPhilip Baduge on, shore, with one Dutch merchant, to communicate thenews of our peace and agreement to the pangran, and to inform him, as wewere now united, we only desired to have a reasonable composition withhim, through which we might remain quietly in his country, enjoying afree trade on just and equitable conditions, as in other parts of India. But the pangran was so much dissatisfied with the news, that he wouldgive no answer to their message, often times asking them why we hadbecome friends with the Hollanders, so that they had to return withoutany answer. We sent the same message to him next day, but our messengerswere not allowed to land. * * * * * "The differences and maritime warfare which took place between the Dutchand English East India Companies, of which some notice has been taken;and the peace and union which are announced, as having been communicatedto their respective commanders at this time, would lead to historicaldiscussions and deductions, which do not properly belong to the objectof a Collection of Voyages and Travels; but which, if altogether passedover, would leave much of the foregoing circumstances, and some thathave to be noticed in the sequel, abrupt, isolated, and almostunintelligible. It has therefore been deemed proper to give a briefaccount of these differences, and of the singular so called _union_, which took place in consequence, extracted from the Annals of the EastIndia Company, vol. I. P. 201, _et seq. _[276] [Footnote 276: This addition to §4. Of the present voyage, is made bythe Editor; but almost entirely derived from the historiographer of theEast India Company. --E. ] "When the differences and aggressions which had occurred in the spiceislands were reported in Europe, the English and Dutch Companiespresented memorials and remonstrances to their respective governments, each complaining against the servants of the other, as guilty ofunwarrantable aggressions. In Holland, calculating on the pacificcharacter of King James, it was expected that the opposition to theprojects of the English for participating in the trade of the spiceislands, although of at least a tendency towards warlike aggression, would not lead to national hostilities, but might be discussed by meansof remonstrances and negociation. "After long conferences between English and Dutch commissioners, forsettling the disputes between the two Companies, a treaty was concludedat London on the 17th July, 1619; by which, after specifying an amnestyfor all past excesses, and a mutual restitution of ships and property, the trade of the two nations in the East was declared to be free;--Thatthe pepper trade at Java should be equally divided;--That the Englishshould have a free trade at Pullicat, on paying half the expences of thegarrison;--That the English were to enjoy one third of the export andimport trade, at the Molucca and Banda islands, commonly called thespice islands; commissioners to be appointed for regulating the trade, and the charges of the garrisons, under their inspection, to be defrayedin that proportion by the two Companies;--That each Company shouldfurnish ten ships of war for the common defence; which ships were not tobe employed to bring cargoes to Europe, but only in the carrying trade, between one port and another in the East Indies. --The whole proceedingsarising out of this treaty, were to be under the regulation of a_Council of Defence_, composed of four members appointed by eachCompany, who were to reside in India; and this treaty was to subsist inforce for twenty years. "It would lead far beyond any due bounds that could be afforded in thiswork, to follow out this compact, singularly weak on the part of KingJames, and assuredly either contrived by his boasted _king craft_, ordevised by some wily Dutch politician, who was acquainted with hismajesty's wonderful sagacity. This union and the council of defence, turned out a most fruitful source of advantage to the Dutch, who hadcompletely duped the king and government of England, and totallyexpelled the English Company from any share whatever in the trade of thespice islands; after contriving to make them pay more than two thirds ofthe expence of fortifications and garrisons, instead of one third, allof which were effectually converted to their injury and exclusion. Inthe sequel of these voyages, several instances will be found, completelyillustrative of these positions; and from the year 1625, or thereabout, the Dutch enjoyed the entire profits of the spice trade, including thewhole island of Java, till within these very few years; when, assubjects of Buonaparte, they have been driven from every foreignpossession, and entirely excluded from all participation in the trade ofthe East. "--E. §5. _Voyage of Captain Pring from Bantam, to Patania and Japan, andreturn to Jacatra_. [277] The 26th of April, 1620, we sailed from Bantam roads, with the JamesRoyal and Unicorn in company, intending, by the grace of God, to go forJapan, there to careen and trim our ships. Mr Brockendon departed at thesame time for Jacatra with six ships; proposing, about a month after ourdeparture, to send five good English ships after us to Japan, that wemight have the fittest season of the year to go from thence to theManillas. The 27th, we took leave of this fleet, and steered towards thenorth, borrowing within half a league of the eastern point ofPulo-Tunda; and came to anchor in the evening about a league off theN. E. Point of that island, in twenty-three fathoms upon ooze, waitingtill the western stream of the tide began to return to the eastwardswhich was about ten at night, when we proceeded on our course. [Footnote 277: Purchas gives two relations of this voyage, one brief, "lest the longer one might interrupt the more delicate muses of somereaders with sea-sickness, the other for those that are more studious ofnautical knowledge. " On the present occasion, we have preferred the moreextended narrative, and have therefore united both accounts as given byPurchas, being the remainder of §4. Joined to the whole of §5. Givingone instance of minute nautical remarks of our earlier navigators. --E. ] The 28th at night, we anchored in 18 f. On ooze, Pulo Antekero bearingN. E. Three leagues off. Pulo Antekero bears N. N. E. 1/2 E. From PuloTunda, about eight leagues distant. The depth of water between the twoislands, runs-from 16 f. To 26, and so to 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, and 12 f. All ooze. Pulo Antekero is westernmost of the islands which extend in arow from the bay of Jacatra, [or Batavia, ] to the westward. Continuingour course, we anchored, in the evening of the 29th, in 15 f, Pulo Kerobearing N. By E. 1/2 E. 2-1/2 leagues off. Pulo Kero bears N. N. E. Nearlyfrom Antekero, six leagues off. After passing halfway between theseislands we had 20, 18, 16, 14, 12 f. On ooze. At noon on the 30th wehad Pulo Kero six leagues off, S. 1/2 E. Our depth continuing 13, 12, 11f. All ooze. At noon on the 1st May, Pulo Kero bore S. 1/2 W nine leagues, and thedepth 12 f. Being just able to see that island from our top-mast head. By observation of the sun, we were then in lat. 4° 45' S. From noon tillfive p. M. Our course was N. N. E. Four leagues. We then anchored in 11 f. On ooze, having Pulo Kero by estimation thirteen league S by W. Thisnight at nine, being still at anchor in the same place, I made the ship, by observation of the Crozies, in lat. 4° 40' S. Allowing 29° for thecomplement of declination. We set sail at four a. M. Of the 2d, and bynoon had run about six leagues N. N. E. The depths continuing as before, 13, 12, 11 f. By noon of the 3d our course was S. By E. Five leagues, the soundings as before, all the ground from Bantam roads hitherto beingooze. From Bantam for the first two days, we had land and sea breezes;afterwards, till the afternoon of the 2d, the wind was constant betweenE. And S. E. When the wind came northerly, and so continued till the 3dat noon. From Pulo Paniang to Pulo Antekero, the current set to thewestwards, somewhat strong; but from thence we found the currents moregentle, and changing into every direction in the course of thetwenty-four hours. Our course from noon of the 3d till noon of the 4th was N. N. E. Elevenleagues, the depths from 12 to 10-1/2 f. From noon this day till sevenat night, we made 5-1/2 leagues N. And then anchored in 9-1/2 f. Weweighed in the morning of the 5th. Having but little wind and thatvariable, till half an hour after six, when it sprung up fresh at S. W. From four to nine a. M. We made three leagues N. E. 1/2 E. And from ninetill noon only half a league N. W. By N. This day at noon we were in lat. 3° 30' S. When we descried a small island N. N. E. 1/2 E. Four leaguesoff, which appeared at first like a great tree rising out of the see. From noon till six p. M. Our course was five leagues N. W. We here saw twoor three hummocks like islands, N. By W. Seven leagues off. From thencetill three a. M. Of the 6th, we sailed W. Six leagues. At six in theevening of the 5th we had 9 f. Which increased as we stood westwards inthe night, to 10, 11, and l2 f. And afterwards decreased to 8 f. Wherewe came to anchor. The stream by night set S. E. And by day N. W. Weweighed again at six a. M. Of the 6th, and steered W. N. W. 1-1/2 league, when we had sight of many hummocks rising like so many islands, butwhich at length we perceived to be all one land. Coming now into 6-1/2f. We altered our course to the N. E. Making our course N. N. E. Till noon, about 2-1/2 leagues; at which time, by an observation of the sun, wewere in lat. 3° 20' S. We were now in 8 f. And found the current to setN. W. By W. About noon of this day, a junk belonging to Johor came upwith us, which had been at Cheribon in Java, and was returning to Johor. The afternoon, we steered in with the eastern part of the hummocky landof Banka, making our course N. N. E. 1/2 N. In which we came again to 8 f. Afterwards increasing regularly to 24 f. And then decreasing again to aquarter less 7 f. When we came to anchor against the E. Point of thatland, which bore from us N. N. E. 1/3 N. Four leagues off. We weighed in the morning of the 7th, and stood in nearer the point, inhopes of being able to pass through between that island and one whichlay three leagues to the E. But in our way, we found the soundings, after increasing from 7 to 17 f. To decrease again to 6 and to one-halfless 4 f. And about two miles off the point in the fair way we had onlysix feet water in the fair way, or mid-channel. To the eastwards, thereappeared many islands, and by the report of the people in the junk, thesea is full of islands between the S. E. End of Banka and the island ofBorneo. The S. E. End of Banka now bore N. N. E. 1/2 N. About two leaguesoff; and the land from this point to the entrance of the straits ofBanka, lay W. By S. The straits being thirteen leagues from us. Where welay at anchor, the before-mentioned point bearing N. By E. 1/2 E. 2-1/2leagues off, we had an observation of the sun, giving the latitude ofthe ship 3° 8' S. Having little hope of finding a passage between Bankaand Borneo among these islands, by reason of the fearful shoalings wehad already met with, we resolved on the 8th to go through the straitsbetween the island of Banka and Sumatra, called the Straits of Banka;wherefore we set sail, retracing as nearly as we could the course bywhich we came into the present shoal water; in which course we foundstill more dangerous shoalings than in our in-coming. After we had gotabout eight leagues off, S. S. W. From the before-mentioned point ofBanka, we steered S. W. By W. The current setting N. W. Which made ourcourse nearest W. By S. In this course we proceeded five leagues, andanchored in 8 f. On ooze, about nine at night. In the morning of the 9th, we descried Lucepara, N. N. W. Seven leaguesoff, and steered towards it, till we had it N. Two leagues. In thiscourse we passed over a spit, where we had only 4-1/2 f. And 4-3/4. Buton nearing Lucepara, we had 5-1/4 f. All ooze. We then steered N. W. ByN. Till Lucepara was N. E. Of us, having 5 f. And the same ground. Wethen, went W. N. W. Having always ooze, till we were within two leagues ofthe Sumatra shore in 6 f. The isle of Lucepara bore then E. S. E. 3-1/2leagues off; and a hill on Banka with a deep swamp, N. By W. Being abouta sail's breadth open of the point of Sumatra, which bore N. By W. 1/2W. From us, about three leagues off. We steered thence away with thesaid point N. By W. Having 6-1/2 and 7 f. Soft ground, till we camewithin a league of the point, where edging too near we had but 5-1/2, and only 4-1/2 in the boat hard by us: But, if we had kept a littlefarther from the point, we might have gone in 7, 8, 9, and 10 f. Allthrough the strait, borrowing carefully with the lead upon the Sumatrashore; whereas by keeping nearer to Banka than Sumatra, the soundingsare very variable, sometimes deep, and sometimes shallow, and mostlyfoul ground. On the Sumatra shore, even if coming into shoal water, theground is mostly soft ooze, and the soundings far more regular andcertain. In the evening of the 12th May, having brought the N. W. Point of Bankato bear N. E. We opened two smooth hills with a little hummock betweenthem; one of these hills being the northermost land of Banka, andbearing N. E. Nine leagues, from the N. W. Point of that island. Thisnight we steered N. N. E. To get through the channel between Lingan andthe N. End of Banka, having 23, 22, 20, 18, and 16 f. All ooze, till wecame near the entrance, and afterwards 15, 14, 13 f. In going throughthe passage. Lingan rises at first in three islands, the northermostbeing larger than both the other two, being near two leagues long andfull of hummocks. Among these three islands there are certain fragmentsof isles intermixed, like so many hay-cocks, which is a good markwhereby to know these islands. From the smooth hill which is the northend of Banka, to the south-westermost isle of Lingan, it is N. By W. Tenleagues. From the middle of the largest isle of Lingan, which is thenorth-eastermost, there is another smooth island nine leagues off, E. N. E. 1/2 N. From that there is another flat island, and off the northpoint of the round smooth island, there is a little fragment like arock. In the fair way between this island and Lingan, there are 14 and13 f. The course being midway between, and to the N. To pass along bythe E. Side of Bintang. This day at noon, being the 12th May, ourlatitude was 1° S. [278] the greatest isle of the Lingan group being S. W. From us five leagues, whence we estimated its latitude to be 1° 10'nearly. [Footnote 278: This is an evident error, as the northern side of thelargest island of the Lingan group is exactly on the equator, andBintam, or Bintang, is in lat. 1° N. --E. ] At noon of the 14th, having made way twenty-four leagues to thenorthward, by aid of the wind and a current setting to the north, we hadsight of the high land of Bintang, rising with two hills and a deepswamp or hollow between, and, as we judged, twelve leagues from us. Atthis time, likewise, we had sight of three or four hummocks, S. W. By W. Eight leagues off, which seemed separate islands. We had here 20 f. Oursoundings from Lingan being 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, and 20 f. From noon ofthe 14th till noon of the 15th, we made twenty-seven leagues N. 1/3 W. Our soundings in these twenty-four hours being 21, 22, 23, and 24 f. From noon till three p. M. Of the 15th we made 3 1/2 leagues, and thenhad sight of Pulo Laor, N. W. 1/2 N. About twelve leagues off, havingthen 27 f. The ground resembling fuller's earth. At night, Pulo Laorbeing N. W. By W. Eight leagues off, we had 39 f. On ooze. From noon ofthe 15th till eight a. M. Of the 16th, we made our course N. N. W. 1/2 W. Fifteen leagues. At night of the 16th, Pulo Laor bore S. W. By S. Fiveleagues; the body of the island of Hermano de Layo W. S. W. 1/2 W. Sevenleagues; and the S. End of Pulo Timon W. 1/2 N. Ten leagues, its N. E. End being W. N. W. 1/2 W. Ten leagues. We anchored this evening withinfour leagues of the N. Point of Pulo Timon, in 24 f. _streamy_ ground, that point bearing W. By S. 1/2 S. In the evening I sent my boat roundthe point, where they observed a town, with a junk riding close by theshore, and several proas fishing. One of these came to enquire whatnation our people were of, and told them there was good fresh water atthe town, with plenty of buffaloes, goats, and poultry. In the morning of the 17th, we sent the Unicorn's longboat along withours to the town, whence they came back in the evening with four buttsof water each, not willing to fill more, as it was brackish. They foundat the watering-place a junk belonging to Johor, fitted out for war, having twenty men armed with fire-arms, besides lances and javelins. They reported that they had taken a Chinese junk, which they had sold onthe coast of Johor; the nokhada sending me word, that he would assist meagainst the Portuguese at the hazard of his life. In the bay next to thesouthwards of Pulo Timon, we found excellent fresh water, but could notconveniently take it in by means of our long-boat, which drew five feetwater when loaded. Having thus spent the day to little purpose, we setsail at the beginning of the night, directing our course for Patane, and steering N. All night with little wind. At noon of the 18th, we were in the latitude of 3° 40' N. At four p. M. We had sight of Pulo Tingoran, N. N. W. Fifteen leagues off. At night wepassed by Tingoran, about six leagues to the eastwards, having 28, 30, and 32 f. On soft ground. At six a. M. Of the 19th, Tigoran bore W. S. W. Seven leagues from us, when we had thirty-six f. Soft ground. At noon ofthis day we were in lat. 5° 30' N. Tingoran bearing S. 1/3 E. Fourteenleagues off, by which we estimated the latitude of that island to be 4°50 N. We had likewise, at noon, the south isle of Pulo Rowdon, [Ridang, ]N. W. By W. Seven leagues off. The same night at eight, I observed thecroziers, making the latitude of the ship 5° 48' N. At this time, thelargest of the Ridang isles, which is the eastermost, bore from us dueW. Four leagues distant. From eight this night, till noon of the 20th, our course was nearly N. W. By W. Nine leagues, our sounding being from28 to 17 f. The northermost of the Pulo Ridang isles was then S. 1/3 E. Four leagues off, being a round hummock, much like Pomo in the gulf ofVenice, but somewhat higher and more complete. These isles consist ofgood high land, having fair depth all along their eastern side toseawards, and I am told have a free and safe channel between them andthe main land. There are thirteen or fourteen islands in this group, great and small. From noon of the 20th till eight in the morning of the 21st, our coursewas W. N. W. Nine leagues. We saw two hills by the water-side, bearing W. And five leagues off, resembling two great tortoises. From Pulo Tingoranall the way to Patani, the land up the country is very high, while thatjust within the coast is low, with a sandy beach. This is the case forat least twenty leagues south of Patani, but how much farther I knownot. In the afternoon of the 20th, while standing towards the two hillsjust mentioned as resembling tortoises, we came from 17 into 14 and 13f. With hard ground; and as we drew nearer these hills, the depth againincreased to 19 f. On ooze, and then shoaled again to 18 and 17 f. Onooze. The 21st of May, being Sunday, from eight a. M. To seven p. M. Our coursewas N. W. 3/4 W. Thirteen leagues, keeping mostly within four leagues ofthe low sandy shore, the depth all the way being 15, 14, and 13 f. Wethen anchored in 13-3/4 f. Streamy ground, the northermost point insight, falling down from a reasonably high land at the far end of thelow land, bore from us W. N. W. 1/2 N. Near 3-1/2 leagues off. S. E. By S. From this point, six leagues off, there is a rock, as high above wateras the hull of a small ship, which we passed about 1-1/2 league on itsE. Side, finding no alteration in the soundings. This point I named theGurnet's Head. From this point, the land trends W. N. W. And W. By N. Allthe way to the entrance into Patani roads, being all low land from theGurnet's Head to the point of the road, this point being the lowest ofall. The distance from the Gurnet's Head to that low point is sixleagues, all the way of fair depth till coming near the low point of theroad, to which a good birth must be given, as there lies a shoal from ithalf-way over to the western shore, wherefore it must not be approachedtoo near, till you find in the first place the shoaling of the westernshore, which is the softest ground. From the low point, in going acrossthe bay to the western shore there are only from 5 f. To 4 1/2 when inthe road; and then the low point bears from the anchorage, E. N. E. 1/3 E. The highest mountains in the western side of the bay bearing S. S. W. 1/3W. We anchored in the road of Patani on Thursday the 25th of May, when wefound the Sampson and a Dutch pinnace there at anchor. I went ashore theday before to the English factory, where I found Mr Adam Denton and MrRichard Welding, lately come from Jambee in Sumatra in a proa, withseveral of the Sampson's people, who were all rejoiced to see our shipscoming into the port. On getting to the English house, I told Mr Dentonthat my chief purpose for coming here was for arrack and fresh victuals, of which we were in great need, upon which he gave immediate orders toprocure every thing we needed, so that in six days we were supplied withsixteen butts of arrack and arrack-apee; three butts of which last wehad from the Dutch, for which courtesy we were chiefly obliged by theiranxiety to have us away. We had also beeves, goats, and poultry, inabundance. We also bought here _dammar_ and oil, for the purpose ofrepairing our ships, as I understood these things were dear at Japan. Ihere found a small frigate or country bark, which had been bought by theEnglish; and as she was of no great use there, it was agreed that she, with most of the English sailors, should attend upon us to Japan. We departed from Patani on the 31st May; and at seven a. M. Of the 1stJune, we saw a small rock, just above water, being very dangerous forships bound from Patani for the point of Camboja. When this rock boreN. N. E. 1/2 E. At the distance of a league, the high land over GurnetHead was S. S. W. 1/4 W. Eighteen leagues off; and by computation, the lowpoint of Patani road was then eighteen leagues off, W. S. W. 1/2 S. Aftergetting out of Patani road into 7 f. The depth increased regularly to 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 f. Till we got sight of the rock; andtwo leagues from it we had 25 f. On ooze, as was the ground all the wayover from Patani. This day at noon, we found the latitude of the ship tobe 7° 20' N. The rock bearing W. About four leagues off. From that time till the 3d, at noon, our course was E. 1/2 N. Forty-fiveleagues, when we had sight of Pulo Hube, bearing E. N. E. 1/2 N. Eightleagues off, having 14 f. On ooze, as we constantly had for the lastforty-eight hours, the sounding being from 27 to 36 f. And thencedecreasing again to 14 f. Pulo Hube rises at first as one round hill, and on coming nearer some high land is seen rising in hummocks, but notabove two-thirds so high as the round hill, being all one land with it. Then another and smaller island is seen to rise, nearly of the sameheight with the hummocks, and close to the larger island. At the eastend of this lesser round island, there are two little isles very near, and a mile east of them there is a long rock like the hull of a galley. This night we anchored in 13 1/2 f. On ooze, about three leagues fromthe largest and highest isle. In the morning of the 4th we weighed, andstood E. By S. With little wind. At six p. M. We had the body of PuloHube W. By N. Four leagues off. From thence we steered E. By S. And E. Till six next morning, but were so opposed by the current, that we madeour course to the northward of east. From six a. M. Of the 5th till sixp. M. We ran fifteen leagues in the before-mentioned course, when we sawa very small round isle about four leagues to the southward, having along flat rock S. From it about a mile, a good height above water. FromPulo Hube till three leagues from this island, our soundings were 13, 14, 15 f. And then 15, 14, 13 f. Again, all ooze. When within twoleagues of this small island, we had 13 f. On sand. Here we descried Pulo Condor, its N. End bearing E. By N. From thissmall island about seven leagues off. This day at noon, we made ourlatitude 8° 42' N. The highest land on Pulo Condor bearing from us E. Six leagues off. From Patani till we were in sight of Pulo Condor, thewind was mostly S. S. W. This day at noon, we steered away N. E. Then N. E. By N. And in the night N. N. E. So that we made our course on the whole, till next day at noon, N. E. By N. About twenty-four leagues, the depthsbeing 13 and 14 f. On ooze. At noon of the 6th, we had sight of twohummocks on the coast of Camboja, bearing N. By E. Nine leagues off, with low land to the westwards. From Pulo Condor till we had sight ofthis coast, the current set E. By N. At this time we had 12 f. Onstreamy ground. The 7th at noon, we were in lat. 10° 42' N. Having runfrom the former noon twenty-five leagues N. E. 1/2 N. And found that thecurrent had carried us ten leagues to the N. Of our computation. Ourdepths were in these twenty-four hours, from 12, to 16, 20, and 24 f. And then back to 20, 18, 16, 14, on sandy ground. From the before-mentioned two hummocks, as we coasted along, about eightleagues from the land, sometimes more, and sometimes less, we saw highland all the way in the inland country, and a smooth land in most placesby the sea side, about the height of the Lizard, with many plots upon itresembling white sand, as well as the sea side. The first of these whitespots was on a point ten leagues W. Of Cape Cessier, which we at firstthought had been a town with fair white houses and white walls. Thisday, at noon, being the 7th, when in the lat. Of 10° 48' N. That Capebore from us about six leagues W. N. W. 1/2 W. At noon of the 8th, we werein lat. 11° 30' N. Having gone twenty leagues N. E. 1/2 N. From noon ofthe 7th. From the 8th, till noon of the 9th, we steered along shoreN. N. E. Sixteen leagues, N. By E. Six leagues, N. Six leagues, and N. ByW. Nine leagues, making our course in all N. By E. 1/3 E. Thirty-sixleagues. We now had Cape Varella[279] W. S. W. Eight leagues off, and werein the lat. Of 13° 13' N. This cape is called Jentam by the Chinese, signifying a chimney in their language, because it has a sharp hummockon the top of the hill, much like a chimney on the top of a house. Fromnoon of the 9th, till noon of the 10th, our course was N. Two-thirds W. Twenty-six leagues; our latitude on the 10th being 14° 30' N. When wewere about ten leagues from the land. [Footnote 279: Cape Verelly is in lat. 12° 40' N. On the coast of CochinChina--E. ] The 11th, at noon, we were in lat. 16° 10' N. Having run, from theforegoing noon, thirty-three one-third leagues due N. Next noon, the12th, we had made other twenty-six leagues, N. N. E. 1/2 N. And were inlatitude 17° 40' N. The current having set us six leagues to the N. Ofour computation. This evening, at six, we descried the island of Aynam, [Hainan] its high land bearing N. W. By N. Twelve leagues, and we had runfrom noon seven leagues N. E. From hence, till noon of the 13th, ourcourse was N. E. By E. Twenty-two leagues, and we were then in lat. 18°30' N. We this morning chased a Portuguese frigate, but she was so lightthat we could not get near her. The 14th, at noon, we were in 19° 35' N. Our course having been these twenty-four hours N. E. Twenty-six leagues, the current having carried us four leagues to the N. Of our reckoning;and yet this day at noon, in seventy-three f. On ooze, our boats foundno current at all. We here saw many ripplings, like the overfalls ofsome rapid tide, yet found none. At six this evening, we again anchoredour boat in sixty-eight f. On oozy sand, and found a slight current tothe southwards. By the 15th, at noon, we had ran seventeen leagues N. E. By N. And our latitude was 28° 30' N. The current having carried usseven leagues to the north of our reckoning. We had here forty-five f. Sandy ooze. The 16th, at noon, in 21° 20' N. We had sight of threeislands, the eastermost N. N. W. The westermost N. W. And the nearest landnine leagues off. We had here twenty-two f. On oosy sand, the wind beingE. S. E. And very fresh; but, from Cape Verelly till now, the wind hadalways blown from S. S. E. To S. W. Next morning, at eight, we hadtwenty-eight f. On ooze, having run, from noon of the 16th, elevenleagues S. W. Finding the wind to increase, we thought it better to comehere to anchor than to run back again. In the morning of the 18th June, the weather being somewhat fair, weendeavoured to weigh our anchor; but when it was right apeak, the cablegave way, though a new one, never before wetted, by which we lost ouranchor. Just at this time the Unicorn fired a gun, on which I sentimmediately to know what was amiss, and was informed she had sprung agreat leak, by which all her men were tired out with bailing. I thensent thirty men to her aid, to ease her crew, till it might please Godthey should find the leak. This day we had the wind at S. E. And stood E. Making our course N. E. Till six p. M. When we again saw the former highisland ten leagues from us, bearing N. N. E. One-third E. This evening ourmen returned from the Unicorn with the joyful news that the great leakwas firmly stopped. From six p. M. Till midnight, we made fourteenleagues N. E. When we had twenty f. In ooze. From that time, till fivenext morning, we stood to the southwards, making a S. W. Course three anda half leagues. From five in the morning of the 19th, we cast about towards the land, with the wind at S. E. Making a course N. E. And at six o'clock werewithin eight leagues of the before-mentioned high island, bearing fromas N. By E. At eight this morning, Mr Roberts, the master of theUnicorn, came on board the James, to inform me that another great leakhad broke out in that ship, and that it was necessary to seek out forsome smooth place to ride in at anchor, to enable them to search out theleak, and fit their foremast better into the step. Upon thisintelligence, I resolved to bear up under the lee of the great island, which bore now from us N. By E. In hope to find there a smooth anchoragefor the purposes of the Unicorn. There were many more islands in sight, both to the eastwards and westwards of us, but that being the nearest, and the likeliest for our purpose, and only three leagues from us, westeered for it. The night approaching, and the wind becoming dull, weplied off and on till morning of the 20th, when the wind had come roundso much to the northwards, that we could not fetch our intended place ofanchorage. I went aboard the Unicorn this day to enquire into theirintentions and situation, when I found them all willing to stand on ouroriginal course, as the wind was fair, and they were hopeful of beingable to overcome their leak. I therefore sent all my Lascars on boardthe Unicorn, in aid of her crew, after which we stood on our course allthat day till midnight, with a fair wind and favourable weather. Towards midnight of the 20th June, the wind increased so much, that wehad to lay our ship a-try all night under her main-course. In themorning of the 21st, we saw the Unicorn a league and a half astern ofus, having a foresail and spritsail out, which I afterwards perceivedwas for the purpose of floating her about towards the shore. Iimmediately caused our fore-courses to be made ready to float our shipabout after the Unicorn, though we had little hope of being able toassist her in any thing, as the sea was become very rough. While our menwere throwing loose the forecourse, there came so violent a gust, thatthey were obliged to furl it again, otherwise it had been blown away. After the gust was over, we set our foresail, and, to make her wearbetter round, we brailed up our main-course, part of it being blown outof the bolt rope before the men could furl it. After that was up, we putour helm hard a-weather, thinking the ship would come round, but all invain, for our ship would not wear beyond two or three points, and thencame to again. The sea was now so much grown that we durst not let fallour spritsail, and the wind so violent that we could not loosen ourfore-topsail; and by this time the Unicorn had gone out of sight. [280]Finding we could not wear ship, we steered away as near as we could lieS. By E. Till noon, having by that time made a course S. By E. Thirteenleagues from the southermost island we had seen over night, which Icalled the Morocco Saddle, or Saddle island, because of a high hillhaving a deep swamp or hollow between two peaked tops. This Saddleisland is in lat. 21° 45' N. [281] There are four or five small islandsclose to its western side, and three on its eastern side. Besides which, there are many other islands in different directions, some N. W. OthersW. N. W. And W. By N. The southermost of all the islands in sight bearingfrom Saddle island to the W. About fifteen leagues off. [Footnote 280: It will be seen in the sequel that she was lost on thecoast of China, probably run on shore to save the men's lives from theeffects of the increasing leak. --E. ] [Footnote 281: The indicated latitude leads to one of the numerousislands on the coast of China, at the month of the bay of Canton, aboutthe longitude of 113° E. From Greenwich. --E. ] This afternoon our ship became very leaky, having suddenly four and ahalf feet water in the hold, which kept both pumps going a long whilebefore we could free her. Towards evening, it pleased God that wediscovered three or four great leaks between wind and water; and afterour carpenters had stopped them, we had great comfort, as we could thenlet the pumps stop half an hour, and afterwards free the ship in aquarter of an hour. From this day, the 21st, at noon, till noon of the22d, we made five leagues S. S. W. With a pair of courses, and nineleagues S. W. By W. A-hull, having twenty-seven and a half f. In ooze. Inthe afternoon of the 22d, the violence of the wind and waves began toabate, and our ship became tighter, which plainly shewed that most ofour leaks were between wind and water, wherefore, on the first fairweather, I caused our carpenters to search the ship's sides, where theyfound and stopped many bad places, some a yard long, where the oakum wasall rotten in the seams. The 24th, we had sight of a great island to the N. About seven leaguesoff; having a high hill on its southern end, being the island formerlymentioned as about fifteen leagues W. From Saddle island. From thence, till the evening of the 26th, our course was S. By W. Twenty-fourleagues, the depths increasing from nineteen to thirty-six f. On ooze. We had here a small round island S. W. By N. Two leagues off, nearly inlatitude 20° 20' N. [282] This island has four small islands on its S. W. Side, but all of them considerably lower, for we saw this from thedistance of at least ten leagues, rising in the shape of a Chinese hat. From hence, till noon of the 27th, our course was E. By N. Two-thirds N. Twelve leagues. This morning at two o'clock the wind veered round toS. S. E. And at noon was due S. From noon of the 27th, to noon of the28th, we stood E. N. E. Eighteen leagues, and had then almost forty-one f. On ooze. Till noon of the 29th, we made other eighteen leagues E. N. E. When we were in 21° 10' N. To the 30th, at noon, other eighteen leaguesE. N. E. To noon of 1st July, our course was E. N. E. 1/2 N. Twenty-twoleagues, our latitude being then 22° 10' N. Here, from the topmast-headwe saw land N. N. W. 1/2 N. From noon this day, till seven p. M. We sailedN. E. By N. Six leagues. At six this evening we saw three Chinesefishing-boats. [Footnote 282: There must be a material error here, as the latitude inthe text would carry us back to the peninsula to the north of Hainan, more than two degrees of longitude backwards. Indeed, the text seemscorrupted in many respects, even the bearings being extremelysuspicious. --E. ] This evening the wind came up at E. S. E. With which we stood to thesouthwards; and having sprung our main topmast only a little before, wecould only bear a course and bonnet, and therefore made our way nobetter than S. W. From noon of the 2d, till eight p. M. Our way was S. Four leagues. Till noon of the 3d, we sailed N. N. W. 1/4 W. Sevenleagues. We here saw land twelve leagues off, from N. To N. E. Rising incertain hummocks, which land I estimated to be nearly in 22° 45' N. Onthe 8th, I had an observation of the Scorpion's Heart, by which I madeour latitude 22° 35' N. Next day, at noon, on observation of the sungave the latitude 23° 6' N. At this time we had sight of the high landof Logosse, eleven leagues off, N. W. By N. [283] This morning we saweight or more fishing boats, and came within hail of one, but could notpersuade the people to come on board. [Footnote 283: The latitude of the text points to the coast of China inabout the longitude of 117°E. But no such name as Logosse occurs inthese parts. --E. ] On the 10th we had sight of some small islands, one of which, rising inform of a sugar-loaf, bore from us W. N. N. About eight leagues off. [284]We this day hoisted out a small boat, built by our carpenters upon theforecastle, by which we made trial of the current, and found it to setE. N. E. At eight this evening, we anchored in 28 f. Having made no way atall this afternoon but with the current, which went at the rate of abouta mile an hour N. E. The 11th we weighed, and drove away with the currentto the N. E. Having no wind. This day at noon we had sight of the highland of Formosa above the clouds, the highest part bearing S. E. By E. About eighteen leagues off, the nearest island on the coast of Chinabearing seven leagues from us N. W. We here saw great numbers of fishingboats all round about us, which sent little boats to us with fish, forwhich we gave them double the value to encourage them to come back. Atsix this evening, the wind sprung up at N. N. E. By which, and some helpof the current setting N. E. By E. We made our way nine leagues E. To the12th at noon. Our latitude was then 25° 20' N. The high land of Formosabeing S. E. And the nearest port eight leagues off; the northern pointten leagues E. By N. And the depth 46 fathoms on ooze. The 13th thenorthern point of Formosa bore E. S. E. Ten leagues off, being then inlat. 25° 40' N. [Footnote 284: These appear to have been the Poughoy, or Pescadoresislands, off the western coast of Tai-ouan, or Formosa. --E. ] The 22d of July at noon, we were in lat. 32° 40' N. The great sound ofLangasaque, [Nangasaki, ] being E. Nine leagues off, and the S. E. Of theGotto isles W. By N. Ten leagues off. The 23d, we arrived in a port ofthe island of Firando named Cochee, [Coetch, ] which is about 4 1/2English miles to the southwards of Firando haven. [285] On the 25th, Captain Cox sent a great number of funnies, or _toe_ boats, to ourassistance, by the help of which we got safe in the afternoon into theharbour of Firando, where we found the Swan and Expedition, sent hither, as I suppose, by the Dutch, for the disgrace of our nation in thisremote part of the world. This day, before we got in, the Elizabethbrought in with her into Coetch, a frigate, containing silks and hides, and some sugar, her mariners being Japanese with some Portuguese, a partof whom were friars. Captain Adams, the admiral of the united fleet, arrived in the same place about three hours after me in the Moon, aslikewise William Johnson in the Trow. [Footnote 285: Coetch, about 17 miles W. By N. From Firando, the formeron the western, and the latter on the eastern side of the island. --E. ] The 26th, a general council was held of all the English and Dutch, inthe English house at Firando, when it was resolved to call in the shipsthat lay nearest the coast of _Sashma_, because we were certainlyinformed that the Portuguese frigates were just arrived from Macao atNangasaki. The 30th, the king of _Crats_ came aboard the James, appearing much delighted to see such a ship, demanding of the jurabassaif this were one of the English frigates; whence we concluded the Dutchhad reported we had only small ships like frigates. The 1st of August weheld another council at the English factory, to make choice of two men, an Englishman and a Hollander, to carry a present to the emperor. As Icould not be spared so long from the James, nor Captain Adams from hisfleet, we made choice of Mr Charles Cleavengar, commander of thePalsgrave, and Mr Joseph Cockram, Cape merchant of the fleet, to go onthe part of the English, and Jasques le Febre of the Harlaem, andMathias de Brooke, were chosen on the part of the Dutch. On the 6th the Palsgrave arrived in Coetch roads. The Bull arrived thereon the 7th, having cut away all her masts by the board, as they said tosave the ship and goods. This day Captain Adams and I paid a visit tothe king of Firando, carrying a small present, which was well received, and we were courteously entertained. On the 9th the king invited theEnglish and Dutch to dine with him, shewing respect to our nation byplacing us on his right hand, while the Dutch sat on his left, and thefirst dish of every course was offered to us. The 4th September we had a great tuffoon from the north, which forcedthe Moon on shore, and overset the Expedition, which instantly wentdown. The Trow had likewise been overset, had not her master veered outthe cable, and allowed her to go on shore, stern foremost. The 5th Isent all my men aboard the Moon to help her off when we all strove along time to no purpose; but she was again got off on the 13th, havingfortunately received no damage by lying so long ashore. Having everything taken out of the James Royal, except some bars of lead to help intrimming her over, she was hove down on the 19th almost halfway to thekeel. The 21st we brought her down so low as to see part of her keel, and then began to sheath her with all expedition, and in four days thecarpenters sheathed the whole of one side, from the keel up to her lowerbends. The 27th I sent a cooper, two quarter-masters, and a butcher, toNangasaki, to kill and salt such meat as was provided for us. On the 12th October, we got the James hove down on the other side to thekeel, and on this side we found four very dangerous places, where themain plank was eaten quite through by the worms. Into each of these wegraved a piece of plank, and in one of them we drove a trunnel wherenone had been before. We also nailed a piece of lead on the end of thebolt, which had been formerly driven through the keel to stop our greatleak. Our ship was then righted, both sides being finished up to thelower bends. The Moon was likewise finished on the 21st on both sides. The 24th we had news that Nangasaki was greatly injured by a fire whichbegan in the Portuguese street, and consumed four or five of the richeststreets in the city. The 7th of December we departed from Firando, and anchored the sameevening in the bay of Coetch. The 16th, Captain Cleavengar and CaptainLe Febre returned to Firando from the court of the emperor, bringing thejoyful news of having succeeded in their business. I took my leave ofthem on the 17th; and the wind being fair, with favourable weather, Iset sail from the road of Coetch. §6. _Voyage from Japan to Bantam, and thence Home to England_. [286] The 18th December at noon, the islands of Mexuma bore from us N. W. Fourleagues off, our course from Pomo being S. S. W. Twenty-five leagues. Atnoon on the 19th, our latitude was 31° 32'N. The isles of Mexuma bearingN. E. By N. Nine leagues off. The 12th January, 1621, we stood in for thecoast of Sumatra, and anchored at midnight in the river of Palembanganin twelve fathoms. We weighed again in the morning of the 13th, steering along the Sumatra shore through the straits of Banka; and pastmidnight of the 14th we got to anchor near Pulo Paniang. The 16th, seeing four ships in Bantam roads, we weighed and stood a little waywithin Pulo Paniang, when the Pepper-corn's boat came to us with themaster, Mr Morton, who told me there were two Dutch ships in the roadand one French ship, the pangran having consented to grant trade, andthat it had been agreed to share the pepper in thirds among them. I alsolearnt from him, that most part of our loading was already prepared forus at Jacatra. I set sail, therefore, in the morning of the 17th, andarrived that evening near Antilaky; and in the evening of the 18th wearrived in the bay of Jacatra, [now Batavia bay, ] where we found theCharles, the Gift, and the Clove, as also two Dutch ships, the Leydenand the Sun. The Globe and the Bee were at Hector island. [Footnote 286: In the former subdivision of this voyage a sufficientsample has been given of dry nautical detail of courses, bearings, winds, and soundings, and it does not seem necessary to insert theminute uninteresting detail of the return voyage to Bantam, which wasalong the coast of China, Cochinchina and Camboja, nearly retracing theformer course. --E. ] I here found the master of the Unicorn with several of his ship'scompany, having come over in a junk, after losing his ship on the coastof China. [287] The James here discharged her lading, and was ready toreload for England, there being here at this time, in the Charles, Clove, and Gift, about 600 tons of pepper and other goods, and the Beardaily expected from Jambee with 200 more, so that we had good hope ofsoon making up our loading with pepper, benzoin, cloves, and silk. Having taken in our whole loading of pepper, except fifty-five pekuls, and a few sapetas of silk and some cloves, I departed in the morning ofthe 26th February from the road of Jacatra, and set sail for England. [Footnote 287: Purchas, II. 1700, informs us, that the Unicorn beingwrecked on the coast of China, the company saved themselves and part oftheir goods on shore. At first the rude Chinese would have assaulted andrifled them; but they stood on their defence, till a magistrate came andrescued them from the hands of the vulgar, after which they had kindusage and just dealing. They were allowed to purchase two vessels, withall necessary provisions, for their departure, and in these, part of thecompany went to Japan, and the other to Malacca. --_Purch. _] In the afternoon of the 20th May, we arrived in the road of Saldanha, [Table-bay, ] at the Cape of Good Hope. We here found the Ann Royal andthe Fortune, two ships belonging to the honourable Company, and threeDutch ships, the Gowda, Black Bear, and the Herring, all bound forBantam and Jacatra. We trimmed our ship on the 21st, and on the 22d wesent some water-casks on shore, and set up a tent for our sick men andcoopers, landing twenty-five men as a guard for their protection. Thisnight I sent out sixty men, along with sixty Dutchmen, in quest ofcattle, but they returned without procuring any. We left Saldanha bay in the morning of the 6th June, with the wind atS. S. E. The 21st, at six in the morning, we got sight of St Helena, andabout ten in the forenoon of the 22d, we anchored in Chappel Bay, half amile from the shore, in twenty-six fathoms. The 25th, we changed to thevalley leading to the lemon-trees, being the best in all the island forrefreshments. Having remained seven days at this island, where we filledour water-casks, and got at least fifty goats and hogs, and above 4000lemons, we weighed anchor on the 29th, at nine a. M. The 16th of Augustwe saw the high land of Pico, E. N. E. About 15 leagues off. The 15thSeptember we got sight of the land's end of England; and on Tuesday the18th of that month we arrived in the Downs, having been absent on thisvoyage, four years, seven months, and fourteen days. SECTION XI. VOYAGE OF THE ANN ROYAL, FROM SURAT TO MOKHA, IN 1618. [288] The Ann Royal belonged to the fleet commanded by Martin Pring, of whichan ample relation has been given in the foregoing section. The presentsection gives an account of a subordinate voyage, arising out of theformer, and intended for settling a trade in the Red Sea. The Ann Royalwas commanded by Captain Andrew Shilling, and this narrative is said byPurchas, to have been extracted from the journal of Edward Heynes, whoappears to have been second merchant in the Ann. --E. [Footnote 288: Purch. Pilgr. I. 622. ] * * * * * Sir Thomas Roe, lord ambassador from his majesty to the Great Mogul, having given certain articles of instruction to Captain Andrew Shilling, commander of the Ann Royal, and Joseph Salbank, Edward Heynes, andRichard Barber, merchants in that ship, for establishing and conductingtrade at Dabul or other places in the Red Sea, as they might seeconvenient, it was thought meet by Captain Martin Pring the general, Thomas Kerridge, and Thomas Rastell, on the 12th March, in aconsultation on board the James Royal, that we should sail direct forthe Red Sea, as the season was already too far gone for going to Dabul. Sailing therefore from the road of Swally, we got sight of Aden on the10th of April. The 13th, about seven in the morning, we passed the Bab, or straits of Bab-al-Mandub, so named from an island at the entrance, ormouth, of the Red Sea, and forming one side of the straits. About fivein the evening we came in sight of Mokha; and as night was coming on, wecast anchor. Shortly after, a canoe came on board, sent by the governorto enquire who we were, and what were our intentions; and having giventhem an answer, they departed, having first begged a few biscuits. Nextmorning we weighed, and came again to anchor a league and half from theshore, when we saluted the town with nine guns. The water-bailey, orshahbander, brought off, as a present from the governor, a youngbullock, two goats, with mangoes, limes, cucumbers, and water-melons. Hewelcomed us in the name of the governor, and desired us to send somepersons on shore to inform the governor of the purpose of our arrival. About three in the afternoon, there came aboard a Jew born in Lisbon, together with an old renegado Venetian, who was in great favour with thegovernor, and in his name assured us of meeting with good usage to ourcontent. The 15th, Ali Asgee, the chief scrivano, sent a present of goats andfruits, with a message of welcome, by two old men of good condition, whowere sent by the governor to remain aboard in pledge for such of us aswere to go on shore, with many protestations of good usage. Accordingly, Mr Salbank and I went ashore, accompanied by two linguists and anattendant, carrying as a present for the governor, six yards of stammelbroad cloth, six yards of green, a fowling-piece and a looking-glass. Above a thousand people were on the shore expecting our arrival, andseveral officers were in waiting to conduct us to the governor. Hishouse was large and handsome, built of brick and stone, having a fairgate of entrance with a porter's lodge, and several servants in waiting. From the gate, we went into a great court, whence a winding stair ofthirty steps led to a square terrace, from which we were conducted intoa large room, at one end of which was a great bow-window looking towardsthe sea. The governor sat in this window, and there were others on thesides of the room, which looked to the wharf or landing-place. The floorof this room was all covered with fine mats, and towards where thegovernor sat, with fine Turkey carpets and Persian felts. Where he sat, there lay a party-coloured sattin quilt, with several rich cushions ofdamask and others of velvet. He was dressed in a violet-coloured vest ofsattin, under which were garments of fine India muslin or calico, havingon his head a sattin cap, wreathed round by a white sash. He wasattended by the chief scrivano, the principal officers of the customs, some Turks of importance, many Indian merchants, and about an hundredservants. He seemed about fifty years of age, and his name was MahometAga. On our approach, and doing reverence, he bowed to us, and desired us tosit down, demanding who we were, and what was our business. We answeredthat we were Englishmen and merchants from London, who, by command ofthe ambassador of the king of England to the Great Mogul, with whom wehad a league of peace and amity, had come to this place to treat forliberty of trade. That we were in friendship with the Grand Signior, andhad free trade at Constantinople, Aleppo, and other places in theTurkish dominions, and hoped to enjoy the same here; for which purposewe were come to desire his and the pacha's phirmauns, giving us suchprivileges as we already had in other parts of the dominions of theGrand Signior, both for the present time and in future, as we meant tovisit his port yearly with plenty of English and Indian commodities. Wesaid likewise that we were commanded to say by the lord ambassador, thathearing there were sundry pirates, English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Malabars and others, who infested the trade of this port, andprincipally that carried on by the Guzerats, who were our friends, wehad his orders to free the seas of all such incumbrances, protecting allhonest merchant ships and junks from injury. These, we said, were thetrue causes of our coming here. The governor then rose up and bid us welcome, applauding our declaredpurposes, but asked why we were so fearful as not to come on shorewithout pledges. We answered, that about six years before, some of ourcountrymen being here, were enticed on shore by fair promises of goodusage, who were betrayed and imprisoned by the then governor, andseveral of them murdered. For these reasons, we were under the necessityof being careful of our safety. We said moreover, that he would shortlybe certified we were exactly what we professed, by means of two junks ofGuzerat, one of which had not come this year, but for the pass andpromise of the ambassador that they were to be protected in the voyagehome by our ship, against the enterprizes of any pirates who might be inthese seas, as one had been last year by some of our ships, which cameopportunely to their rescue, and conducted her safely to their port, andhad sent the chief commanders to England, to be tried and punished fortheir wrongs against the friends of our sovereign. The governor acknowledged the friendly conduct of our nation in thataffair, promising that we should live as safely on shore, and conductour business with as much freedom and security, as in our own country, for which we should have his phirmauns, which he would procure to beconfirmed by the pacha to our entire contentment. He said likewise thatthe former governor was a bad man, long since deposed, and now living atConstantinople in disgrace; and swore by his beard, and by Mahomet, thatnot a hair of our heads should be diminished, nor any wrong offered tous, as he should make proclamation of our liberties, that no one mightpretend ignorance and do us harm or discourtesy. He desired us, therefore, to look out for a house for ourselves and our goods, commanding two of his chiauses to attend upon us, and recommended us tolodge with the Jew merchant till we could fit ourselves better, desiringhim to assist us in all things. After giving many thanks for his kindness, and delivering the present asfrom our captain, we went, by the advice of the Jew, to visit thescrivano, who is likewise chief customer or shahbander; and as he wasnot at home, his servant received and entertained us with much civility. They conducted us into an handsome room, not much inferior in buildingand furniture to that of the governor, where we had left their master, who soon came home and welcomed us with much politeness, assuring usthat all the governor had promised should be faithfully performed, as hehimself should see all executed, and had also power to see us righted. We were informed that this man's power was as great in Mokha as that ofthe governor, who was directed by him in all matters of importance. Thisofficer seemed a hearty old man. After making us drink coffee andsherbet, we took our leaves, and remained all night with the Jew. Next morning we spent an hour in viewing the town, and observing thecountenances of the people towards us, whom we found gentle andcourteous, especially the Banians and Guzerats, many of whom reside hereas merchants, shopkeepers, and mechanics, having neatly-built shops andwarehouses. Their market or bazar seemed well furnished with all mannerof necessaries, among which were plenty of fruits, which are broughtdaily from the country. Most of the town is built of brick and stone, neatly plastered over with Paris plaster, some of the houses being twostories high, and all flat-roofed, with terraces on the top, on which insummer they construct lodges of canes and mats, in which they sleep andspend the first quarter of the day, having at that time a fresh breezefrom the sea. All the rest of the day at that season is so hot that theycan hardly endure even a shirt. Mokha lies quite level along thesea-shore, being about two miles from north to south, and contains manygood-looking houses, with three principal mosques. The streets are keptclean, every person having to sweep and water before his door everymorning and evening, so that they resemble sandy alleys for bowling, more than streets. No filth is allowed to be thrown into the streets, but must all be carried to an appointed place, where it is scoured outby the sea. In fine, I have never seen a sweeter, cleaner, or betterordered town any where. The wharf is situated between the governor's house and that of thescrivano, and is about twelve score square. [289] Near this, andadjoining the governor's house, there is a platform or fort, built ofhewn stones, having battlements towards the sea, being about forty pacessquare, in which there are thirteen or fourteen pieces of ordnance oflittle value. Over against the landing-place two fair brass cannons areplanted, above five feet long. At the other end, is the Alfandica, wherethere is a brass gun six feet long, carrying a large ball. Besides thesedefences, there is a stone house at the north end of the town, builtlike a sconce or redoubt, with a few pieces of ordnance; but they trustlittle in their ordnance, relying mostly on their soldiers, of whom theyhave always 200 in the town, and about 300 more in the country, within aday or two days march, who are all constantly in readiness for service. [Footnote 289: This is obscure, as it is not said whether it be 240feet, yards, or paces. --E. ] The son of Cojah Nassan, the principal India merchant of the town, whomwe waited upon at his house, promised us all kindness, and regaled uswith tobacco and coffee, as is usual among these people. We wentafterwards to wait upon the governor before we returned on board. Herose up at our entry to meet us, causing us to sit down by him, andrepeated all the fair promises of free trade he had given the daybefore, declaring that he would deny us nothing that was reasonable. Hethen told us there was another governor shortly to succeed him, who wasas his brother, and honester even than himself, who would faithfullyperform every thing he had promised. At our request, the governorordered the water-bailiff to furnish us at all times with boats, eitherfor our conveyance, or to carry water to the ship. From the governor, weagain went to visit the scrivano, who received us with much civility, promising to come aboard to visit our ship, and compliment our captain. After treating us with coffee, we took leave, and returned to the ship, when the pledges were dismissed, acknowledging the good treatment theyhad received, and were saluted on going ashore with five guns. On the 17th, the scrivano, with our two pledges, our Jew friend, andtwenty other persons, came aboard, bringing a bullock, with bread, quinces, and other fruits, a great round cake or pasty, like puff-paste, in which were several fowls and chickens, well seasoned and baked, andmost excellent eating. We also, with a large quince pye, and many crabs, together with sack and cordials, added our best welcome. The scrivanowas so well pleased with his reception, that he insisted upon becomingthe sworn brother of our captain, which was accordingly celebrated witha cup of sack; and, after much mirth, and having taken a view of ourship, he departed highly gratified. We were well supplied with water by several poor people of Mokha, whobrought it off to the ship at a reasonable rate. Also, with theconcurrence of the governor and scrivano, we made every junk thatarrived anchor under our guns, and to ride in that situation till theydischarged their cargo; which indeed the governor wished us to do, because some junks passed by that port to trade at others, to the injuryof Mokha At six in the evening of the 21st of April, we had a violentstorm of wind off the land, accompanied by much thunder and lightning, but no rain, which continued for half an hour, all the rest of the nightbeing extremely hot. Although we rode above a league from the shore, this tempest brought great quantities of dust, and even sand on board. The 25th, we had a message from the scrivano, saying that the governorand he had received letters from the pacha at Sinan, commanding them toentertain us with all manner of kindness, and to give us free trade, with liberty to reside among them in all quietness and security. On the 27th the new governor arrived, when the ordnance of the town, andof our ship and the several junks in the road, all fired to welcome hisarrival. He sent the former pledges on board to return thanks for oursalute, accompanied by a present of plantains, limes, mangoes, melons, and bread, with one bullock, promising, in the name of the pacha, asfree trade as our nation had in Constantinople. The pledges remained allnight aboard, and went ashore with us next day, when we found the newand the old governors sitting together at the end of a large room, muchin the same way as we had found the old one at our first arrival. Thenew governor was named Regib Aga, and was accompanied by severalprincipal Turks, and by all the principal merchants from Surat, Diu, Dabul, Scindy, Calicut, and Cananore. On our approach, he and the otherTurks only moved their bodies, but all the merchants rose up to saluteus. He made us sit down beside him, and told us that the pacha hadcommanded him to give us satisfaction in all things; and that he knewbesides, we were of a nation in friendship with the Grand Signior, andhad free trade in Constantinople, Aleppo, and other parts of the Turkishempire, being a nation of a friendly and honest disposition, and weshould therefore always find him disposed to give us free trade, andevery other courtesy In reply, we told him we proposed, at our nextcoming to Mokha, if our reasonable requests of a free trade weregranted, to settle a permanent factory at this place, and to come yearlyto the port, with plenty of English and India goods, and should defendthe trade against pirates. We even distantly hinted, that it wasneedless to deny us a free trade, being in a condition to force it ifrefused, and to hinder all others from coming hither, the fear of whichhad already caused some junks to pass by Mokha to Jidda, the port ofMecca, a town of great trade, 150 leagues farther up the Red Sea, and toother places. The new governor replied, that we should be made as welcome as in anyplace of our own country; and swore by God, and Mahomet, and by his ownbeard, that we should live as free from all injury as in our own land. We asked what security he would give us besides his word, when he saidwe should have his phirmaun under his _chop_, or seal, and would procureus the same from the pacha. With this we seemed satisfied, and gave himmany thanks; and indeed they all seemed perfectly willing to give usevery satisfaction, yet, in my opinion, not from good-will or justice, but from fear, as they knew we were able to intercept their whole trade. After some conversation about our ambassador, who now resided atConstantinople, and about the Portuguese and Spaniards, whom Rajib saidwere proud and faithless nations, we spoke of Sir Henry Middleton, asking the cause of their treacherous conduct to him and his people. Heanswered, that the then Vizier was a bloody, cruel, and ill-minded man, and made worse by the instigation of the Turks and Arabs of Mokha, whowere enraged by the uncivil behaviour of our people, who made water atthe gates of their mosques, forced their way into the houses after thecitizens wives, and being daily drunk in the streets, would fight andquarrel with the people, [290] things hateful in their eyes. These wereonly in part the cause, for the covetousness of the governor, hoping tohave got their ship and goods, was the main cause of that scandalousconduct, for which he was soon afterwards sent to Constantinople toanswer for his crimes. [Footnote 290: Let English Christians read, blush, and amend--_Purch. _] We dined that day with the scrivano, and hired a house of Hassan Aga, one of our pledges, at seventy dollars the monsoon, or yearly rent, itbeing all the same. The scrivano insisted to swear himself our friend onhis Koran, yet denied the present governor to be the person who capturedSir Henry Middleton, which we afterwards found to be Turkish faith, orabsolute falsehood. We now agreed to pay at the rate of three in thehundred, _ad valorem_, both inwards and outwards, though the scrivanoswore that all others paid five; all money, with silver and gold inbullion, to pass free of duty. We remained this night with the scrivanoto supper, and gave him a present. On the 29th of April we expected to have had our phirmaun publicly readbefore all the merchants, and proclaimed to the people; but most part ofthe day was spent in ceremony by the governor and other chiefs at themosque, on account of the death of Sultan Achmet, the Grand signior, and the accession of his brother to the throne. They came riding pastour house while we were sitting at a window which opened to the street, whence we made our obeisance to them, and they bowed in return. Theywere all in grand gala, having their horses richly caparisoned. At fourin the afternoon we were sent for, but our linguist had got to a Jewhouse and was drunk with arrack, so we sent an apology, under pretencethat Mr Salbank was indisposed, and promised attendance next day. On the31st, the governor sent for us, and made our welcome known to all themerchants, causing his scrivano draw up a phirmaun as full as we couldhave wished, which he signed with his chop or seal in the afternoon atthe house of the principal scrivano, entirely according to what wasbefore agreed upon, by which we were to pay three per cent. For all welanded, excepting money, and the same for all we took on board, exceptvictuals. We got afterwards a similar phirmaun from Mahomet, the pachaof Sinan: and Rejib Aga gave us a particular safe conduct for Mr Salbankand the rest. [291] [Footnote 291: Copies, or translations rather, from the Arabic, aregiven in the Pilgrims of all these three phirmauns, which it was notthought necessary to insert. --E] It was now agreed among ourselves that Mr Salbank and I were to remainashore to conduct the business of sales and purchases, while Mr Barberstaid on board to prepare and send such goods as we required. The 5th ofMay we went to the scrivano to get leave to make arrack for the use ofour sick men; because, since our linguist and several of our people hadgot drunk in the house of a Jew, we had complained, and procured anorder prohibiting the Jews from selling them any, and the governor hadeven strictly enjoined the Jews and Turks not to sell any more arrack orwine in the town. At our request through the scrivano, the governorgranted leave for a Jew, nominated for the purpose to brew arrack at ourhouse, but forbid any to be made elsewhere. In the afternoon of the 8th, learning that the governor and principalmen were sitting in form at the Alfandica, to receive the Surat captainwho was then coming on shore, we went also to see the ceremonial of hisreception. We found the governor at the upper end of a long room, sitting on a stone bench spread with carpets, having on the same benchwith him various merchants and Turks of quality, to the number of abouttwenty. Opposite to him sat about as many in chairs, forming a lane downthe room to a square platform raised three steps from the floor, railedin and matted, in which the scrivano and other officers of the customssat on carpets. The governor bid us welcome, saying he had given ordersto the chief broker to examine our goods and promote their sale. He thendesired us to sit down, two merchants offering us their places, andcalled for coffee and tobacco to regale us. About half an hour after, the nokhada, or captain of the Surat ship, came ashore. His boat was curiously painted, having a tilt of red silk, with many streamers, and sails of fine white calico. He was rowed bytwenty of his servants, all dressed in fine white calico, and he wasaccompanied by a wretched band of music, consisting of drums, waits, andbad trumpets, the noise from which was augmented by the discharge ofguns from his own great junk and those belonging to the town. Attendedby a few slaves, decked out in silks and coarse sattins, he entered thelone room where we were, when the governor rose and saluted him, andplaced him next himself on the stone bench. Many compliments of welcomepassed between the nokhada and the other merchants; but in the height ofhis pride he overlooked us, and we him accordingly. Yet we thought hemight have shewn us more respect, considering that Captain Shilling hadsent his long-boat and men to free his junk of 400 or 500 tons, whenaground, and had entertained him with much civility aboard our ship. After some time spent in compliments, coffee was again brought in forall the company; after which six vests were produced, two of which weregiven to the Surat captain, and one each to his four principalmerchants. When these were put on, and mutual _salams_ or reverencesgiven, they again sat down, like so many painted images, dressed up incoats of coarse gold and silver velvet. We here observed one usualcustom of this town, at the arrival of any junk, and the landing of hernokhada or captain, that free liberty is given to all the mariners andpassengers to bring ashore as much goods as each man can carry on hisback, without payment of any duty; accordingly, at this time, about 300persons belonging to this junk passed with their luggage to thecaptain's residence, unmolested. On the 9th, our landlord and the scrivano told us that three junks fromDiu, and four Malabar vessels, were at Aden, whence they were afraid toproceed without our pass or licence. Accordingly we sent them a freepass, signed by our captain and three merchants. In this, after recitingthat we had found good usage from the governor and merchants at Mokha, we engaged to give them all freedom to pass quietly, assuring them ofkind usage, provided they were not enemies to our sovereign or hissubjects. A more general pass was afterwards granted by us for the quietand free departure of all junks and other vessels, with their cargoes, mariners, and passengers. On the 10th, the captain of the Dabul junk invited us to a banquet athis house, where we found the governor with about fifty principalpersons, besides attendants, all of whom rose up to bid us welcome. Coffee, sherbet, and tobacco, were served round, with various fruits, asplums, apricots, and mangoes, and thinking these had been the feast, wewere about to depart; but the governor and the Dabul captain desired usto remain, that we might _eat bread and salt with them_, which we did. The feast at last made its appearance, though late, being about sixtydishes of meats, baked, roasted, broiled, stewed, and boiled, but allmingled with rice and various kinds of sallads, in the fashion of India. Our cargo consisted mostly of bad wares, which had lain in India tillthey were nearly spoiled, and so hung long upon our hands; wherefore weimportuned the governor to dispeed our sales, which he charged thebroker to do with all expedition. We also had leave granted to come andgo between the ship and the shore at our pleasure, without demandingleave, contrary to the usual custom of the port, the water bailiff beingordered to give us no molestation. On the 20th, it was noticed that themonsoon had changed. The 24th, the scrivano observed to us that oursailors, on coming ashore, were in the custom of selling _baftas_ andsword-blades in the bazar. He said the governor had promised liberty forthe goods of these poor fellows to pass free of custom, and thereforethey might freely bring them ashore for sale, but must sell them at ourhouse, and not in the public bazar, which was a disgrace to us and ournation. On the 31st, our ship was in great danger of being burnt. Some onehappened to be smoking on the spritsail yardarm, when the burningtobacco fell out unobserved into a fold of the sail, where it burntthrough two or three breadths, and was long smelt before it could befound. After this, smoking was strictly prohibited, except in thecook-room or the captain's cabin. At this time, for the recovery of oursick men, the exploration of the coast, and procuring ballast insteadof lead taken out of the ship for sale, it was concluded to send theship over to Assab; on the African coast, on which occasion Mr Baffen, the master's mate, was sent before to sound and discover the passage. On the 10th of June we had a conference with the governor, and, amongother discourse, he told us that he was governor of Aden when theAscension was there, when he imprisoned the captain and Mr JosephSalbank for two days, suspecting them to be freebooters, and notmerchants, as he alleged. He said also that he was governor here atMokha when Sir Henry Middleton was apprehended, but laid the whole blameof that transaction on the then pacha, whose servant he was, and who hadgiven orders for that and much more, which he called God to witness wasmuch contrary to his inclination, and declared that these things werepast, and we had now nothing to fear. By this avowal, we had a clearevidence how far he and the scrivano were to be trusted. The governorsent for us again on the 13th, saying that he had acquainted the pachawith our purpose of sending to him for his phirmaun, and that he hadpromised a hearty welcome and full contentment, whether we wentpersonally or sent a messenger; but the governor advised that one of usshould go up to Sinan, for which purpose he would provide us withhorses, camels, and attendants, and should write in our behalf to thepacha. The 19th a junk arrived from Jiddah, with many passengers from Mecca, bringing camblets, bad coral, amber beads, and much silver, to invest inspices and India cotton goods. She brought news of a ship, laden lastyear from Mokha for Grand Cairo, which had lost her monsoon, and wasforced to wait till next year, at a place only a little way beyondJiddah. By this ship, the governor had letters informing him that theGrand Signior had sent various state ornaments to the pacha of Sinan, whom he had confirmed in his government for seven years longer, andappointing himself to continue governor of Mokha for the like time, ofwhich he seemed not a little proud. As I was constantly indisposed, it was thought fit that Mr Salbankshould go up to Sinan to wait upon the pacha with a present, and tocarry up some goods also with him for sale at that place. On thisoccasion, the scrivano offered him his own mule to ride upon, which hethankfully accepted. He was furnished with two camels, a cook, ahorsekeeper, and three servants belonging to the governor, all of whosewages he agreed to pay at certain fixed rates, and was also accompaniedby a linguist named Alberto. Taking leave of the governor, who gave himletters for the pacha, he departed from Mokha about six in the eveningof the 23d June, the nights being the accustomed time of travelling. In the morning of the 23d, we had a letter from our captain; then atAssab, informing of his safe arrival there, and the good health of thepeople, and that he had procured ballast and provisions to hissatisfaction. On the 26th, the governor sent me a horse by one of hisservants, inviting me to accompany him to his banqueting house, abouthalf a mile out of town, there to spend the day in mirth along withother merchants. About half an hour after, the chief scrivano came toaccompany me, with whom I went, joining the governor by the way, androde with him to the place. It was a fair house, in the middle of agrove of date trees, beside a large tank or pond, having several roomshandsomely fitted; up for sitting. After a little while, the governorand several others went into the tank to bathe, where they sportedthemselves for half an hour. Coffee was then handed round to thecompany, after which grapes, peaches, and both musk and water; melons, were brought in, together with blanched almonds and great quantities ofraisins, as there were between fifty and sixty guests, besides, attendants; and always between whiles coffee, sherbet, and tobacco werehanded round. Thus, and with indifferent music, we spent the forenoon. After prayers, the governor, went again into the tank, where he spent anhour sporting with his company. In the sequel, the time was spent incards and chess, and in looking at various; jiggling tricks, till fourin the evening. At this time above an hundred dishes were served up, allof good meat, but; cold, and ill dressed, each dish being sufficient tohave satisfied four hungry men. He treated me with much kindness, andwas earnest to have me go with him into the tank, but I excused myself;on account of my late indisposition. He then said, if at any time I wasinclined to bathe, I might come to this place when I pleased, and hewould give orders to the keeper to admit me and use me well. The 12th July, the Surat captain made a fine display of many artificialfire-works before the governor, it being then new moon. The governorsent for me to see them, and placed me in a chair beside himself, telling me he had letters that day from Sinan, informing him that thePacha had granted a phirmaun for us before the arrival of Mr Salbank, but hearing of his coming, had delayed sending it, and had since grantedanother, according to his instructions, and had delivered it to MrSalbank with his own hand. On the 13th there passed by the roads a junk of four or five hundredtons from Jiddah, bound for _Kitchine_, a day's sail within the entranceof the Red Sea, which I suppose is not far from Cape Guardafui, on thecoast of Africa. [292] She is said to contain great sums in gold andsilver, with much valuable merchandize. This ship comes yearly to Mokhaat the beginning of the western monsoon, bringing myrrh, and boxes for_coho_ seeds, [coffee] and goes from hence to Jiddah or _Aliambo_, [AlYambo] where she sells her coffee and the India goods procured atKitchine; which last are brought thither by Portuguese barks from Diuand other places. Her outward lading consists of indigo, all manner ofIndia cotton goods, gum-lac; and myrrh. [293] She is freighted by thePortuguese, and the governor of Mokha wished much we had met with her, which we had probably done, had not our ship been absent, which returnedinto the road of Mokha on the 21st. I went aboard, and was told that theking of Assab and his brother had been aboard, and were kindlyentertained, in return for which he promised to supply them withabundance of beeves and goats; but that same evening, in consequence ofa signal of fire, he and all his people fled into the mountains, pretending they were threatened by an attack from their enemies, andnever even gave thanks for their entertainment. [Footnote 292: The only place resembling this name is Kissem, on theoceanic coast of Yemen, or Arabia Felix, nearly due N. From CapeGuardafui. --E. ] [Footnote 293: This must refer to her homeward lading, called outward inthe text in respect to India. --E. ] Before day of the 27th July, Mr Salbank returned from Sinan in perfecthealth, and much satisfied with his phirmauns. He gave me an account ofhis whole journey, having been respectfully treated every where; alwaysbefore entering any town, being met both by horse and foot to conducthim to the different governors, by whom he was kindly received. All hisprovisions were provided by their officers, but at his own expence; andthe servant of the governor of Mokha caused him every where to be wellused. He was met a mile from Sinan by forty or fifty Turks, wellmounted, sent by the Pacha to escort him to a well-furnished houseprepared for his reception. He was there kindly received and entertainedby the xeriffe and the pacha's chief treasurer, who were both deputed togive him welcome in the name of the pacha. Two days afterwards, he hadaudience of the pacha, from whom he received courteous entertainment, receiving two phirmauns of the same tenor, one of which was much moreornamentally written than the other, and intended for being shown to theGrand Signior, if necessary. According to his report, the city of Sinan and its neighbourhood willgive vent yearly for a good quantity of English cloth, as the weatherthere is cold for three quarters of the year; and even while he wasthere, though the height of summer, a person might well endure a furredgown. Besides, there is a court at that place to which belongs _forty_or _fifty_ thousand gallant Turks, [294] most of whom wore garments ofhigh-priced Venetian cloth. Not far from thence there is a leskar, orcamp, of 30, 000 soldiers, [295] continually in the field against an Arabking in the adjoining mountains, not yet conquered; all of whichsoldiers are said to wear coats of quilted India chintzes, which aredear, and of little service to defend them from the cold of that region, which is there excessive. To this I may add the city or Teyes, nearwhich there is a _leskar_ of thirty or forty thousand soldiers, commanded by a German renegado under the pacha of Sinan. That place, though only about five days journey from Mokha, is very cold, and muchcloth is worn by the people about that place. [Footnote 294: This is probably a vast exaggeration, though in words atlength in the Pilgrims; and we ought more likely to read _four_ or_five_ thousand Turks. --E. ] [Footnote 295: A similar reduction to 3000 is probably needful for thisarmy. --E. ] On the 2d of August the governor sent a rich vest to our captain by thechief shabander, attended by drums and trumpets, his boat being deckedout with flags and streamers. This was delivered with great ceremony, and reverently received. The Dabul nokhada, Melic Marvet, and Roswan, the nokhada of the Chaul ship, sent us letters of recommendation totheir kings, on the 11th August, according to our desire, certifying thefriendly usage they had experienced from us at Mokha, and our kindoffer to protect them on the homeward voyage, from pirates, andentreating therefore for us freedom of trade and friendly usage in theirdominions. The 14th, as we had formerly done to others, we gave ourpasses to two Malabar captains, Amet ben Mahomet of Cananore, underSultan Ala Rajah, and Aba Beker of Calicut, under the Zamorin. This day there came a galley into the road from Cairo, having many Turksand Jews as passengers, bringing great store of dollars, chekins, coral, damask, sattin, camblet, opium, velvets, and taffetas. She had come downthe whole length of the Red Sea in thirty days. I had a conference withthe Jews, one of whom I had formerly known in Barbary. They reportedthat the brother of the former Grand Signior, on being made emperor, hadimprisoned his two nephews, and put to death several of the grandees, and had otherwise given great offence to the great men atConstantinople, whereupon he was deposed and imprisoned, and his eldestnephew made emperor in his stead. They said likewise that an army of200, 000 men was sent against the Persians, for the conquest ofGurgistan, adding various other particulars, some of which turned outtrue, and others false, like merchants news in general. Some Turks andJews desired to have passage for themselves and goods in our ship toSurat; and it is likely, when they know us better, much profit may bemade in this way, as their junks are usually pestered with rude people. Having sold and bartered our goods as well as we could have expected, considering our cargo, and dispatched all our business, we visited thegovernor, and desired to have his testimonials to the lord ambassador, which he gave us. We took leave of him on the 19th of August, and of thescrivano and other chief men of the town, from whom we receivedprotestations of continued kindness on all future occasions. We wentaboard that same day, proposing to sail the next day for India, takingthe Surat junk under our convoy, according to our instructions. SECTION XII. JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO SURAT AND JASQUES, IN 1620. [296] "According to the title of this journal in the Pilgrims, the fleet whichsailed on this voyage consisted of the London, of 800 tons, WilliamBaffin master, on board of which was Captain Andrew Shilling, chief incommand, or general; the Hart, of 500 tons, Richard Blithe master; theRoebuck, of 300 tons, Richard Swan master; and the Eagle, of 280 tons, Christopher Brown master. The account of the voyage in Purchas is saidto consist of extracts from the journal written by Richard Swan, themaster or captain of the Roebuck. "--E. [Footnote 296: Purch. Pilgr. 1. 723. ] §1. _Voyage from England to Surat. _ We sailed from Tilbury-hope on the 26th of February, 1620, and anchoredin Saldanha road [Table Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope] on 24th of June, where we found the Lion homewards-bound, and nine Dutch ships bound forBantam, commanded by a gentleman named Nicolas van Baccum, who Was saidto have studied seven years at Oxford. Next morning the Lion and theDutch fleet departed, each their several way; and in the evening arrivedthe Schidam belonging to Deft, outward-bound, which being suspected byboth admirals, the master was sent for, and producing Us commission, gave satisfaction. On the 3d of July we made a solemn proclamation ofthe right and title of his majesty King James to Saldania, and on the7th King James's mount was erected. [297] [Footnote 297: It thus appears that the first fortified station at theCape of Good Hope was erected by the English, to whom that colony nowbelongs. It would surely be a better appellation for this importantcolony, which may be called the key of India, to restore its old name-of_Saldania_, than to continue its present awkward denomination, TheColony of the Cape of Good Hope. --E. ] We sailed from the Cape of Good Hope on the 25th of July, and 26th ofOctober we put into Dabul roads, where we remained till the 2d ofNovember to refresh our men, and to provide the two ships bound forPersia. The 6th November, the Hart and Eagle took leave of us and the9th we anchored in Swally roads, where we found the Wappen van Zeland, of 1000 tons, which at our arrival took in her colours, and saluted theLondon with three guns, and the Roebuck with two. I was sent on shore, and brought off Mr Thomas Kerridge, the president of the factory atSurat, with Mr James, and Mr Hopkinson. Next day, in a consultation, itwas determined to dispatch us speedily after the Hart and Eagle, as wehad intelligence that four Portuguese galleons were waiting at Ormus, orin Jasques roads, to intercept them. §2. _Voyage from Surat towards Jasques_. The 19th November, having dispatched our business at Swally with allexpedition, we set sail towards Jasques. The 21st we chased a ship, which surrendered without resistance, being the Nostra Sennora deMerces, of 200 tons, bound from Muscat for Chaul, having on boardforty-two Arabian horses, her principal loading, and for which trade shewas built. The residue of her cargo consisted of dates and raisins. Thename of her captain was Francisco de Mirando. The 5th December, when in latitude 24° 55' N. We met the Hart and Eaglecoming from Jasques for Surat, because not of sufficient strength toencounter the Portuguese force which was waiting for them with theintention of ruining our Persian trade. Thus happily rejoined to ourformer consorts, we shaped our course for Jasques to accomplish ourpurpose. The 8th, at the earnest desire of the Portuguese and Moorstaken in the prize, we set them on shore, except some Moor seamen whomwe detained in our service, and the Portuguese pilot, who entreated tostay, as he feared some hard usage from his own people. On the 12th, certain volunteers who had engaged to set fire to our prize, and run heraboard the Portuguese admiral, were put on board of her, and she wasfitted as a fire-ship. The 15th we had sight of the east point ofJasques roads, having upon it a tomb or old square flat-roofed house, which bore W. N. W. By compass, twelve miles off. From Diu head to thispoint, I make the longitude, by the ordinary plain chart, 9° 55' 36" W. But by Mercator's projection, 10° 51'. From where we were, we could seethe Portuguese men of war sent from Lisbon to oppose our trade withPersia, consisting of two Portuguese galleons, one of which was largerthan the London, and two Dutch ships, one as large as the Hart, whilethe other was less than the Eagle. Their general was Don Ruy Frere deAndrado; the vice-admiral, Joam Boralio; and the two Dutch ships werecommanded by Antonio Musquet and Baltazar de Chaves. [298] [Footnote 298: According to a special account of this and thesucceeding sea-fight, appended to the present relation in Purchas, thePortuguese fleet on the present occasion, besides the four galleons, consisted of two gallions and ten frigates or armed barks, none of whichare here mentioned except the four galleons. --E. ] §3. _Account of the first Fight with the Portuguese_. In the morning of the 16th December, our admiral and all the masters ofour squadron went on board the prize, carrying two barrels of powder, some tar, and other combustible materials, to fit her up as a fire-ship, intending to lay her on board the Portuguese admiral athwart his hawse, that both might burn together. After she was fitted, we bore up for thePortuguese squadron, but it fell calm, and the current set us so nearthem, that they reached us with their shot. We kept under sail allnight, and in the morning of the 17th, being to leeward of them inconsequence of the land breeze, they weighed and made toward us, when wewaited their approach, although they preserved the advantage of theweather-gage. The fight began about nine in the morning, and continuedwithout intermission for nine hours. In the afternoon, a fine gentlesea-breeze sprung up from the westwards, which gave us the weather-gage;and the Portuguese admiral anchored, either of necessity to repair somedefect about his rudder, or of policy to gain some expected advantage. His vice-admiral and the large Dutch ship anchored to the eastwards, andthe lesser Dutch ship to leeward of them all, stopping his leaks. Wewere now in great hopes of putting our fire-ship to a good purpose; butbeing too soon fired and forsaken by those who had her in charge, shedrove clear of them all, to their joy and our disgrace. Seeing themremain at anchor, and keeping to windward of them, we turned to andagain close a-head of them as they rode at anchor, raking them as wepassed, through and through, fore and aft, especially the admiral, receiving only in return their prow and bow-chases. By these, as Ipassed to the north, two unfortunate shots cut asunder the weather leechropes of the Roebuck's foresail and fore-topsail, in the middle depth ofboth sails; owing to which we could not bring her into stays, and wereforced, for repairing these sails, to bear down to leeward, between theenemy and the shore; in which course, the three great ships plied theirwhole broadsides against us, but with less hurt than I could haveimagined, God be praised. Having compassed the three large ships, Iluffed up to rejoin our squadron, which still held the advantage of thewind, and plied their great guns on the Portuguese like so many muskets. When I had got to windward of the smaller Dutch ship, which stood off asI did till he had our fire-ship directly between him and me, he turnedtail, and steered right before the wind along shore to the eastwards, with all the sail he could carry. The other three now set sail to hisrescue, and were now so tame, that as the Hart passed along theirbroadsides, she received only a few shots great and small from any ofthem, and from some none at all. The night now coming on, and our peoplebeing all wearied by the long continuance of the fight, we all desistedfrom any farther chase, and came to anchor in our usual road. In this fight, the London and Hart had very little harm in their hullsand tackling, and less, or rather none, in their men. The main-mast ofthe Eagle was hurt in five places, four of which were quite through, andone of her men lost his right arm. In the Roebuck, I had one man slainby a cannon ball striking his head. A piece of his skull and somesplinters of the ball wounded one of my mates in the forehead, anddestroyed his left eye; and two others of my men lost the use of theirright hands. God be praised for our good fortune; for I never heard ofso small loss in so long a fight as we now sustained. I cannot trulystate the loss of the enemy: but, by the report of our merchants, theirvice-admiral and another captain were slain, and thirty or forty men inthe admiral's ship alone, the rest as yet unknown. As to their Moors, they do not count them among the num her of their men. In the morning of the 18th, the day after the action, we could see thePortuguese at anchor ten miles to the east of us, having the wind fairto have come down, but they did not. We then held a consultation, whether it were better for us to take the first of the sea breeze, whichusually begins about noon, to stand towards them and try it out for themastery, before they could receive supplies from Ormus, Muskat, or Goa, or else to make sail for Jasques roads, on purpose to land our goods andmoney, in case of the worst, these being the prize they sought to obtainand we to defend. Accordingly, the London got that night into Jasquesroad, but the rest could not get in before the 20th, by reason ofcontrary winds. On the 21st and 22d most of our goods were landed. §4. _Second Sea Fight with the Portuguese_. On the 22d, seeing the Portuguese galleons open the road of Jasques, andsupposing they might intend to come in with the sea breeze, we set sailand stood off for them. At first, they made a shew of giving us battle, but soon afterwards made off upon a tack; and till the 28th, they wereeither to windward, or so favourably placed at anchor, that we could notattempt to attack them without manifest disadvantage. During this time, they were joined by two or three frigates, or barks, from Ormus, bringing them a supply of men and ammunition. We made one attempt onChristmas day, but were forced back by a sudden flaw of wind; on whichoccasion, some blacks aboard of us, said the Portuguese had brought awitch from Ormus, to supply them with favourable winds. On Innocents day, 28th December, perceiving the drift of our Portuguese_Fabius cunclator_, to protract and avoid fighting, that by delays andthe advantage of his frigates, he might hinder us from prosecuting yourbusiness in Persia, we determined to attempt closing with him. About oneo'clock there sprung up a favourable east wind for our purpose, on whichwe immediately weighed and put every thing in order for battle. TheLondon and Hart came to anchor within a cable's length and half of theirbroadsides, and so endured the main brunt of this second fight; for, nosooner were they at anchor, but it fell calm and so continued all day, insomuch that the Roebuck and Eagle, which had steered nearer to theshore, with the intention of coming to anchor, one on the bow of theiradmiral, and the other on the bow of their vice-admiral, got astern, andcould not with all our diligence be of any service for a full half hourafter the action began. At length we got within point-blank shot ofthem, and then were forced either to anchor or drive farther off withthe current, as there was not a breath of wind. We now brought our broadsides to bear, and our whole squadron pliedtheir ordnance upon them so fast, that had the knowledge of our menequalled their resolution, not one of them had escaped from us. Notwilling to endure such hot entertainment, they cut their cables aboutthree o'clock, and drove from us with the tide to the westwards, tillout of our reach. Then came their frigates, which the day before hadmade a bravado along shore with drums, trumpets, flags, and streamers, and, now employed in a fitter task, towed them away all mangled andtorn. Their admiral, in the very hottest of the fight, was under thenecesity of giving his ship a heel to stop his leaks, his main-top-mastand the head of his main-mast having fallen overboard. The great Dutchship had both his top-masts and part of his boltsprit shot away, and thesmaller lost all his shrouds and top-masts. Their vice-admiral escapedbest this day, having commonly one or other of their own ships betweenhim and us. We kept them company all night, in hope of being able next morning togive them their passports; but having taken a survey of our shot, whichwe found scanty, and considering the importance of the voyage we stillhad to perform, we thought it best to give over the chase and return toJasques; leaving them glad of our absence, their two great ships towingthe two smaller. We have had no account of their loss in this action. All your worships ships remain serviceable, God be praised, and onlyfive men slain outright in these two long and severe engagements. Ourworthy admiral and kind commander, Captain Andrew Shilling, received agreat and grievous wound by a cannon ball through his left shoulder, which he bore with such wonderful courage and patience, that we were ingreat hopes of his much-wished-for recovery: But he had likewise two ofhis uppermost ribs broken on the left side, and died on the 6th January, 1621, shewing himself a resolute commander in the action, and an assuredChristian in his death. We intended to have carried his body to Surat, to have there performed his funeral rites according to his great merit, and oar surgeons undertook to preserve his body by means of embalmingand cere-cloth, but it became so noisome that we were forced to bury himat Jasques, which was done on the 7th, with all the solemnity andrespect in our power. In this engagement, the London expended 1382 great shot of severalsorts, the Hart 1024, the Roebuck 815, and the Eagle 800, in all 4021. In consequence of the death of our worthy admiral, the white box, No. I. Was opened; and according to your worships appointment, Captain RichardBlithe succeeded to the supreme command of the London, I was removedinto the Hart, Christopher Brown into the Roebuck, and Thomas Taylor wasmade master of the Eagle. [299] [Footnote 299: This account does not agree with an accompanying officialletter, dated 13th January, 1621, giving a similar account of the twoengagements, often in the very identical words used by Swan, in whichthe name of Thomas Taylor is omitted, instead of whom William Baffin isthe last in the list of signatures; and the Christian name of Swan ismade Robert instead of Richard. --E. ] §5. _Sequel of the Voyage_. The 14th January, 1621, having had forty-eight hours continual andexcessive rain, which, or much wind, is usual at Jasques for three orfour days at the full and change of the moon, and having finished ourbusiness at Jasques, we set sail on our return to Surat, where wearrived on the 1st February. Nothing material occurred on the passage, except that, on the 27th January, between Diu and the _sand-heads_, wesurprised a small ship of war, called Nostra Senaora de Remedio, of 100tons, commanded by Francisco de Sylva, manned by thirty-five Portugueseand twenty-five Moors, sent out by the governor of Diu to protect theirsmall merchant ships against the Malabar rovers. We dismissed the menand kept the ship for our use, calling her the Andrew, after our lateexcellent general. She had in her neither meat, money, nor commodities, and scarcely as many poor suits of clothes as there were backs. The 27th of February we began to take in our loading. The 5th of March, the, Eagle was sent down to keep guard over the junk belonging to theprince, and to hinder her from any farther loading, till they grantedfree passage for our carts with goods and provisions, which had beenrestrained for six or seven days by the vexatious procedure of thegovernor of Olpar, a town near Surat. By this means, no cotton wool wasallowed to come down till our ships were fully laden. On the 16th ofMarch, having notice that the Camla, from Agra, had been robbed by theDeccan army, we resolved to seek restitution upon the ships of theDeccan prince and his confederates in this transaction, as we intendedwintering in the Red Sea. The 19th, the governor of Surat having givenus satisfaction in regard to the carts, and a supply of powder and shotfor our money, and promise under his hand for redress of other injuries, we dismissed the junk belonging to the prince from duress. From the 25th of March to the 6th of April, 1621, the winds have beenS. And S. S. W. Or W. And blowing so hard from noon till midnight, raisingso great a surf on the shore, that no business could be done except onthe last quarter of the ebb and first of the flood tide. We sailed onthe 7th April. The 9th, the Eagle and a Dutch pinnace, called theFortune, parted company, being consigned to Acheen and Bantam. TheLondon, Hart, Roebuck, and Andrew, were intended for the Red Sea, if nottoo late. The 1st May, the Andrew and our boats surprised a Portuguese ship of 200tons called the St Antonio, which we named the May-flower. Her principallading consisted of rice taken in at Barcelor, whence she had gone toGoa, and sailed from thence for Ormus and Muskat on the 8th of April. Welearnt from this prize, that Ruy Frere de Andrada was busy in repairinghis ships at Ormus, and that Don Emanuel de Azeredo had departed fromGor fifty days before for Ormus, to reinforce Andrada with two galleons, one of these being the same in which the viceroy was personally, when heengaged our fleet under Captain Downton. During a calm on the 7th, wecaptured a small frigate-built ship called the Jacinth, which we namedthe Primrose, which had come from Mozambique and was bound for Goa. Thence to the 13th, we had variable winds, with calms and much rain. Finding the May-flower delayed us much, and that our pilots were eitherignorant or malicious, we resolved to trust to our own endeavours forfinding an anchoring place, for our safe riding till the strength of theadverse monsoon was over, for which purpose we determined upon going toMacera. [300] [Footnote 300: From the latitude of this place, mentioned afterwards inthe text, this seems to refer to Mazica, an island about sixty mileslong and fifteen or twenty in breadth, a few miles from the oceaniccoast of Arabia, in lat. 20° 48' N. And long. 57° 3O' E. FromGreenwich. --E. ] We descried land on the 2d June, and anchored in seventeen fathoms threemiles offshore, in lat. 20° 20' N. Variation 17° W. We found plenty ofwater in four or five pits, three quarters of a mile from the shore. Ihad forty tons from one well, which we rolled in hogsheads to the beach. The people were tractable, but we got little else besides water. A tuftof date trees by the watering place bore N. W. By W. From our anchorage, and the other end of the island N. E. 1/2 E. Five leagues off. The 12thwe sailed for the N. E. End of the island, and in the afternoon came toanchor in a fair bay, having seven fathoms on clean ground, a black oozysand, the N. E. Point bearing S. 1/2 a league off, the landing placeW. S. W. Two miles off, and the north part of the bay N. By W. Four milesoff. The latitude of this bay is 20° 30' N. And the variation 17°W. [301] In this bay you may ride safely in any depth between five andtwelve fathoms. It is an excellently healthy place, cold and hungry, affording no refreshments except water, enough of which is to be had bydigging pits; but it is ill to boat except at the usual landing place. This place afforded us no better supplies than the former, except thatwe got a few goats and lambs in exchange for canikens. Though goodanchorage, this bay was much troubled by a tumbling rolling sea, yet weresolved to remain here with the Hart and Roebuck till the fury of themonsoon were past. [Footnote 301: The north end of Mazica is in lat. 21° 12", and its southend in 20° 15', both N. --E. ] Having separated some time before from the London, our admiral, we senton the 19th of June, one Abdelavie, an inhabitant of this island, as faras Zoar with letters in quest of the London. He returned on the 6th Julywith letters in answer, informing us that the London was at Zoar, sevenleagues within Cape Rasalgat, having watered with difficulty at Teve, where their surgeon, Mr Simons, and the chaplain's servant, weresurprised on shore by the Portuguese and Arabs. The Hart and Roebucksailed from Macera, [Mazica, ] on the 6th of August, and anchored in theevening of the 8th beside the admiral in the port of Zoar. This roaddiffers from that in which we were in, being cairn, but the air was sohot as to take away our appetites. We sailed from Zoar on the 15th of August and returned to Swally roads. The 21st September, our whole fleet sailed from Swally, and on the 27thwe took leave of the fleet bound for Jasques, consisting of the London, Jonas, Whale, Dolphin, Lion, Rose, Shilling, Richard, and Robert. The1st January, 1622, we were between Johanna and Mayotta, two of theComoro islands. The 29th we anchored in Saldanha roads, [Table Bay, ]having come thither from Surat in nine weeks and three days, blessed beGod for our safe and speedy passage. We here watered, bathed in theriver, caught fish, and buried our letters; purchasing three cows, onecalf, and four sheep, all unsavoury meat. We sailed again on the 3d February, and anchored on the 19th at StHelena, where we found the Wappen and the Hollandia, two Dutch ships, the latter of which caught fire on the 22d, owing to her cloves, whichhad been taken in too green at Amboina. There was likewise a third smallDutch ship. They arrived eleven days before us, and it will take them atleast ten days more to discharge and reload their damaged cloves. Wesailed from St Helena on the 28th February, and anchored in the Downs onthe 7th June, 1622. SECTION XIII. RELATION OF THE WAR OF ORMUS, AND THE TAKING OF THAT PLACE BY THEENGLISH AND PERSIANS, IN 1622. [302] "In the Pilgrims of Purchas, vol. II. Pp. 1785-1805, there is a longconfused account of this business, contained in four several sections;to which many letters and certificates on the subject are subjoined. The _first_ is a brief historical memoir of the foundation of Ormus, froma chronicle in the Arabic, said to have been composed by _PachaTurunxa_, perhaps Pacha Turun Shah, one of the kings of that pettysovereignty. The _second_ is a relation of the Ormus war, by Mr W. Pinder, who appears to have served under Andrew Shilling, during thepreceding voyage, and sailed as master of the Andrew on this occasion. The _third_ is an account of the earlier part of this war of Ormus, written by T. Wilson, a surgeon serving in the expedition. The fourth isa more particular relation of the whole events of this expedition, extracted by Purchas from the journal of Mr Edward Monoxe, agent for theEast Indian merchants trading in Persia. This last has been chosen, asbest adapted to give a distinct view of the expedition, but somefreedoms have been assumed with it, by assisting the narrative from theother documents in Purchas, already specified. "--E. [Footnote 302: Purch. Pilgr. II. 179s. ] * * * * * At a consultation held in Swally roads on the 14th November, 1621, acommission was given by Mr Thomas Rastell, president, and the rest ofthe council, of our factory at Surat, to Captains Richard Blithe andJohn Weddell, who were bound for Jasques, with five good ships and fourpinnaces. The ships were the London, Jonas, Whale, Dolphin, and Lion, and the pinnaces the Shilling, Rose, Robert, and Richard. They weredirected to sail with the earliest opportunity for Jasques, keepingtogether for their mutual defence against the enemy; and, as thePortuguese had disturbed the trade, and made sundry assaults on ourships, killing, maiming, and imprisoning our men, they were authorizedto chase and capture any vessels belonging to the ports or subjectsunder the viceroy of Goa; as likewise, if they met any ships belongingto Dabul, Chaul, or other ports of the Deccan, or to the subjects of theZamorin of Calicut, to arrest them, in replacement of goods robbed andspoiled by these powers, without embezzling any part of their cargoes, that restitution might be made, after due satisfaction rendered on theirparts. A sixth part of the goods taken from the Portuguese were to bedistributed as prize, the ship and the rest of the goods to remain tothe company; and all the prisoners to be retained, that they might beexchanged for our countrymen, held by them in miserable bondage. Theywere directed to hasten their business and dispatch at Jasques, ifpossible within thirty days. And as our enemy under Ruy Frere deAndrada, was reinforced to six galleons, with other small vessels, waiting on the coast of Persia in all likelihood to attack our fleet, they were authorized, both defensively and offensively also, to use allopportunities or advantages against the Portuguese fleet, even in theirown ports, if approved by a general council of war. We arrived in Costack roads on the 23d December, about twenty-sevenleagues from Jasques, Ormus being in sight about ten leagues W. N. W. By ameridional compass. Our factors here informed us, that after oursea-fight in the former year, the Portuguese governor of Ormus haderected a fort on Kismis, an island within sight of Ormus, to which thePersians had laid siege for seven or eight months ineffectually, and hadlost eight or nine thousand men in the siege; wherefore the Khan orprince of Shiras had, by his ministers, demanded the aid of our shipsagainst the common enemy, the Portuguese, otherwise threatening todetain all the goods and money belonging to the company in Persia. In aconsultation held on the 26th December on board the Jonas, in which werepresent, Captain Richard Blithe, John Weddell, Edward Monoxe, WilliamBaffin, and many others, articles of agreement for giving our aid to thePersians against the Portuguese were drawn up, and being translated intothe Persian language, were forwarded by the governor of the province ofMogustan to the Khan of Shiras, then on his way towards Mina, near themouth of the Persian gulf. In this consultation, it was considered, as it was required of us by thePersians, that we should give them aid with our ships and people in thiswar, not only for the purpose of vanquishing the Portuguese navy, butfor conquering the island and castle of Ormus; and as we were confidentthey would endeavour to force us into this service, by embargoing ourgoods, the governors having already refused to give us camels for theircarriage from Mina to the ports: Wherefore, the foresaid propositionbeing maturely considered, together with the commission from the factorsat Surat, warranting us to right ourselves for the great losses andhindrances suffered from the Portuguese, by interrupting our trade bothin India and Persia, and their attack last year against the fleet underCaptain Shilling; we therefore agreed to proffer the following articlesto the Khan, for the public benefit and the securing a peaceable andprofitable trade. _First_. --In case of conquering the island and castle of Ormus by thePersians with our aid, one half of the spoil and purchase of both tobelong to the English, and the other half to the Persians. _Secondly_--The castle of Ormus shall be delivered up to the English, with all the ordnance, arms, and ammunition thereunto belonging; and thePersians to build another fortress there for themselves, at their owncharges. _Thirdly_. --The customs of Ormus shall be equally dividedbetween the English and the Persians, and the English shall be for everfree from customs. _Fourthly_. --All Christians made prisoners in thiswar shall be given up to the disposal of the English, and all Mahomedanprisoners to the Persians. _Fifthly_. --The Persians shall be at half thecharges of the ships employed in this enterprize, in victuals, wages, wear-and-tear, and shall furnish all necessary powder and shot at theirsole expence. These were the chief articles, besides which several others were agreedupon, to be proposed to the Khan. After his arrival at Mina, Mr Bell andMr Monaxe were sent to wait upon him, on the 8th January, 1622, and wereentertained at a sumptuous banquet. A great feast and triumph was alsomade, in consequence of intelligence that the Shah had conquered agreat country in Arabia, with its capital Aweiza. [303] Next day, theKhan sent his vizier and two other principal officers to give an answerto our proposed articles. The _first_ was granted. For the _second_, itwas substituted that the castle of Ormuz was to be occupied by bothnations till the King's pleasure was known. The _third_ was granted, provided also, that the goods from India belonging to the king and theKhan were to pass free of duty. In regard to the _fourth_, reservationwas made as to the two principal Portuguese captains, Ruy Frere, captainof Kismis Castle, and Simon de Mela, governor of Ormus, till the king'spleasure were known. Other articles were agreed upon; such as that nochange was to be made in regard to religion, and the expence of militarystores was to be divided. The Khan and Mr Bell signed these articles;and presently our goods were laden upon the Khan's own camels at freecost, which could not be procured before for any money. [Footnote 303: This assuredly alludes to Ahwas in Khosistan, to the N. W. Of the lower Euphrates, opposite to Bussrah, which, though not inArabia, is in its immediate neighbourhood, and principally inhabited bypeople of Arabian origin. --E. ] The 10th of January we returned to Costack, and going on board, acquainted our commanders with the success of our mission. When the newsof this agreement became known among the several ships companies, theyconsulted among themselves, and with one voice refused to take any sharein the business. This broke out first in the London, in which ship fiftyor sixty of her crew took part in refusing to have any thing to do withthis warlike measure; but, after taking much pains to reconcile them tothe propriety and necessity of joining with the Persians, Captain Blitheat last prevailed with them, and they promised to go with him whereverhe chose to lead them. In a day or two, the flame of discontent andopposition spread among the other ships, alleging that it was nomercantile business, and that it might lead to a breach of the peacebetween our nation and Spain; but formal protests being taken againstthe crews, what with the fear of forfeiting their wages, and a promisedgratification of a month's pay, they all at last yielded. We set sail for Ormus on the 19th of January, and anchored on the nightof the 22d before the town, about two leagues from the castle, expectingthat the enemy's armada would come out to fight us, consisting of fivegalleons, and some fifteen or twenty frigates, or armed barks; but theyhauled in so near the castle, that we could not get nigh them. For whichreason, and because our avowed enemy, Ruy Frere de Andrada, was in hisnewly-erected castle of Kismis, we sailed to that place, where wearrived the next day, and were just in time to save the lives of thePortuguese, who were no longer able to hold out against the Persians, and were willing rather to yield to us than them. After many meetingsand treaties, they yielded up both themselves and their castle into ourhands on the 1st February, it being concluded that the whole garrisonwas to depart with their private property to any place except Ormus, their commander only remaining in our hands as a pledge for thefulfilment of the capitulation. In this service two of our people wereslain, one of whom was Mr Baffin. [304] [Footnote 304: Mr Baffin was a mathematician and mariner, to whom ournorthern and north-western voyages are much indebted. --_Purch_. Hence almost certainly the person to whom Baffin's bay, in thenorth-east of America, owes its name. --E. ] There were about a thousand persons of all sorts in this castle, of whomthe Portuguese and some Mahometans were sent away: But the Khan requiredcertain Mahometans to be given up, who he pretended had revolted fromhim. They were accordingly delivered up, and, though he had formerlypromised them mercy, he put them all to death. This castle had seventeenpieces of ordnance, one of which was a brass pedro, two irondemiculverins, four brass sackers, two iron minions, and six ironfalcons. [305] [Footnote 305: On a former occasion, we have given an account of thevarious kinds of ordnance used about the 17th century. The _pedro_ wasprobably a gun of large calibre for throwing _stone_ bullets. In moderntimes, cannon are designated by the weights of their respective balls, in combination with their being long or short, land or sea, field orgarrison, single or double fortified, iron or brass. --E. ] Leaving some Englishmen to assist in keeping possession of this fortressalong with the Persians, according to agreement, we set sail on the 4thFebruary for Gambroon, on the mainland of Persia, within three leaguesof Ormus, and directly opposite. Ruy Frere de Andrada, the latecommander of Kismis, was sent off for Surat, in the Lion, accompanied bythe Rose and Richard. The London, Jonas, Whale, and Dolphin, with thetwo prizes of 250 tons each, remained to transport the Persians insafety to Ormus. We were royally feasted at Gambroon by the Khan, whowas much dissatisfied that Andrada and some of the Moors had not beendelivered up to him, yet dissembled his discontent, in regard of hisfarther need for our ships in the enterprise against Ormus. After thefeast, all the English gentlemen present were presented with vests, eachaccording to his rank. On the 9th of February we set sail for Ormus, having about two hundredPersian boats of all sizes, besides two frigates or barks, and ourships, having in them about 2500 or 3000 Persian soldiers, of varioussorts. We anchored that night about two leagues from the castle; andnext forenoon all the Persians were landed on the island of Ormus, alittle way from the town, to which they marched in a confused manner, penetrating as far as the Meidan, or market-place, without resistance. The market-place was barricadoed and defended for some time by thePortuguese with shot and pikes; but the Persians soon made way, withsmall loss, and drove the Portuguese before them into the castle, likeso many sheep. One Persian only, who first entered, was slain by a pike, and he who slew him soon lost his head, his heels being too heavy tocarry it away. On first entering the city, the Persian general, named Einam Culi Beg, placed captains with detachments of soldiers in various quarters, proclaiming that each officer was to be answerable for the safety of thequarter assigned to him, and threatening death to all who were foundpillaging. Some infringing these orders were severely punished, somebeing hanged, others having their ears or noses cut off, and othersbastinadoed even for trifles. Yet, in two or three days after, the shopsand houses were forced open, and every man so wearied with carrying awayplunder all day long, and sleeping so securely at night without anyproper military precautions, that the Portuguese might easily have slainmany, if they had ventured upon making a sally. On the night of our landing, I took possession of a very commodioushouse for a factory, which, for convenience and goodness of its rooms, exceeded, as I think, any factory belonging to the Honourable Company. But it proved too hot for me on the 13th, in the night, as one of themaster's mates of the Whale, with others of his companions, after I wasin bed, by carelessness of candles, while searching for plunder, set aroom on fire in which were some goods given me in charge by the general. Fortunately the wind favoured us, so that the house was not consumed. Considering the strength of this city, and that every house was as itwere a little castle, I was astonished the Portuguese should haveabandoned it so soon. But it seems they were afraid of being interceptedby the Persians in their retreat to the castle, and dreaded that theMahometan inhabitants might have betrayed them. The Persians began presently to throw up trenches, and daily approachednearer the castle, and, with our help, erected batteries for ordnance, and sconces or redoubts for securing their men, and protecting thetrenches. With the cannon from our ships, we sore galled the Portugueseships, forcing them to haul in as close as possible to the castle. Onthe 24th of February, four of our boats set fire to the San Pedro, formerly admiral of Andrada's fleet, which put all the rest in greatdanger, but the tide carried her out to sea, and her relics were towedon shore at Gambroon by the Arab and other country boats, some ironordnance and shot being got out of her burnt carkass. The Khan was muchrejoiced at this exploit. The Persians having succeeded in constructing a mine under one of thebastions, which was charged with upwards of forty barrels of powder, itwas exploded on the 17th of March, by which a practicable breach wasmade in the salient angle of the bastion. The Persians made immediatelya fierce assault, and Shah Culi Beg got possession of the bastion with200 of his bravest men, and maintained himself there for at least threehours; but the Portuguese made a brave defence, and with powder-pots, scalding lead, and other devices of fire, did much hurt to theassailants, burning, scalding, and slaying many of them, so that thePersians were at last driven out with considerable loss, most of thembeing wounded, scalded, or scorched. On the same day, the city was seton fire in several places, by the command of the Persian general, as wasreported, because his Arab soldiers lurked among the houses, and couldnot be got forth to do any service in the siege. To the number of four or five thousand men, we were now cooped up in abarren island without shelter, producing nothing in itself except salt;and I know not by what mistaken policy the general had been induced tosend away all the rice and other victuals, by which means we werereduced to depend upon the continent for a daily supply of provisions, and even water; so that, if a fleet of Portuguese frigates had come, aswas expected, we must have been famished, as the country boats durst nothave ventured to us from the main. The rain water in the open cisternswas daily wasted, and became brackish, no care being taken to fill thejars and private cisterns in almost every house, while it remained good. The Persians are quite ignorant in the art of war, for they entered thebreach without fear, precaution, or means of establishing themselves;and they lost with shame what they might have defended with honour. Iobserved other defects in their management, even of the very sinews ofwar; and I am astonished that Shah Abbas, the wonder of our age, shouldhave sent his army on this expedition so weakly provided with money, arms, ammunition, ships, and all other necessaries. I am even satisfiedthat all the money belonging to the khan was consumed in one month's payto our ships, and I fear we shall have to wait for the rest till theplunder is converted into money. In regard to arms and ammunition, theyhave only small pieces, with bows and arrows, and swords, some of theirchiefs having coats of mail. They were so scarce of powder, that afterblowing their mine, they had hardly enough to supply the small arms forentering the breach, though furnished with twenty or twenty-five barrelsfrom our ships. They had not a single scaling-ladder to assist theirentry. Were we to forsake them, they would soon be completely at astand, yet they have already broken conditions with us in severalthings, and I much fear, when all is done, we shall be paid withreversions, and what else they themselves please. Our ordnance so galled the Portuguese ships from the shore, that agalleon was sunk on the 19th of March, and two more on the 20th and 23d. The last come ship from Goa, which was their admiral, and one of theothers, were, I think, sacrificed by the policy of the governor, thatthe garrison might have no means of escape, and might therefore defendthemselves manfully to the last, in hopes of relief from Goa, thoughsome thought they went down in consequence of injuries from sunkenrocks, in hauling them so near the castle to get them out of the rangeof our battery. On the 27th, news was brought me that some of the Portuguese were comefrom the castle to treat of peace, upon which I repaired to thegeneral's tent, where I could well perceive, by the countenances of ourtwo English commanders, that I was by no means welcome: But, to requitethem in their own coin, both they and I soon saw that none of us wereacceptable to the Persians, for they long delayed bringing in thePortuguese messenger, in hopes we would have gone away, but at length, seeing we remained, he was brought in. The drift of his speech was tothe following effect:--"His captain had sent him to kiss the hands ofthe general, and to ask the reason of making war upon the Portuguese, who were friends to the Persians, and thought it strange, consideringtheir ancient league and friendship, that so great a war should be madeonly for one or two wells of water. Besides, that the governor andpeople of Ormus were not to blame for what had been done at Kismis byRuy Frere de Andrada; yet were they willing, so far as might consistwith the honour of their sovereign, to purchase peace, which they needednot to do either from fear or weakness, having above a thousandable-bodied men in the castle, with provisions and water for manymonths; besides which, they were in daily expectation of succours fromGoa. He concluded by saying, that the Persians would find it a hardmatter to win the castle, as they were resolved to defend themselves tothe last man. " The latter part of this speech, consisting of bravado, was by no meanspleasing to the Persian general, who desired the messenger to declarethe purpose of his coming. On which he said, the governor wished to knowwhat the Persian general would have? To this the general answered, thathe would have the castle; and with that answer the messenger wasdismissed, without even the offer of a cup of wine, if I had not causedone to be given him. I suspect he brought a more substantial message, which was omitted on account of our presence, having been so instructedby Shah Culi Beg, in whose house he was at least for an hour before hewas brought before the general. I fear therefore some sinister designsof the Persians, which a few days will discover. Our captains, by means of their interpreters, now moved their ownaffairs with the general, to which he gave no great heed, but desiredthat business might be deferred for some time; yet had he that very dayearnestly entreated them to send him a quantity of powder from theships, meaning that night to attempt blowing up the castle, for whichthe mines were all ready, and he wanted nothing but powder. They hadaccordingly sent him thirty-four barrels, for which forwardness I fearthe Company at home will give them little thanks. The 28th March, understanding that two chief men of the Portuguesegarrison were in Shah Culi Beg's house, where they had been four or fivehours in conference with the Persian general, without sending to us, which increased our suspicions that the Persians meant to dealfraudulently with us; the two English commanders and I went together tothe tent of the Persian general, and expressed our dislike of thisunderhand manner of proceeding. We stated, that we were partakers withthem in this war, in which we had hazarded ourselves, our ships, and ourgoods, besides the hindrance we sustained by losing the monsoon, andthat we ought to be equal participators in all treaties and proceedings, as well as in the war, and desired therefore to know what they hadconcluded, or meant to conclude, with the Portuguese. To this heanswered, that nothing had been done, neither should any thing beconcluded without acquainting us. This was a mere empty compliment, which all his actions belied. We must, however, be content to suffer allwith patience: Yet, were it not for our merchants and woods in Persia, we could easily have remedied this affair, and have brought thePortuguese to such terms as we pleased. As matters stand, however, weare so tied down, we must be patient, and I fear things will turn outvery ill, though they pretend all things shall be done to ourcontentment. About noon this day, seeing many Arabs in the Meidan armed with pikesand guns, whom I did not usually see so armed, I at length observed themranged upon both sides of the market-place, and presently afterwards twoPortuguese gentlemen passed, attended by six or eight pages andservants, one of whom carried an umbrella over their heads. They wereaccompanied by Shah Culi Beg, and other chief Persians, who conductedthem to the house of Agariza of Dabul. Though uninvited, I went therealso, and intruded into their company, where I found the Persian generaland other chiefs, his assistants and counsellors. The general gave me akind welcome, and made me sit down next himself, which I did not refuse, that the Portuguese might see we were in grace and favour. Having mademy obeisance to the Persians, I then saluted the Portuguese officers, who returned the compliment, after which I had some general conversationwith them, not pertaining to the great purpose in hand, of which I didnot presume to speak, till the general gave me occasion, which was notuntil after a collation of _pilaw_, and other dishes, after the fashionof Persia. The collation being ended, the general asked them what was now theirdesire. They answered, that the captain of the castle had given themwritten instructions, but had desired them to make their proposals tothe Khan himself, who now resided at Gombroon, if they might bepermitted to wait upon him. To this the general answered, that he durstnot allow them, unless the Khan were first made acquainted with theirdesire. I could plainly perceive that this proceeded only from affecteddelays on both sides, to give time for attaining their several purposes. The Portuguese then proceeded to complain, as formerly, against RuyFrere, as if he durst have presumed to seize and fortify Kismis withoutorders from the king his master. They alleged also that the affair wasin itself of no moment, being only a barren island with a well or two. To this the Persian general replied, it was of no matter what might beits value, but they had gone to war against the king of Persia and hissubjects, for which their castle of Ormus must make satisfaction;wherefore, if they would surrender the castle without any morebloodshed, they should have good quarter and kind usage. The Portuguesesaid they had no commission to treat of any such matter, and so theconference ended, and they were dismissed. Notwithstanding of the Portuguese being refused leave to go to the Khan, they had licence that same night, and were sent over to treat with himat Gambroon. I could never know the certainty of the proposed treaty, but shall here insert what I heard reported on the subject. Theyproposed, in the first place, to the Khan, to raise the siege, andpermit them to enjoy their city and castle of Ormus as formerly, inconsideration of which, they offered to pay 200, 000 tomans in hand, andthe yearly rent they had formerly paid to the king of Ormus, from therevenue of the custom-house, which, as I have heard, was 140, 000 rialsof eight or Spanish dollars yearly. But some said, besides the 200, 000tomans in hand, they offered as much yearly. [306] It was reported thatthe Khan demanded 500, 000 tomans in hand, equal to £172, 418:10:7sterling, [307] and an yearly rent of 200, 000 tomans. [Footnote 306: A toman, by the data in the text immediately following, is about seven shillings; hence 200, 000 tomans are equal to £70, 000sterling. --E. ] [Footnote 307: At the former computation, this sum is equal to £175, 000;and the conversion in the text gives 6s. 11-3/4d, and a small fractionmore for each toman, being very near 7s. Which is more convenient. --E. ] The 2d April, with the aid of the English, the Persians blew up twoother mines, by which a fair and practicable breach was opened, throughwhich the besiegers might have entered without much difficulty, yet wasthere no assault made. Having noticed this carefully, Captain Weddellwent to the Persian general to learn his purposes; when, to excuse thebackwardness of his people, he pretended that the breach was toodifficult to be assaulted with any hope of success. Yet we knew thecontrary, as an English youth, who was servant to the master of theJonas, bolder than any of the Persians, had gone up the breach to thevery top of the castle wall, and told us it was as easily ascendible asa pair of stairs, and broad enough for many men to go abreast. Inrepresenting this to the general, and asking what were his future plansof proceeding, he told us he would be ready with another mine in threedays. This I believed to be true, for his mining is to procure gold, notto make breaches, unless breach of promise to us, which he can easilydo; for of late they have not performed any of their engagements, yetwill not this teach us to look to ourselves. The greatest hurt done by the Portuguese to the Persians in the assaulton the castle, was by means of powder-pots, by which many of theassailants were scorched and severely burned. To guard against this, theKhan has now sent over many coats and jackets of leather, as not soliable to catch fire as their calico coats, quilted or stuffed withcotton wool. Yet, according to the English proverb, _The burnt childdreads the fire;_ notwithstanding their leathern coats, none of them arehardy enough to attempt this new breach, though much easier to enterthan the former, any farther than to pillage certain bales of _bastas_and other stuffs which have fallen down from a barricade or breast-work, thrown up by the Portuguese for defending the top of the breach from thefire of the Persians. On the 5th of April the Persian general had news that 100, 000 maunds ofpowder were arrived from Bahrein. On the 12th, a Portuguese came to thePersian general, having escaped from the castle, and gave accounts ofthe great wants and weaknesses of the garrison, insomuch, that six oreight died daily of the flux, chiefly owing to their having nothing todrink, but corrupted brackish water, of which even they have so littleas to be put on short allowance, so that several have died of thirst. Their only food consists of rice and salt fish, both of which wouldrequire a good allowance of drink. Notwithstanding all this, the Persiangeneral wastes his time in constructing new mines, of which he has noless than three in hand at this time, as if he proposed to blow up thewall all round about, before making any fresh assault. On the night ofthe 12th, one of our frigates or barks, which belonged to the London, being on guard alone, to prevent the escape of the Portuguese frigates, was clapped on board by two of these at once, but beat them both off. Iknow not what might be the loss of the Portuguese on this occasion, buttwo of our men were slain, and seven wounded; yet, had not our blackrowers forsaken them, our people might easily have taken the assailants. The 14th, the Persians sprung another mine, by which a very assailablebreach was made, yet no assault was attempted. On this occasion, themine had to be sprung before it was quite ready, because the Portuguesehad already come so near it with a counter mine, that the Persians wereafraid of their mine being rendered useless before they could placetheir powder. Another deserter came from the castle on the 15th, whoconfirmed the report given by the former, and told us that the twofrigates which had assailed ours had come from Muskat, with the son ofthe deceased Don Francisco de Sousa, late governor of the castle ofOrmus, who had come on purpose to carry away his mother and other womenfrom the castle. At this time, the Moors who had surrendered to us from the castle ofKismis, were delivered up to the Persian general, at his earnestrequest, and partly with their own consent, on promise of being pardonedfor having served under the Portuguese against their own king andcountry, and of being provided for and employed in the siege of Ormus. He seemed to ratify this promise, both to them and us, by entertainingsome of their chiefs in our presence, with much apparent courtesy, evengiving fine new vests to five or six of the principal officers. Yet nextmorning he caused eighty of their heads to be cut off, and sent the fiveor six newly-vested chiefs to the Khan at Gambroon, to receive theirfinal doom, which was soon settled, as they were sentenced to the samefate with their fellows. Mir Senadine, their chief captain, was executedby the hands of Shere Alli, governor of Mogustan, who had married hisdaughter, and yet put his father-in-law to death with as muchwillingness as if he had been his mortal enemy. The 17th of April, the Persians sprung another mine, closely adjoiningtheir first. This did not produce the effect expected, as it burst outat the side, carrying part of the wall along with it, yet did little orno harm upwards, which was the point aimed at, on purpose to widen theformer breach. Yet it encouraged the Persian general to try anotherassault, with at least 2000 soldiers. They ran up the breach with greatresolution, into part of a bulwark or bastion, which they might easilyhave gained, had not their haste run their resolution out of breath;insomuch, that eight or ten Portuguese, assisted by a few blacks, armedonly with rapiers, made them give ground and retire to the outer skirtof the bulwark, where there was not room for forty men to face theenemy. They here endeavoured, however, to entrench themselves; but, before they could establish a lodgement, the Portuguese plied two orthree pieces of ordnance upon them from a flanking battery, which sentsome scores of the Persians with news to their prophet _Mortus Alli_that more of his disciples would shortly be with them. This accordinglywas the case, chiefly owing to their own ignorance and cowardice; for, had they not made a stand in that place, but rushed pell-mell along withthe Portuguese into the castle, they might have carried it with lessthan half the loss they sustained that day to little purpose. Had I notbeen an eye-witness, I could hardly have believed the stupid ignoranceof the Persian general on this occasion. He had two breaches, almostequally good, yet applied all his men to the assault of one only, instead of attempting both at one time. Besides, he had at least eightyor an hundred scaling-ladders, yet not one of them was brought near thecastle walls. His soldiers hung clustering on the breach, like a swarmof bees, or a flock of sheep at a gap, none having the heart to enter, while the Portuguese gleaned away five or six at a shot, sometimes more, driving forwards their black soldiers to throw powder-pots among thePersians. The assault was renewed on the 18th, but with more harm to the Persiansthan the Portuguese. During the intervening night, two blacks made signsto the Persians on the top of the breach, that they wished to come overto them, and were drawn up with ropes. By these it was learned that thecaptain of the castle had been wounded in the head by a stone; thatthere were not above an hundred men in the garrison able to handle theirarms: and that their water grew daily more scanty and worse in quality, by which the mortality continually increased. They reported also thatgreat difference in opinion prevailed among the Portuguese, some wishingto endeavour to escape by sea, while others held it more honourable tosell their lives at a dear rate, by defending the castle to the lastextremity, and proposed, when they could no longer hold out, to put alltheir women and treasure into a house and blow them up, that thePersians might neither enjoy their wealth nor abuse their wives; and, when this was done, to rush upon the Persians, and so end their days. In the evening of the 19th, the Persians made another effort to pressforwards, and got possession of the entire bulwark, forcing thePortuguese to retire farther within the castle. In this conflict many ofthe Portuguese were wounded, and sore scalded with fire-pots, in themanagement of which the Persians had now become expert, though many ofthem had paid dearly for their instruction. In this conflict fourPortuguese were slain, and their heads brought to the Persian general. In this art of cutting off heads, the Persians are particularly cunning, insomuch, that I do not think there is an executioner in all Germanythat can excel them. No sooner does a Persian lay hold of an enemy, thanoff goes his head at one blow of his scymitar. [308] He then makes a holein the ear or cheek with his dagger, by which he will sometimes bringthree or four heads at once to his general. When it is proposed to sendthese heads taken in war to be seen by the king or the khan, they veryadroitly flea off the skin of the head and face, which they stuff upwith straw like a foot-ball, and so send them by whole sackfulls. [309] [Footnote 308: This, however, is to the praise of the Persians, as goodswordsmen, on which account the Turks fear coming to hand blows withthem. --_Purch_. ] [Footnote 309: In Turkey they manage this barbarous trophy of successmore conveniently, as the Grand Signior is satisfied with a display ofthe ears of his enemies preserved in salt. --E. ] This night, one of the frigates that came from Muskat for Douna deSousa, made her escape, no doubt very richly freighted. Her consort, which likewise attempted to get away, was chased in again. That whichescaped, being hailed by the Arab boats that lay in wait to interceptthe passage, got off by using the watch-word usual between the Englishand Arabs, _Ingres ingresses, _ which had not been once changed since thecommencement of this enterprize, in which oversight both the Persiansand English were highly blameable, as, by the continual use of thiswatch-word, it had come to the knowledge of the Portuguese, who thusused it to their great benefit. During the night of the 20th April, the other frigate made an effort toescape, but was intercepted and taken by the frigate and pinnacebelonging to the London. This frigate was employed to carry away thePortuguese _almirante, _ named Luis de Brito, a kinsman to the viceroy ofGoa, but the captain of the castle would not permit him to go away; andthe men belonging to this frigate, being seven persons, fearing thecapture of the castle and desirous to secure their own lives, stole awaywithout leave. The 21st, the Persians made a display of making themselves masters ofthe castle by storm; but, while we expected to see them put this boldmeasure in execution, I discovered that they and the Portuguese wereengaged in a parley. While I was preparing to wait on the Persiangeneral, to enquire the cause of this sudden change of measures, I met amessenger from our English commanders, informing me that a boat had comeoff to our ships from the castle, bearing a flag of truce, and desiringmy presence on board to see what was the purpose of this communication. On my getting on board the London, I found two Portuguese there, withthe following letters from the captain of the castle, and the almirante: "There hath been such ancient friendship between the Portuguese and English nations, that, considering the present war at this place, we ought to come to a mutual good understanding. From what I see of the mines made by the Persians, by which one of my bulwarks is already won, I am of opinion these could not have been constructed without your aid. Wherefore, I request you would be the means of procuring peace for me with the Persians, if the same may be done with your and their good pleasure, yet so that I may not lose my credit, nor you fail to gain honour. Thus, not else, our Lord keep you, " &c. _Simon de Mela Pereira_. "This castle is so hard pressed, that the Persians demand us to surrender by capitulation, but which we will not consent to: For, when reduced to that necessity, we will call upon your worships for that purpose, as it were not reasonable for us to capitulate with the infidels when you are present. We hold it more humane to deliver our innocent women, and other unnecessary people, to the rigour of our own weapons, than to the clemency of the Persians; and that you might know this our purpose, I have written these lines to accompany the letter from our captain. What else you may wish to know, you may learn from the bearer of these letters, to whom you may give the same credit as to myself. And so God keep your worships, " &c. _Luis de Brito Dar_. Dated 1st May, 1622. [310] Taking these letters into consideration, and commiserating theirsituation as Christians, it was resolved to give them a favourableanswer, which was done accordingly in a letter to the Captain Simon deMela, offering to become an intermedium for procuring them suchconditions from the Persians as might save the lives of the Christianswho still remained in the castle, which we had in our power to warrant, and were willing to shew them such farther courtesy as might tend totheir relief, as far as we could see. We desired him therefore to puthis demands in writing, and send them to us as soon as possible. Asimilar answer was written to the almirante, and with these the twomessengers were sent back to the castle in one of our own boats. Theysoon returned with other letters from the captain and almirante, saying, "That they left themselves entirely in our hands, the necessity of theirsituation not allowing time for farther writing, lest the Persians mightin the mean while break in and put them all to the sword. " [Footnote 310: The 1st of May, _new style_, was the 21st April, _oldstyle_; the difference being then ten days. --E. ] Upon this we addressed ourselves to the Persian general, requesting himto grant a truce of two days to the distressed Portuguese, in which timewe might treat with them for such conditions as might be at the sametime beneficial for the Persians and ourselves. At length, a Persianofficer and I were deputed to go into the castle to treat with thePortuguese, and they also desired our vice-admiral, Mr Woodcock, mightaccompany us. We all three went to the castle gate, but could not beallowed to enter; yet were met by Luis de Brito, the Portuguesealmirante, and five or six other _cavalieros_, but did not see thecaptain, as the inferior officers and soldiers had mutinied against him, and detained him as a prisoner. Our whole conference, therefore, waswith the almirante, who chiefly addressed himself to Captain Woodcock, our almirante, or vice-admiral. Mir Adul Hassan, and Pulot Beg, had been sent for to the ship, wheresome persons had embezzled a portion of treasure, as we now wished themto be present at the conference on the part of the Khan. They cameaccordingly to the English house, when one of them made a long speech, saying how kindly the Khan esteemed the services and assistance given bythe English in this war, which he should never forget, nor allow to passunrewarded. They next declared that the Khan intended to proceed, afterthe surrender of Ormus, to besiege both Muskat and Sware, and thereforethat the Portuguese ought on no account to be allowed to go to either ofthese places. Lastly, they insinuated basely and dishonourably, that weshould betray the Portuguese captain, and five or six more of hisprincipal officers, into their hands, as this would tend greatly to thehonour and satisfaction of the Khan, by enabling him to present them toShah Abas. On hearing this vile and dishonourable proposal, I left theroom, that my ears might not be contaminated by such abominableconditions; saying, at my departure, to these Persians, that I would notbe guilty of consenting to so infamous a business for a whole housefulof gold. The Portuguese being reduced to such extremity as to be under thenecessity of surrendering on any terms that might save their lives fromthe cruelty of the Persians, sent on the morning of the 23d, offering toput themselves into our hands, on condition that we furnished them withthe means of being conveyed either to Muskat or India. We agreed to thisproposal, on which Captain Blithe and I went as hostages into thecastle, to see them safely set out; the Persian general promising thatnot one of his soldiers or men should enter the castle till all thePortuguese were gone out, and that only three of his people and three ofours should sit at the gate, to see that they did not carry away anything of value. This the Persians watched so narrowly, that they mostbasely searched and abused the women. But the king of Ormus with hisrich vizier, together with their women, treasure, and servants, were allconveyed over the breach in the wall, and not a single Englishman calledor allowed to see what they carried out with them. Not only they, butall other Mahometans and Banyans, with their treasure and best things, were conveyed out of the castle in the same manner; whole bales ofgoods, with boxes and caskets full of treasure, to an unknown amount, were carried at the same time over the breaches. No sooner were thegates opened for letting out the Portuguese, but at least forty Persiansgot in and spread themselves about the castle, besides whom, some of theruder sort among the English got in likewise, whose coming in I fear wasthe cause of the Persians doing the same, judging themselves as worthyof this liberty as our people. Before mid-day of the 24th, both the Persians and English began topillage in a most shameful manner, so that I was both grieved andashamed, yet could see no means of remedy. The Persians drove out thepoor sick, wounded, and scorched Christians, who were not able to helpthemselves, so that my heart yearned with compassion to see their woefulplight. In the evening, the Khan of Shiras came over, as if in triumph, to view the castle and its great ordnance, of which there were nearthree hundred pieces, [311] part of which belonged to the galleons, andthe rest to the castle. This evening, the commanders and I, wishing toretain possession of the church in which we had placed a quantity ofplate and treasure, for its better security against being embezzled, ourdesign was utterly denied by Pulot Beg, who told our commanders, inplain terms, that they might lie out of doors. Being justly incensed atthis, we all three left the castle, the two captains going on boardtheir ships, while I went to the city; but, as the tide was up, and Icould not get a boat, I had to remain at the castle wall till nearmidnight. At this time there came about sixty Persians, by their ownreport, sent by the Khan to prevent the Arabs from conveying away any ofthe ordnance which lay by the shore, but I suspect their real object wasto cut the throats of the poor Christians who lay at the shore, for wantof boats to carry them on board; but fortunately they were protected byan English guard. Our chief business the whole of this day was to seethe poor Portuguese sent safely out of the castle, most of them soweakened by divers maladies, but chiefly by famine, and many of them sonoisome by their putrified wounds, and scorchings with gunpowder, thattheir pitiful cries and complaints might have moved pity in a heart ofstone; yet such was the cruel disposition of the Persians, that theydrove them out of the castle like so many dogs, stripping many of themeven of their shirts. [Footnote 311: In a shorter relation of this siege, by Mr W. Pinder, theordnance in the castle of Ormus are thus enumerated:--Fifty-three piecesmounted, of the following descriptions, --four brass cannons, six brassdemi-cannons, sixteen brass cannons-pedro, nine brass culverins, twobrass demi-culverins, three iron demi-culverins, ten brass basses, oneiron minion, one iron culverin, one iron cannon-pedro. Besidesninety-two brass pieces not mounted, and seven brass bastels which theyhad landed from the ships that were sunk. In all, 152 pieces. --E. ] On the evening of the 27th, we allowed the Portuguese to depart for Goa, to the number of 2500 persons, including men, women, and children, towhom we gave our two prizes, the Robert and Shilling, for theirtransport, with victuals and water necessary for the voyage, and a passto free them from any molestation, in case they met with any of ourships at sea. Besides these, there were upwards of an hundred persons, so maimed or sick as to be incapable of being sent off at this time, forwant of room in these two ships. The king of Ormus was very poor, and lived chiefly on a pension orallowance of 140, 000 rees, allowed him by the king of Spain, with somesmall reserved petty customs. In rummaging among his papers, we foundthe copy of a letter from him to the king of Spain, complaining loudlyof the injustice of the Portuguese, and charging them with the entireoverthrow of the kingdom of Ormus. [312] [Footnote 312: Besides this letter, too long and uninteresting forinsertion, there are several other letters and documents in the Pilgrimsat this place, so much in the same predicament as to be hereomitted. --E. ] When we expected to have received 1200 tomans[313] from Pulot Beg, whowas chief commissioner under the Khan of Shiras, as our pay for the timeoccupied in this enterprize, he contrived to make us a larger sum intheir debt, under pretence of embezzling the plunder in the castle;while we, on the other hand, made counter demands of a much larger sumdue to us from the Persians, in the same manner. At length, three monthspay were allowed, and our other demands were shifted off, as hepretended to have no power to liquidate them without an order from theKhan. After business was ended, our misery began, occasioned by theinsufferable heat of Ormus, and the disorders of our own people indrinking arrack, and other excesses no less injurious; through whichsuch diseases arose among our people, that three-fourths of them weredangerously sick, and many died so suddenly, that the plague was fearedto have got among them, although no symptoms of that dreadful malady asyet appeared. This extremity lasted for fourteen days, during whichtime, six or seven of our men died every day; but after this, it pleasedGod to stay the mortality, and the rest recovered. Ten pieces ofordnance belonging to the Portuguese, were taken into our ships, toreplace that number of our own which had been broken or otherwisespoiled during the siege. Our fleet was detained till the 1st September, owing to the shifting of the monsoon, and waiting its return. LeavingOrmus on that day, we arrived in Swally roads on the 24th of that month, where the London, Jonas, and Lion, loaded for England, and sailedhomewards bound on the 30th December. Before setting sail, news wasbrought of sinking three Portuguese carracks off the port ofMasulipatam, by the English and Dutch in conjunction. [Footnote 313: This must be a gross error, as by the value of the tomanformerly given, the sum in the text very little exceeds £400. Purchasmentions, in a side-note, that he had heard the English received £20, 000for this service from the Persians. --E. ] * * * * * In the Annals of the East India Company, [314] the English are said onthis occasion to have received a proportion of the plunder acquired atOrmus, and a grant of the moiety of the customs at Gambroon, whichplace, in the sequel, became the principal station of their trade withPersia and other places in the Persian gulf. The treaty made in 1615 byMr Connock was also renewed, and an additional phirmaund granted by theSophi, allowing them to purchase whatever quantity of Persian silks theymight think proper, in any part of his dominions, with the privilege ofbringing their goods from Gambroon to Ispahan free of duties. [Footnote 314: Vol. I. P. 236. The historiographer makes, however, asmall mistake, naming Ruy Frere de Andrada as chief commander of thePortuguese at Ormus, who only commanded in a subordinate fortress atKismis. --E. ] In consequence of the war of Ormus, a claim was set up in 1624 by thecrown and the Duke of Buckingham, as lord high admiral of England, bywhich the Company was demanded to pay a proportion of the prize-money, which their ships were supposed to have obtained in the seas borderingon the countries within the limits of their exclusive charter. In orderto substantiate these claims, Captains Weddell, Blithe, Clevenger, Beversham, and other officers of the Company's ships were examined, andparticularly those who had been employed against Ormus. According totheir statements, it appeared that the amount of this prize-money wascalculated at £100, 000 and 240, 000 rials of eight, but without takinginto view the charges and losses incurred by the Company on thisoccasion, and by their ships being called off from commercialengagements, to act as ships of war for the protection of their tradeagainst the Portuguese, and in the assistance of the government ofPersia, by which they had been compelled, either to engage in this war, or to relinquish a trade in which they had expended large sums, togetherwith the loss of all their goods then in Persia. At last the Company wasobliged to compound, by payment of £10, 000 to the Duke of Buckingham indischarge of his claim, and received an order from the secretary ofstate, Sir Edward Conway, to pay a similar sum also to the crown. --E. SECTION XIV. ACCOUNT OF THE MASSACRE OF AMBOINA, IN 1623. [315] In the preceding sections of this chapter, the early commercial voyagesof the English East India Company have been detailed; and it is nowproposed to conclude this part of our arrangement, by a brief narrativeof the unjustifiable conduct of the Dutch at Amboina, in cruellytorturing and executing several Englishmen and others on false pretencesof a conspiracy, but the real purpose of which was to appropriate tothemselves the entire trade of the spice islands, Amboina, Banda, andthe Moluccas. They effectually succeeded in this nefarious attempt, andpreserved that rich, but ill-got source of wealth, for almost twohundred years; till recently expelled from thence, and from every othercommercial or colonial possession in Asia, Africa, and America. A justretribution for submitting to, or seconding rather, the revolutionaryphrenzy of French democracy; for which they now deservedly suffer, underthe iron sceptre of the modern Atilla. [Footnote 315: Purch. Pilgr. II. 1853. Harris, I. 877. ] In giving a short narrative of this infamous transaction, besides theoriginal account of Purchas, abridged from a more extended relationpublished at the time by the East India Company, advantage has beentaken of the account given by Harris of the same event, which is fullerand better connected than that of Purchas, who most negligently garbledthis story, under pretence of abbreviation. Harris appears evidently tohave used the authorised narrative published by the Company, in drawingup his account of the event. There are other documents, relative to thistragical event, both in the Pilgrims of Purchas and the Collection byHarris, particularly the Dutch justificatory memorial, in which theyendeavour to vindicate their conduct, and to shew that the Englishmerited the lingering tortures and capital punishments to which theywere condemned; to which is added a reply or refutation, published byorder of the English Company. But the abridged narrative contained inthis section seems quite sufficient on so disgusting a subject, especially so long after the events which it records. --E. * * * * * After the fruitless issue of two several treaties, for arranging thedifferences that had taken place in eastern India, between the Englishand Hollanders respecting the trade of the spice islands, the first atLondon in 1613, and the second at the Hague in 1616, a third negociationwas entered into at London in 1619, by which a solemn compact wasconcluded upon for settling these disputes, and full and fairarrangement made for the future proceedings of the servants of bothCompanies in the Indies, as well in regard to their trade and commerce, as to other matters. Among other points, it was agreed, in considerationof the great losses the Dutch pretended to have sustained, both in menand expence, in conquering the trade of the isles, namely, the Moluccas, Banda, and Amboina, from the Spaniards and Portuguese, and in theerection of forts for securing the same, that the Hollanders were toenjoy two-third parts of that trade, and the English one-third; theexpences of the forts and garrisons to be maintained by taxes andimpositions, to be levied ratably on the merchandize. In consequence ofthis agreement, the English East India Company established certainfactories, for managing their share of this trade, some at the Moluccas, some at Banda, and others at Amboina. The island of Amboina, near Ceram, is about forty leagues in circuit, and gives its name also to some other small adjacent isles. This islandproduces cloves, for the purpose of procuring which valuable spice, theEnglish had five several factories, the head and rendezvous of all beingat the town of Amboina, in which at the first, Mr George Muschamp waschief factor, who was succeeded by Mr Gabriel Towerson; having authorityover the subordinate factories of Hitto and Larica on the same island, and at Loho and Cambello on a point of the neighbouring island of Ceram. On the island of Amboina and the point of Ceram, the Hollanders havefour forts, the chief of all being at the town of Amboina, which is verystrong, having four bastions or bulwarks, on each of which there are sixgreat cannons, most of them brass. One side of this castle is washed bythe sea, and the other is protected on the land side by a very deepditch, four or five fathoms broad, always filled by the sea. Thegarrison of this castle consists of about 200 Dutch soldiers, and onecompany of free burghers; besides which there are three or four hundred_mardykers_, by which name the free natives are known, who reside in thetown, and are always ready to serve in the castle at an hour's warning. There are likewise, for the most part, several good Dutch ships in theroads, both for the protection of this place by sea, and for thepurposes of trade, as this is the central rendezvous of trade for theBanda islands, as well as for Amboina. At this place, the Englishfactory was established in the town, under the protection of the castle, in a house of their own, where they lived as they thought in security, both in consideration of the ancient league of amity between the twonations, and in virtue of the firm compact of union, made by the latetreaty of 1619, already mentioned. The English factory continued here for about two years, tradingconjunctly with the Hollanders under the treaty. During this periodthere occurred several differences and debates between the servants ofthe two companies. The English complained that the Hollanders not onlylavished much unnecessary charges, in buildings and other needlessexpences upon the forts and otherwise, but also paid the garrisons invictuals and Coromandel cloths, which they issued to the soldiers atthree or four times the value which they cost, yet would not allow theEnglish proportion of the charges to be advanced in like manner, butinsisted always on their paying in ready money: Thus drawing from theEnglish, who only were bound to contribute one-third part, more thantwo-thirds of the just and true charges. Upon this head there arosefrequent disputes, and the complaints of the English were conveyed toJacatra, now called Batavia, in Java, to the _council of defence_ ofboth nations, there residing. The members of that council not being ableto agree upon these points of difference, the complaints weretransmitted to Europe, to be settled between the two companies; or, indefault of their agreement, by the king and the states general, pursuantto one of the articles of the before-mentioned treaty, providing againstsuch contingencies. In the meantime, these, and other differences anddiscontents between the English and Dutch, daily continued andincreased, till at length this knot, which all the tedious controversiesat Amboina and Jacatra were unable to untie, was cut asunder by thesword, in the following manner. About the 11th February, 1622, _old style_, or 21st of that month, 1623, _new style_, a Japanese soldier belonging to the Dutch garrison ofAmboina castle, walking one night upon the wall, fell into conversationwith a centinel, in the course of which he asked several questionsrespecting the strength of the fortifications and the number of itsgarrison. It is to be observed, that most of the Japanese in Amboinawere actually soldiers in the Dutch service, yet not in these trustybands which always lodged within the castle, but only occasionallycalled in from the town to assist in its defence. This Japanese, inconsequence of his conference with the centinel, was soon afterapprehended on suspicion of treason, and put to the torture by theDutch, to extort confession. While suffering under the torture, he wasinduced to confess, that he and some others of his countrymen hadplotted to take possession of the castle. Several other Japanese wereconsequently apprehended, and examined by torture; as also a Portuguese, who was guardian or superintendent of the slaves belonging to the Dutch. While these examinations were going on, which continued during three orfour days, some of the English, then resident at Amboina, were severaltimes in the castle on business, saw the prisoners, and heard of thetortures they had undergone, and of the crime laid to their charge; yetduring all this time, never once suspected that this affair had anyconnection with themselves, being unconscious of any evil intentions, and having held no conversation with the prisoners. At this time, one Abel Price, surgeon to the English factory at Amboina, was a prisoner in the castle, for having offered or attempted, in a fitof drunkenness, to set a Dutchman's house on fire. The Dutch shewed thisman some of the Japanese whom they had tortured, telling him they hadconfessed that the English were in confederacy with them, in the plotfor seizing the castle, and threatened him with similar or worsetortures, if he did not confess the same; and accordingly, on the 15thFebruary, O. S. They gave him the torture, and soon made him confesswhatever they were pleased to direct. That same morning, about nineo'clock, they sent for Captain Gabriel Towerson, and the otherEnglishmen belonging to the factory at Amboina, to come to speak withthe governor of the castle; on which they all went, except one, who wasleft to take care of the house. On their arrival, the governor toldCaptain Towerson, that he and others of his nation were accused of aconspiracy to surprise the castle, and must therefore remain prisoners, until tried for the same. The Dutch, immediately after this, took intocustody the person who had been left in charge of the English factory, sequestrated all the merchandize belonging to the English Company, underan inventory, and seized all the chests, boxes, books, writings, andother things in the English house. Captain Towerson was committed prisoner to his own chamber in theEnglish house, under a guard of Dutch soldiers. Emanuel Thomson wasimprisoned in the castle. All the rest, namely, John Beaumont, EdwardCollins, William Webber, Ephraim Ramsay, Timothy Johnson, John Fardo, and Robert Brown, were distributed among the Dutch ships then in theharbour, and secured in irons. The same day, the governor sent to thetwo other factories in the same island, Hitto and Larica, to apprehendthe rest of the English residents, who were all brought prisoners toAmboina on the 16th; Samuel Colson, John Clark, and George Sharrock, from the former, and Edward Collins, [2] William Webber, [2] and JohnSadler, from the latter. On the same day, John Pocol, John Wetheral, Thomas Ladbrook, were apprehended at Cambello, and John Beaumont, [2]William Griggs, and Ephraim Ramsay, [316] at Loho; and were all broughtin irons to Amboina on the 20th of February. [Footnote 316: These four persons are already named, as apprehended atAmboina. --E. ] On the 15th of February, the governor and fiscal began to examine theprisoners. John Beaumont and Timothy Johnson were first brought to thecastle, John Beaumont being left in a hall under a guard, while Johnsonwas conducted into another room. Beaumont soon after heard him cry outvery pitifully, then become quiet for a while, and afterwards cried outaloud. Abel Price, the surgeon, who was first questioned and put to thetorture, was brought in to confront and accuse him; but as Johnsonrefused to confess any thing laid to his charge, Price was soon takenaway, and Johnson again put to the question, when Beaumont heard himrepeatedly roar under the torture. At the end of an hour, Johnson wasbrought out into the hall, weeping and lamenting, all cut and cruellyburnt in many parts of his body, and so laid aside in a corner of thehall, having a soldier to watch him, with strict injunctions not toallow him to speak to any one. Emanuel Thomson was next brought in for examination, not in the sameroom where Johnson had been, but in one farther from the hall; yetBeaumont, who still remained in the hall, heard him often roar out mostlamentably. After half an hour spent in torturing him, he was led toanother place, but not through the hall where Beaumont was. Beaumont wasthen called in for examination, and asked many questions concerning thealleged conspiracy, all knowledge of which he denied with the mostsolemn oaths. He was then made fast on purpose to be tortured, having acloth fastened about his neck, while two men stood ready with jars ofwater to pour on his head: But the governor ordered him to be set looseagain, saying he would spare him for a day or two, being an old man. Next day, being the 16th, William Webber, Edward Collins, EphraimRamsay, and Robert Brown, were brought on shore for examination; and atthe same time Samuel Colson, William Griggs, John Clark, GeorgeSharrock, and John Sadler, from Hitto and Larica, were brought into thehall. Robert Brown, a tailor, was first called in, and being subjectedto torture by water, confessed all in order, as interrogated by thefiscal. Edward Collins was next called in, and told that those who wereformerly examined had accused him as accessory to the conspiracy fortaking the castle. Denying all knowledge of or participation in any suchplot, with great oaths, his hands and feet were made fast to the rack, and a cloth bound about his throat, ready to administer the watertorture, upon which he entreated to be let down, saying that he wouldconfess all. On being loosed, he again protested his entire innocenceand ignorance of every thing laid to his charge; yet, as he knew theywould make him confess any thing they pleased by means of torture, however false, he said they would do him a great favour by informing himwhat they wished he should say, which he would speak as they desired, toavoid the torture. The fiscal said he mocked them, ordered him to befastened up again, and to receive the water torture. After sufferingthis for some time, he desired to be let down again to make hisconfession, devising as well as he could what he should say. Accordingly, he said that he, with Thomson, Johnson, Brown, and Fardo, had plotted about ten weeks before, to surprise the castle with the aidof the Japanese. While making this contrived confession, he was interrupted by thefiscal, who asked whether Captain Towerson were privy to thisconspiracy. He protested that Towerson knew nothing of the matter. "Youlie, " said the fiscal, "did not he call you all before him, telling youthat the daily abuses of the Dutch had instigated him to devise a plot, and that he wanted nothing but your consent and secrecy?" Then a Dutchmerchant who was present, named Jan Igost, asked him, if they had notall been sworn to secrecy on the Bible? Collins declared with greatoaths, that he knew nothing of any such matter. He was again ordered tobe seized up again to the torture, on which he said that all was truethey had said. Then the fiscal asked, if the English in the otherfactories were consenting to this plot? To which he answered, no. Thefiscal then next asked, if the English president at Jacatra, or MrWeldon the agent at Banda, were engaged in this plot, or privy to itscontrivance? He again answered, no. The fiscal next enquired by whatmeans the Japanese were to have executed their purpose? And, whenCollins stood amazed, and devising some probable fictions to satisfythem, the fiscal helped him out, saying, "Were not two Japanese to havegone to each bulwark, and two to the door of the governor's chamber, tohave killed him on coming out to enquire into the disturbance you wereto have raised without?" Upon this, a person who stood by, desired thefiscal not to put words into the mouth of the witness, but to allow himto speak for himself. After this reproof, without waiting any answer tohis former question, the fiscal asked what reward was to have been giventhe Japanese for their services? Collins answered 1000 dollars each. Hewas then asked, when this plot was to have been carried into execution?But, although he made no answer to this question, not knowing on thesudden what to say, he was dismissed, glad to get away from the torture, yet certainly believing they would put him to death for his confession. Samuel Colson was next brought in; and, for fear of the tortures thatCollins had endured, whom he saw brought out in a pitiable condition, with his eyes almost starting out of their sockets, he chose rather toconfess all they asked, and so was quickly dismissed, yet came outweeping and lamenting, and protesting his innocence. John Clark was thentaken in, and tortured with fire and water for two hours, in the samemanner as had been done with Johnson and Thomson. [317] [Footnote 317: The minute description of these tortures, in Purchas, andcopied in Harris, are disgusting; insomuch, that Purchas exclaims at oneplace, _I have no heart to proceed_. They are here thereforeomitted, --E. ] Finding that all their cruelties could not force him to any consistentconfession of himself, they helped him along to particular circumstancesof their own contrivance, by leading questions. Thus wearied out andoverpowered, by terror of the tortures being renewed, he answered, _yes_, to whatever they asked, by which means they trumped up a body ofevidence to this effect:--"That Captain Towerson, on new-year's-daylast, had sworn all the English at Amboina to be secret and aiding in aplot he had devised for surprising the castle, by the aid of theJapanese, putting the governor and all the Dutch to death. " On the 17th, William Griggs and John Fardo, with some Japanese, werebrought to examination. The Japanese were first cruelly tortured toaccuse Griggs, which at last they did; and Griggs, to avoid torture, confessed whatever the fiscal was pleased to demand. The same was nextdone with Fardo and other Japanese. Fardo endured the torture for sometime, but at length confessed all they pleased to ask. That same day, John Beaumont was brought a second time to the fiscal's chamber, whenone Captain Newport, the son of a Dutchman, but born and educated inEngland, acted as interpreter. Griggs was also brought in to accuseBeaumont of being present at the consultation for surprising the castle. Beaumont denied all, with great earnestness, and many oaths; but, onenduring the torture, was constrained to confess every thing laid to hischarge. George Sharrock was then brought in and examined. He fell on his knees, protesting his innocence, telling them he was at Hitto onnew-year's-day, when the pretended consultation was held, and had notbeen at Amboina since the preceding November, as was well known toseveral Dutchmen who resided at Hitto along with him. Being ordered tothe rack, he told them he had often heard John Clark say that the Dutchhad done insufferable wrongs to the English, and was resolved to berevenged on them; for which purpose he had proposed to Captain Towersonto allow him to go to Macassar, to consult with the Spaniards aboutsending some gallies to plunder the small factories of Amboina and Ceramin the absence of the ships. Being asked what Captain Towerson had saidto all this? he answered, that Towerson was very much offended withClark for the proposal, and could never abide him since. The fiscal thencalled him a rogue and liar, saying, that he wandered idly from thematter, and must go to the torture. He craved favour again, and begananother tale, saying, that John Clark had told him at Hitto of a plot tosurprise the castle of Amboina, with the participation of Towerson. Hewas then asked, when this consultation was held? which he said was inNovember preceding. The fiscal said that could not be, for it was onnew-year's-day. The prisoner urged, as before, that he had not been inAmboina since last November, till now that he was brought thither incustody. "Why, then, " said the fiscal, "have you belied yourself?" Tothis he resolutely answered, that all he had confessed respecting aconspiracy was false, and merely feigned to avoid torment. Sharrock was then remanded to prison, but was brought up again next day, when a formal confession, in writing, of his last-mentioned conferencewith Clark, respecting the plot for surprising the castle of Amboina, was read over to him, after which, the fiscal asked, if it were alltrue. To this he answered, that every word of it was false, and that hehad confessed it solely to avoid torture. The fiscal and the rest thensaid, in rage, that he was a false liar, for it was all true, and hadbeen spoken from his own mouth, and therefore he must sign it, which hedid accordingly. Having done this, he broke out into a great passion, charging them as guilty of the innocent blood of himself and the rest, which they should have to answer for at the judgment-seat of God. Heeven grappled with the fiscal, and would have hindered him from carryingin the confession to the governor, but was instantly laid hold of, andcarried away to prison. William Webber was next examined; being told by the fiscal that Clarkeaccused him of having sworn to Towerson's plot on new-year's-day, withall the other circumstances already mentioned; Webber strenuously deniedall this, declaring, that he was then at Larika, and could not possiblybe present in Amboina on that day. But, being put to the torture, he wasforced to confess having been present at the consultation, with all theother circumstances in regular order, as asked. He also told of having aletter from Clark, in which was a postscript excusing his brief writingat this time, as there was then a great business in hand. But a Dutchmerchant, named Kinder, who was present, told the governor that Webberand he were together making merry at Larika, on new-year's-day, the timeof this pretended consultation. The governor then went away, but thefiscal held on with him respecting the letter and postscript, promisingto save his life if he would produce these. Captain Towerson was next brought in for examination, and was shewn whatthe others had confessed concerning him. He deeply professed hisinnocence, on which Colson was brought in to confront him, being assuredhe should be again tortured unless he made good his former confessionagainst Towerson. On this he repeated what he had said before, and wasthen sent away. Griggs and Fardo were next brought in, and desired tojustify to his face what they had before confessed. Captain Towersonseriously admonished them, as they should answer at the day of judgment, to speak nothing but the truth. They then fell upon their knees, beseeching him to forgive them for God's sake, and declared openly thatall they had formerly said was utterly false, and spoken only to avoidthe torture. The fiscal then commanded them to be led to the torture, which they were unable to endure, and again affirmed their formerextorted confessions to be true. When Colson was required to subscribethis confession, he asked the fiscal, upon whose head he thought the sinwould rest, whether on his who was constrained to confess falsely, orupon the constrainer? After a pause on this home-question, the fiscalwent out to speak with the governor, and returned again shortly, commanding him to subscribe. Colson did so, yet with this remark, --"Youforce me to accuse myself and others of that which is as false as God istrue; for I call God to witness that I and they are as innocent as thechild unborn. " Having thus examined all the servants of the English company in theseveral factories of the island of Amboina, they began on the 21st ofFebruary to examine John Wetheral, factor at Cambello, in Ceram. Heacknowledged being at Amboina on new-year's-day, but declared he knew ofno other consultation but about certain cloth belonging to the company, which lay spoiling in the factory, which they considered how best to getsold. The governor said he was not questioned about cloth, but treason;and protesting his innocence, he was dismissed for that day. Next day hewas again brought in, and Captain Towerson was produced to confront andaccuse him, as he had formerly emitted something in his confessionsagainst him. But Towerson only desired him to speak the truth, andnothing but the truth, as God should put into his heart. Mr Towerson wasthen removed, and Mr Wetheral tortured by water, with threats of firebeing applied if he did not confess. At length, they read over to himthe confessions of the others, asking him leading questions from pointto point, to all of which he answered affirmatively, to free himselffrom torture. John Powel, assistant to Mr Wetheral, was next called; but he provedthat he had not been at Amboina since November; and being likewisespoken for by Jan Joost, his old acquaintance, was dismissed withouttorture. Thomas Ladbrook, servant to Wetheral and Powel at Cambello, wasthen brought in; but he, too, was speedily dismissed. Ephraim Ramsay, proving that he was not in Amboina on new-year's-day, and being likewisespoken for by Joost, was also dismissed, after hanging up some timeready for being tortured. Lastly, John Sadler, servant to William Griggsat Larika, was brought in for examination; and as he was not in Amboinaon new-year's-day, he too was dismissed. On the 25th of February, all the prisoners, English, Portuguese, andJapanese, were brought into the great hall of the castle, and theresolemnly condemned to die, except John Powel, Ephraim Ramsay, JohnSadler, and Thomas Ladbrook. Next day, they were again brought into thehall, except Captain Towerson and Emanuel Thomson, to be prepared fordeath by the Dutch ministers. That same night, Colson and Collins weretaken into the room where Emanuel Thomson lay, when they were told thegovernor was pleased to grant mercy to one of the three, and desiredthey might draw lots, when the free lot fell to Edward Collins, who wasthen carried to the chamber of the acquitted persons before-named. JohnBeaumont was soon after brought to the same place, and told that he owedhis life to Peter Johnson, the Dutch merchant of Loho, and thesecretary, who had begged his life. The condemned, who still remained inthe hall, were afterwards joined by the Dutch ministers, and receivedthe sacrament, protesting their innocence. Samuel Colson, on thisoccasion, said, in a loud voice, "O Lord, as I am innocent of thistreason, do thou pardon all my other sins; and, if in the smallestdegree guilty thereof may I never be a partaker in the joys of thyheavenly kingdom. " To these words all the rest exclaimed, _Amen! for me, Amen! for me, good Lord!_ After this, each, knowing whom he had accused, went one to another, craving forgiveness for their false accusations, as wrung from them bythe pains or dread of torture. They all freely forgave their comrades;for none had been so falsely accused, but that he also had accusedothers with equal falseness. In particular, George Sharrock, whosurvived to relate the scene exhibited at this time, knelt down to JohnClark, whom he had accused, as before related, earnestly beggingforgiveness. Clark freely forgave him, saying, "How shall I look to beforgiven of God, if I do not forgive you? as I have myself falselyaccused Captain Towerson and others!" After this, they spent the rest ofthis doleful night in prayer and psalm-singing, comforting each otherthe best they could. The Dutch who guarded them offered them wine, ofwhich they desired them to drink heartily, to drive away sorrow, as isthe custom of their country in like situations, but this the Englishrefused. Next morning, the 27th February, William Webber was again called beforethe fiscal, and offered his life if he would produce the letter andpostscript he confessed to have received from John Clark, which he couldnot do, as it never had existed: Yet, at last, they pardoned him, andsent him to the rest of those who were freed, and Sharrock with him, whom they also pardoned. That morning, Emanuel Thomson, learning thatJohn Beaumont was pardoned, contrived to have him allowed to visit him, which was allowed with much difficulty. Beaumont found him in a mostmiserable condition, the wounds or sores occasioned by the torture boundup, but the blood and matter issuing through the bandages. Taking MrBeaumont by the hand, he conjured him, when he came to England, to offerhis duty to the Honourable Company, and others of his friends whom henamed, and to assure them he died innocent, as was well known toBeaumont. It is needless to dwell upon the minute circumstances of the catastropheof this bloody tragedy: Suffice it to say, that ten Englishmen, onePortuguese, and eleven Japanese, were publicly executed; of whom thefollowing is a list: _English. _ Capt. Gabriel Towerson, agent for the English at Amboina. Samuel Colson, factor at Hitto. Emanuel Thomson, assistant at Amboina. Timothy Johnson, assistant at the same place. John Wetheral, assistant at Cambello. John Clark, assistant at Hitto. William Griggs, factor at Larika. John Fardo, steward of the factory at Amboina. Abel Price, surgeon to that factory. Robert Brown, tailor. The only Portuguese was Augustine Perez, born in Bengal, who wassuperintendant of the slaves in the employment of the English atAmboina. _Japanese_. Hititso, Tsiosa, and Sinsa, natives of Firando. Sidney Migial, Pedro Congie, Thomas Corea, from Nangasaki. Quinandaya, a native of Coaets. Tsabinda, a native of Tsoncketgo. Zanchae, a native of Fisien. Besides these, there were two other Japanese tortured, who bothconfessed a participation in the pretended plot, but were not executed, or even condemned, for reasons which the surviving English did notlearn. The executions were all by cutting off the heads of the condemnedwith a scymitar; and the Dutch prepared a black velvet pall for CaptainTowerson's body to fall upon, which they afterwards had the effronteryto charge in account against the English East India Company. SECTION XV. OBSERVATIONS DURING A RESIDENCE IN TISLAND OF CHUSAN, IN 1701, BY DOCTORJAMES CUNNINGHAM; WITH SOME EARLY NOTICES RESPECTING CHINA. [318] Among the early voyages of the English to the East Indies, none havebeen preserved that were made to China, nor have we been able todiscover any satisfactory account of the commencement of the trade ofour East India Company with that distant country, now said to be by farthe most profitable branch of the exclusive commerce. In the _Annals ofthe Company_, [319] several references are made to the China trade, butmore in the nature of notices or memoranda for the purpose of afterinvestigation, than as conveying any actual information on the subject. In this singular paucity of materials, we are reduced to the followingshort "Observations and Remarks, by Doctor James Cunningham, made duringhis Residence as Physician to the English Factory at the Island ofChusan, on the Coast of China. " Doctor Cunningham is stated by Harris tohave been a fellow of the Royal Society, distinguished by his naturaltalents and acquired accomplishments, well versed in ancient and modernlearning, and to have diligently used these advantages in makingjudicious remarks on the places where he resided in the service of theCompany. Yet all that has been recorded by Harris of these remarks, giveonly a very imperfect account of Chusan and of China. This short articleconsists of extracts from two letters written by Cunningham from Chusan, and a brief supplement by Harris respecting two unfortunate factories atPulo Condore and Pulo Laut. --E. [Footnote 318: Harris. I. 852. ] [Footnote 319: Annals of the E. I. Co. Vol. II. And III. _passim_. ] §1. _Voyage to Chusan, and short Notices of that Island_. [320] In my last letter, from the island of Borneo, I gave you an account ofour arrival at that island on the 17th July. We only remained there twodays, as the season of the year was already far advanced, and made thebest of our way from thence through the Straits of Banda, [321] withfavourable winds and weather. We got upon the coast of China on the 13thAugust, when we had variable winds, which carried us abreast of_Emoy_[322] by the 19th following. The wind then set in fresh at N. E. Sothat we were in great fear of losing our passage, and were now obligedto beat up all the way against both wind and current; yet the weatherremained so favourable that we were never obliged to hand our top-sails, otherwise we must have lost more way in a single day than we could haverecovered in eight. On the 31st August we came to anchor under the_Crocodile islands_, [323] both for shelter from the bad weather, usualon this coast at new and full-moon, which has been fatal to many ships, and also to procure fresh water, now scarce with us, as we had notrecruited our store since leaving the Cape of Good Hope. These are threesmall islands in lat. 26° N. About six leagues from the river of_Hokien_, [Fo-kien] on two of which we found very good water, with aconvenient landing-place on the S. W. Side of the innermost island. Bythe assistance of some Chinese fishers, we procured also some freshprovisions from the main land, not thinking it safe to venture thereourselves, lest we may have been brought into trouble by the governor ofthat part of the country. While here, on the 5th September, we had asudden short shift of the monsoon from the S. W. Blowing with great fury;which was also experienced by other vessels then coming on the coast ofChina. We again put to sea on the 18th September, turning to windwardnight and day on the outside of all the islands, which are very numerousall along this coast, but with which we were unacquainted after passingbeyond _Emoy_. Besides, the hydrography of this coast is hitherto sovery imperfect, that we could not trust in any degree to our draughts, owing to which our navigation was both difficult and dangerous. [Footnote 320: From a letter to a member of the Royal Society, dated inSeptember, 1701. --Harris. ] [Footnote 321: This must have been the straits of Macasser, as Banda isfar out of the way between Borneo and China. --E. ] [Footnote 322: Emoy or Amoy, was on the coast of China, opposite to theisland of Formosa, and appears, from the Annals, to have been the firstport frequented by the ships of the India Company for the Chinesetrade. --E. ] [Footnote 323: The islands of Pe-la-yang are, in the indicated latitude, off the estuary of the principal river of the province of Fo-kien. --E. ] On the 1st October, we got into the latitude of 30° N. Where we came toanchor near the land, and found our way by boat to _Chusan_, [324] abouttwelve leagues within the islands, whence we got a pilot, who broughtour ship safely to that place on the 11th of the month. The Chinesegovernment have granted us a settlement on that island, with the libertyof trade; but do not allow us to go up to Ning-po, [325] which is six oreight hours sail to the westwards, all the way among islands, of whichthis of Chusan is the largest, being eight or nine leagues from E. To W. And four or five from N. To S. [Footnote 324: Tcheou-chan, an island about twenty English miles inlength from E. To W. In lat. 30° 23' N. Long. 121° 43' E. Off theestuary of Ning-po river, in the province of Che-kiang, is obviously theChusan of the text--E. ] [Footnote 325: The city of Ning-po stands at the head of a bay, stretching from the S. Side of the estuary of the river of the samename, in lat. 30° 10' N. Long. 121° E. It appears, from the Annals, that the English had been excluded from trading at Canton, by theinfluence of the Portuguese in Macao. --E. ] About three leagues from the point of land named _Liampo_ by thePortuguese, and _Khi-tu_ by the Chinese, there is a very safe andconvenient harbour at the west end of this island, where the ships ridewithin call of the factory, which stands close to the shore in a lowflat valley, having near two hundred houses built around for the benefitof trade. The town of Chusan, of which the houses are very mean, isabout three quarters of a mile farther from the shore, and is surroundedby a fine stone wall, flanked at irregular distances by twenty-twosquare bastions or towers; and has four great gates, on which a few oldiron guns are planted, seldom or never used. The _chumpeen_, or governorof the island, resides here, and the town contains about three or fourthousand beggarly inhabitants, mostly soldiers and fishers; for, as thetrade of this island has only been granted of late, it has not hithertoattracted any considerable merchants. This island abounds in all sorts of provisions, as cows, buffaloes, deer, hogs, both wild and tame, geese, ducks, poultry, rice, wheat, calavanccs, cole-worts, turnips, carrots, potatoes, beets, spinach, andso forth. It has, however, no merchandise, except what comes fromNing-po, Stan-chew, [326] Nankin, and other inland towns and cities. Someof these I hope to see, when I have acquired a little of the Chineselanguage. Tea grows here in great plenty on the tops of the hills, butis not so much esteemed as that which grows on more mountainous islands. Although tolerably populous, this island is far from being what it wasin the time of Father Martini, who describes it under the name of_Cheu-xan_. The superstitious pilgrimages mentioned by him, must referto the island of Pou-to, [327] which is nine leagues from this place, andto another island three miles to the eastwards, to which the emperorproposes coming to worship at a pagoda greatly renowned for itssanctity, in the ensuing month of May, being his birth-day, and thefortieth year of his age. One of his bonzes is already come there, toget all things in order. [Footnote 326: Probably Hang-tcheon, a city about forty miles W. FromNing-po. --E. ] [Footnote 327: Pou-teou, is directly E. From the eastern end ofTcheou-chan. --E. ] §2. _Ancient and modern State of the Country, and of the coming of theEnglish to reside there. [328]_ In my former letter, I informed you that the emperor designed to havecome to worship at Pou-to in May last, being the fortieth year of hisage, but I ought to have said of his reign. After every thing wasprepared for his reception, he was dissuaded from his purpose by some ofhis mandarins, who made him believe that the thunder at that place wasvery dangerous. This Pou-to is a small island, only about five leaguesround, and at the east end of Chusan. It has been famous for the spaceof eleven hundred years, for the superstitious pilgrimages made to it, and is only inhabited by bonzes to the number of three thousand, all ofthe sect of _Heshang, _ or unmarried bonzes, who live a Pythagorean life. They have built four hundred pagodas, two of which are considerable fortheir size and splendour, and were lately covered with green and yellowtiles, brought from the emperor's palace at Nankin. They are adornedwithin by stately idols, finely carved and gilded, the chief of thesebeing an idol named _Quonem. _ To-these two pagodas there are two chiefpriests, who govern all the rest. They have many walks and avenues cutin different directions through the island, some of which are paved withflag-stones, and overshaded by trees planted on both sides. Thedwellings of the bonzes are the best I have seen in these parts, all ofwhich are maintained by charitable donations. All the Chinese junkswhich sail from Ning-po and Chusan touch at Pou-to, both outwards andhomewards-bound, making offerings for the safety of their voyages. Thereis another island named _Kim-Tong, _[329] five leagues from hence, on theway towards Ning-po, where a great many mandarins are said to live inretirement, after having given up their employments. On that islandthere are said to be silver mines, but prohibited from being opened. Therest of the circumjacent islands are either desert, or very meanlyinhabited, but all of them abound in deer. [Footnote 328: The sequel of these observations is said by Harris tohave been taken from another letter to the same correspondent with theformer, and dated in November, 1701; but, from circumstances in thetext, it would appear to have been written in 1702. --E. ] [Footnote 329: Probably that named Silver-island in modern maps. --E. ] It is not long since this island of Chusan began to be inhabited. Yet inthe days of Father Martini, about fifty years ago, it was very populousfor three or four years; at which time, in the fury of the Tartarconquest, it was laid entirely desolate, not even sparing the mulberrytrees, which were then numerous, as they made a great deal of raw silkhere. It continued in this desolate condition till about eighteen yearsago, when the walls of the present town were built by the governor of_Ting-hai_, as a strong-hold for a garrison, in order to expel somepirates who had taken shelter on the island. As the island began to growpopulous, a _chumpeen_ was sent to govern it for three years, to whomthe late chumpeen succeeded, who continued till last April, and procuredlicence to open this port to strangers. On the last chumpeen beingpromoted to the government of _Tien-ching-wei_[330] near Pekin, he wassucceeded by the present governor, who is son to the old chumpeen ofEmoy. They have no arts or manufactures in this island, except lacqueredware; the particulars of which I cannot as yet send you. They have begunto plant mulberry-trees, in order to breed up silk-worms for theproduction of raw silk; and they gather and cure some tea, but chieflyfor their own use. [Footnote 330: Probably that called Tien-sing in modern maps, on theriver Pay, between Pekin and the sea. --E. ] §3. _Of the Manner of cultivating Tea in Chusan_. The three sorts of tea usually carried to England are all from the sameplant, their difference being occasioned by the soils in which theygrow, and the season of the year at which they are gathered. The_bohea_, or _vo-u-i_, so called from certain mountains in the provinceof _Token_, [331] where it is chiefly made, is the very bud, gathered inthe beginning of March, and dried in the shade. The tea named _bing_ isthe second growth, gathered in April, and _siriglo_ is the last growth, gathered in May and June; both of these being gently dried over the firein _taches_ or pans. The tea shrub is an evergreen, being in flower fromOctober to January, and the seed ripens in the September or Octoberfollowing, so that both flower and seed may be gathered at the sametime; but for one fully ripened seed, an hundred are abortive. There arethe two sorts of seeds mentioned by Father Le Compte, in his descriptionof tea; and what be describes as a third sort, under the name of_slymie_ pease, consists merely of the young flower-buds, not yet open. The seed vessels of the tea tree are three-capsular, each capsulecontaining one nut or seed; and though often two or one of these onlycome to perfection, yet the vestiges of the rest may easily bediscerned. It grows naturally in a dry gravelly soil on the sides ofhills, without any cultivation, in several places of this island. [Footnote 331: Fo-kien is almost certainly here meant--E. ] Le Compte is mistaken in saying that the Chinese are ignorant of the artof grafting; for I nave seen many of his paradoxical tallow-treesingrafted here, besides trees of other sorts. When they ingraft, they donot slit the stock as we do, but slice off the outside of the stock, towhich they apply the graft, which is cut sloping on one side, tocorrespond with the slice on the stock, bringing the bark of the sliceup on the outside of the graft, after which the whole is covered up withmud and straw, exactly as we do. The commentator on Magalhen seemsdoubtful as to the length of the Chinese _che_ or cubit. At this islandthey have two sorts, one measuring thirteen inches and seven-tenthsEnglish, which, is commonly used by merchants; the other is only eleveninches, being used by carpenters, and also in geographical measures. Though Father Martini is censured by Magalhen for spelling a great manyChinese words with _ng_, which the Portuguese and others express with_in_, yet his way is more agreeable to our English pronunciation andorthography; only the g may be left out in Pekin, Nankin, and someothers. Having made enquiry about what is mentioned by Father Martini of sowingtheir _fields_ at _Van-cheu_ with oyster-shells, to make new ones grow, I was told, that after they have taken out the oysters, they sprinklethe empty shells with urine, and throw them into the water, by whichmeans there grow new oysters on the old shells. [332] Martini says hecould never find a Latin name for the _Tula Mogorin_ of the Portuguese;but I am sure it is the same with the _Syringa arabica, flore plenoalbo_, of Parkinson. Martini also says that the _kieu-yeu_, ortallow-tree, bears a white flower, like that of the cherry-tree: But allthat I have seen here bear spikes of small yellow flowers, like the_julus_ of the _Salix_. The bean-broth, or mandarin-broth, so frequentlymentioned in the Dutch embassy, and by other authors, is only anemulsion made of the seeds of _sesamum_ with hot water. [Footnote 332: This strange story may possibly be thus explained. Atcertain seasons, numerous minute oysters may be seen sticking to theshells of the old ones; and the Chinese may have thrown the emptiedshells into the sea, in the highly probable expectation of these minuteoysters continuing to live and grow. The circumstances in the text areabsurd additions, either from ignorance or imposition. --E. ] The chief employments of the people here are fishing and agriculture. Infishing, they use several sorts of nets and lines as we do; but, asthere are great banks of mud in some places, the fishermen havecontrived a small frame, three or four feet long, not much larger than ahen-trough, and a little elevated at each end, to enable them to go moreeasily on these mud banks. Resting with one knee on the middle of one ofthese frames, and leaning his arms on a cross stick raised breast high, he uses the other foot on the mud to push the frame and himselfforwards. In their agricultural operations, all their fields on which any thing isto be cultivated, whether high or low, are formed into such plots orbeds as may admit of retaining water over them when the cultivatorthinks proper. The lands are tilled by ploughs drawn by one cow orbuffalo; and when it is intended to sow rice, the soil is remarkablywell prepared and cleared from all weeds, after which it is moistenedinto the state of a pulp, and smoothed by a frame drawn across, when therice is sown very thick, and covered over with water, only to the heightof two or three inches. When the seedling plants are six or eight incheslong, they are all pulled up, and transplanted in straight lines intoother fields, which are overflowed with water; and, when weeds grow up, they destroy them by covering them up in the interstices between therows of rice, turning the mud over them with their hands. When they areto sow wheat, barley, pulse, or other grain, they grub up the surface ofthe ground superficially, earth, grass, and rook, and mixing this withsome straw, burn all together. This earth, being sifted fine, they mixwith the seed, which they sow in holes made in straight lines, so thatit grows in tufts or rows like the rice. The field is divided intoregular beds, well harrowed both before and after the seed is sown, which makes them resemble gardens. The rice grounds are melioratedmerely by letting water into them; but for the other grains, where thesoil requires it, they use dung, night-soil, ashes, and the like. Forwatering their fields, they use the machine mentioned by Martini in thepreface to his Atlas, being entirely constructed of wood, and the samein principle with the chain-pump. In order to procure salt, as all the shores are of mud instead of sand, they pare off in summer the superficial part of this mud, which has beenoverflowed by the sea-water, and lay it up in heaps, to be used in thefollowing manner: Having first dried it in the sun, and rubbed it into afine powder, they dig a pit, the bottom of which is covered with straw, and from the bottom a hollow cane leads through the side of the pit to ajar standing below the level of the bottom. They then fill the pitalmost full of the dried salt mud, and pour on sea-water till it standstwo or three inches above the top of the mud. This sea-water drainsthrough the mud, carrying the salt along with it from the mud as well asits own, and runs out into the jar much-saturated with salt; which isafterwards procured by boiling. §4. _Of the famous Medicinal Root, called Hu-tchu-u_. Having last year seen, in a newspaper, some account of a singular root, brought from China by Father Fontaney, I shall inform you that I haveseen this root since my arrival at Chuaan. It is called _Hu-tchu-n_[333]by the Chinese, and they ascribe to it most wonderful virtues, such asprolonging life, and changing grey hair to black, by using its infusionby way of tea. It is held in such high estimation as to be sold at agreat price, as I have been told, from ten tael up to a thousand, oreven two thousand tael-for a single root; for the larger it is, so muchthe greater is its fancied value and efficacy: But the price is too highto allow me to try the experiment. You will find it mentioned in the_Medecina Sinica_ of Cleyer, No. 84; under the name of _He-xeu-ti_, according to the Portuguese orthography. It is also figured in the 27thtable of the plants which Mr _Pettier_ had from me. The following is thestory of its discovery, which I will not warrant for gospel. [Footnote 333: This is probably the ginseng, so famed for its fanciedvirtues. --E. ] Once upon a time, a certain person went to gather simples among themountains, and fell by some accident into a vale of which the sides wereso steep that he was unable to get out again. In this situation, he hadto look about for some means to support life, and discovered this root, of which he made trial, and found that it served him both as food andcloathing; for it preserved his body in such a temperature, that theinjuries of the weather had no evil influence upon him during aresidence of several hundred years. At length, by means of anearthquake, the mountains were rent, and he found a passage from thevale to his house, whence he had been so long absent. But so manyalterations had taken place during his long absence, that nobody wouldbelieve his story; till, on consulting the annals of his family, theyfound that one of them had been lost at the time he mentioned, whichconfirmed the truth of his relation. --This is a fable, not even creditedamong the Chinese, invented merely to blazon forth the virtues of thiswonderful root. §5. _Removal of Dr Cunningham to Pulo Condore, with an Account of theRise, Progress, and Ruin of that Factory_. [334] The English factory at Chusan was broken up in the year 1702, so that DrCunningham had very little time allowed him for making his proposedobservations respecting China. From this place he removed to another newsettlement at _Pulo Condore, _ in a small cluster of four or fiveislands, about fifteen leagues south of the west channel of the river ofCamboja, usually called the Japanese river. [335] I am unable to say whatwere the advantages proposed from this factory; but, from the memoirs Ihave seen on the subject, this place seems to have been very ill chosen, and much worse managed. The person who had at this time the managementand direction of the affairs belonging to the East India Company in thisdistant part of the world, was one Mr Katchpole, who, according to theusual custom of the Europeans in eastern India at this period, took intothe service a certain number of Macassers or native soldiers, by whoseassistance he soon constructed a small fort for the protection of thefactory. So far as I can learn, the most indispensable necessaries oflife, water, wood, and fish, were all that these islands ever afforded. [Footnote 334: This and the subsequent subdivision of the section arerelated historically by Harris. --E. ] [Footnote 335: Pulo Condore is in lat. 8° 45' N. Long. 106° 5' E. Andthe object of a factory at this place was evidently to endeavour tosecure a portion of the trade of China, from which the English at thistime were excluded by the arts of the Portuguese at Macao, as we learnfrom the Annals; as also to combine some trade with Siam, Camboja, Tsiompa, Cochin-China, and Tonquin. --E. ] The Macassers are a brave, industrious, and faithful people, to such asdeal fairly with them; and on this account are highly esteemed in theEastern Indies, more especially by the Dutch. They are, however, daring, cruel, and revengeful, if once provoked. Mr Katchpole hadcontracted with these men to serve for three years, at the end of whichperiod, if they pleased, they were to receive their wages and to depart:But he, though they strictly performed their part of the agreement, broke faith with them, keeping them beyond their time against theirwill. In addition to this great breach in morality, he added asnotorious an error in politics; for, after provoking these men soegregiously by refusing to fulfil his engagement, he still confided tothem the guard of his own person and the custody of the factory. Thisgave them ample opportunity of revenging the ill usage they had metwith, and with that ferocity which is so natural to untutoredbarbarians. They rose in mutiny one night, and murdered Mr Katchpole, and all who were at the time along with him in the factory. A few, whohappened to lodge on the outside of the fort, hearing the cries of theirfriends within during the massacre, fled from their beds to thesea-shore; where, by a singular interposition of Providence, they founda bark completely ready for sea, in which they embarked half naked, andput immediately to sea, just in time to escape the rage of theMacassers, who came in search of them to the shore, precisely when theyhad weighed anchor and pushed off to sea. Dr Cunningham was one of the number who escaped on this occasion. Theirnavigation was attended with excessive difficulty, being exposed at thesame time to incredible fatigue, and to the utmost extremity of hungerand thirst: But at length, after a tedious and difficult course of anhundred leagues, in the most wretched condition, they reached a smallcreek in the dominions of the king of Johor, where they were receivedwith kindness. §6. _Some Account of the Factory at Pulo Laut, with the Overthrow ofthat Factory, and of the English Trade to Borneo_. A year or two after this ruin of the factory at Pulo Condore, theCompany thought fit to order the establishment of a new factory on thecoast of the great island of Borneo. On the south of that vast island, there is a small isle called Pulo Laut, having an excellent harbour. Thecountry here is but thinly peopled, and yields nothing except rice; but, as it lies near the mouth of the great rivers which come from the peppercountries in the interior; it is extremely well situated for trade. Between this island and the great island of Borneo, there is a channelabout two miles wide in most places, narrower in some and broader inothers, and having from seven to five fathoms water the whole waythrough. On the coast of this channel there are several rising groundsfit for building on, and which were therefore extremely proper for thesituation of a factory, which, it may be presumed, induced those who hadthe direction of the Company's affairs, to make choice of this place. One Captain Barry, who is said to have been a very ingenious gentleman, had the charge of establishing this new factory, in which he is reportedto have acted with much skill and prudence. But he died before the workswere completed; and the direction of the factory devolved upon DoctorCunningham, who came to this place after the ruin of the factory at PuloCondore. He is said to have given himself so entirely up to his studies, that he left the care of the Company's concerns too much to the peoplewho were under him, who were unequal to the trust, and proved the ruinof the factory. Before the fort was half finished, these people began toinsult the natives of the country; and, among other wanton acts offolly, they very imprudently chose to search one of the boats belongingto the king, which was carrying a female of rank down the river. This soprovoked the Bornean sovereign that he determined upon the utterdestruction of the English; for which purpose he collected his forcestogether, amounting to about three thousand resolute men, which heembarked in above an hundred proas, and sent them down to attack thefactory and unfinished fort. There happened at this time to be two ships belonging to the Company inthe river, besides two merchant vessels of inconsiderable force; and asCunningham and his people had received advice of the preparations makingagainst them, they left their factory, taking refuge aboard the ships, thinking themselves in greater security there than ashore. When allthings were in readiness for the intended assault, the native armamentcame down the river in the night; and, while some landed and destroyedthe factory and fortifications, others attacked the ships, which werefortunately prepared for their reception, the English having made fastnettings along both sides of their ships, about two fathoms high abovethe gunnels, to prevent the enemy from boarding, and were in readinessto use their blunderbusses and pikes, to prevent them from forcing theirway to the decks. On seeing the approach of the proas towards the ships, the English pliedtheir great guns, loaded with double, round, and partridge shot, andmade great carnage among the Borneans, yet this did not deter them frompushing forwards and using their utmost endeavours to board. But, havinggot up to the gunnels, they were unable to get over the netting, and sowere slaughtered with great ease by the English from the decks. Some ofthe assailants got in at the _head doors_ of one of the ships and killeda few of the English on the forecastle, but were soon overpowered andslain. Thus, after a long and sanguinary contest, the two large shipsbeat off the enemy with small loss; but the two little vessels were bothburnt with most of their men, among whom was one Mynheer Hoogh Camber, aDutch gentleman who had been ambassador of the king of Persia, and hadfled from Batavia in one of these small vessels. Some say that theEnglish killed above fifteen hundred of the assailants in two hours, forthe heat of the assault continued during that space, besides many otherswounded and maimed. But the English were under the necessity ofabandoning the settlement at Pulo Laut. The Bornean king or rajah thought his revenge had gone far enough indriving the English from their factory: And, finding his revenueconsiderably diminished by the loss of trade with the English, he sentnotice to such of them as traded to Johor, and other places in theneighbourhood of Borneo, that he would still admit them to trade in hisdominions on the old footing, but would never allow them or any othernation to erect forts in his territories. Several English vessels havebeen there since to load pepper, and were civilly treated. The Dutchalso sent a ship there from Batavia in the year 1712; but the nativesrefused to have any dealings with them. END OF THE NINTH VOLUME.