is a place fit for careening of Ships where she was to be fitted up being very old The Island hath its name very justly Onrust signifying no rest by reason of the continual disturbance which the Sea causes to the Inhabitants who are only Carpenters Smiths and other such Artificers for Shipping For the Island being very low and the Sea Ebbing and Flowing every two hours at very uncertain heights gives the Inhabitants no rest or security And every new and full Moon the Sea drives 'em up a vast way but so unsixt are its Bounds that they are forced to be continually upon their Guard Which besides the great labour and great quantity of work that lies upon their hands makes it truly very restless for them There were two Master Surgeons besides me belonging to the same Ship and we had all our Patients ashore The only pastime we could have was catching of Tortoises of which there are vast numbers there When it is fair and the Sun shines bright they come out of the Water and lie in the hot Sand. So when they were all very quiet and settled we came upon them of a sudden with Sticks and Iron Bars and turned them upon their Backs as fast as we could for then they cannot stir When we had done catching 'em so we took them out of their shells and put them in Pickle and kept them in Barrels or Pots with Salt and Vineger This was our daily Food and very good but some of 'em are far better than other some The biggest we caught was more than three Men could compass and a loaded Wagon might safely have gone over it without breaking it Besides these there are also a great many Sharks which do much mischief of which I gave you an instance before in the poor Chineese that was diving for Iron and was devoured by ' em There is much fishing for ' em And the manner of catching them is by baiting several very large strong Hooks with the whole Liver of some other Fish which the Sharks will not fail to swallow Hook and all being extream greedy and so they are taken The Tail is all that is eaten of this Fish and that is not very palatable neither but the whole is eaten sometimes by Seamen in case of necessity for want of other meat But its Liver is very useful for many things in Surgery Our Ship being now thoroughly refitted we returned to our old Anchoring Place at Batavia where we found a Ship newly come from Holland that had not yet cast all her Anchors I took in all hast a Chineese Praw and went on board of her to see if I could not meet with any old Acquaintance there and to hear some News from our Country And there I heard the first account of Stransbourgh being taken by the French which was a very great surprize to us As soon as our Ship had taken in all Necessaries here she was ordered to sail for Ceylon at which I was mighty joyful and accordingly I recruited my self with Provisions and went on board Then we left Batavia with the first fair Wind and in five Weeks time we happily arrived before Columbo which is the Chief City of the Dutch in Ceylon It is one of the most commodious Ports of any in the Indies where Ships may lie safe many years and come in at will with the Sea-wind and run out when they please with a Land-wind Yet there are a great many Rocks there but they are only dangerous to Strangers for which reason when a Ship comes thither that hath never been there before she is obliged to fire three Guns whereas if he is acquainted with the place he need fire but one This is straight answer'd by a Gun from a Watch-Tower that is on one of the highest Rocks about two miles distance from the City where there is always a Pilot and his Men ready who as soon as they spy a Ship coming display a Flag in token that they must come no further and then they go and bring the Ship in At the Mouth of the Haven lies a Fort or Castle called 't Swart i. e. the Black Fort. It was first built by the Portugueze but under a specious pretence of building a thing of a very different nature For when the King of Candy who could at that time have prevented their work sent to know what they were about they told him they were only building a Play-house and under that colour carried on their work and provided it with large pieces of Cannon which they brought to Shore in great Hogsheads and so became able to maintain themselves there I do not design to enter upon a description of this Island because it hath been done very particularly by others and especially by Chr. Schwitzor whose Relation is now published with mine to which I refer you While our Ship was lading with Cinnamon and several other Rich Commodities I went on Shore most of the time where I took my diet at a Freemans House where I had it extream good and well ordered and for a very small price The great Commodity of this Island is Cinnamon which is the Bark of a Tree much of the bigness of an Olive Tree the Leaves are much like the Laurel but somewhat smaller the Flower it bears is white and the Fruit is like the Black Olives of Portugal The Tree hath two Barks the Cinnamon is the inner one of them which is peeled off the Tree and cut in square pieces then laid in the Sun to dry which makes it rowl up together as we see it in Europe and changes its colour which is at first near upon Ash-colour into what we find it of here When the Trees are peeled in this manner they are let alone for three years in which time they have regained their Coats as before The Trees grow wild without planting and cultivating and make a sort of Coppice of themselves and require no other hand than that of Nature to make them beneficial to Man There is besides this a sort of Cinnamon that grows in Malabar and is called Canella de Matte but it is a bastard kind and nothing near so good None of the Spices neither the Cinnamon I have been speaking of nor the Cloves Mace Nutmegs Saffron c. may be carried away by any private Person upon pain of death And it hath cost some Men their Lives for attempting to bring them over as I saw an instance of one who had got a small parcel of Borrobone in order to take with him home and was executed for the fact This Borrobone is a Root growing in great plenty in Iava and is made use of instead of Saffron by all the Inhabitants and it hath all the Vertues of the best Oriental Saffron it is cut and dried and looks like Ginger The other Great and Rich Commodity of this Place is Pearls which they fish for after this manner The Company hath some thousands of Divers for that purpose
another and both their Skins were hung up for a memorandum Besides these there are many Elephants in that Country and a sort of Beast they call Bavians the same we call Baboons which very much resemble aged Men. Some of our Men had orders once to go into the Wood to cut down part of it Amongst them was one Comical fellow who had beaten one to death in a quarrel at Tirol and being forc'd to fly had listed himself a Soldier in the East-India Company and so made his escape He staid a little after the rest to ease Nature and laid his Satchel down at some distance from him we saw one of those Baboons coming towards him which made us stand still to see what he would do and laying hold on his Satchel away he went with it and robb'd the fellow of all his provision of Bread and Cheese and Tobacco which made very good sport for the rest Ostridges are here also very common the Eggs whereof are very good to eat And among many other sorts of Birds which they have that are uncommon with us there are a sort called Sea-Ravens but of these there hath been account enough given by several Writers In the Sea all round this place one may see abundance of great Fish called North-Capers but none of them are catched about the Cape they have a snout like that of an Hog thro' which they throw up Water as high as an house and in such a quantity as to fill almost a small Vessel and it comes down like a violent shower of Rain They are always to be seen about the Cape but they do no manner of harm There is a prodigious quantity of other sorts of Fish both in the Sea and in the Rivers too We went one night with a Net to have some sport and at two pulls we had so many we could not carry the tenth part of ' em The Fish we caught were made very much like our Carps and here are also abundance of Tortoises The natural Inhabitants of this place are called Hottentots meer Heathens of no extraordinary size for the most part very lean and meagre their Language very unpleasant rattling like Turkies when they speak They go stark naked only having a Sheeps Skin about them the Tail whereof comes before their Privities When a Ship is new come in assoon as the Boat lands any of the Men they get in as it comes back to beg Bisket of the Sea-men which they love exceedingly when they ask for it they cry Broqua which signifies Bread It is their custom to cut out one of their Testicles when they are young Their chief Ornaments if such may be so called is on their Legs they take an Ox or Sheep's guts and thrusting out the excrements a little just to let them lye close and flat and while they are moist they wrap them about their Legs and there let them stick These very guts is part of their food too for just in this same pickle they broil them a little over the fire and eat them So that it may properly be said that they are meat and cloth to 'em But to see them use-it either way might very probably give any man besides them a vomit They use to besmear their body with all manner of dirt and nastiness which makes them stink worse than a Goat Upon their heads they stick all sorts of little Sea-shells and small Copper Rings that come from Neurenbergh which the Sea-men bring with them to give them And for one of them they will shew you some of their Tricks among which one is to throw a Dart or long Stick with which they 'll hit within the compass of a farthing a mighty distance off As for their Religion little can be said of it their Language it not being understood by any that ever I heard of They use commonly to get together near to the Sea-shore in the morning by Sun-rising and there they get in a Ring holding each other fast by their hands and dance about upon the Sand looking up towards Heaven saying something in their Language and then write some strange unintelligible characters and figures in the Sand and so depart all which undoubtedly is intended in honour to some Deity I have asked some of them that could speak a little broken Dutch what thoughts they had of a God and whom they believed in they answered that they thought that there was one above that had made the Hills and that Sea which we saw and all that was in them and that Homage was due to him but I could not learn any thing further They are very good Footmen and run very swiftly which make the Dutch keep always a Troop of Horse there to catch them in case of any Insurrection For they dare not trust them in the least In mischief they are cunning enough tho' wonderfully stupid in any thing else If they are not hungry they 'll not work tho' you would beat them to death but when their belly incites them to it they 'll work like Horses It is not safe to break ones word with them and if one should not give them what was promised when their work is done a man would go in danger of his life Their Habitations are most on green Meadows and grounds that bear sweet Herbs for Pasture for their Cattle Their Houses are made of Sea-Reeds joyn'd together and fastned at top just like our Hop-poles when they are laid up for the Winter and when their Cattle hath eaten up the Pasture all about them then they remove their Houses to some fresh place and settle there again for some time As to what belongs to those we call Free-men of which I made some mention before they are such of our Men as have served the Company in the station of a Soldier or any other way during the space of ten or twelve years and then desired to settle there to trade or plant which they may then do paying a certain sum of Money and all Imposts and Customs to the Company These have dwelling-houses built after a manner like as in Holland but not so high nor so fine The chief Commodities which the Company trades in to quit the Costs of their Garrison there is Sea-Dogs which are catched here in vast quantities They boil the fat out of them and the Skins are hung up to dry which they send afterwards to Holland When any Ship comes there an Order is read to all the People that are on Board forbidding them all to buy any thing of the Hottentots except Ostridges Eggs and other like trifles All Commodities of any use or value as Rhinoceros Horns Elephants Teeth and Sea-Dog Skins are wholly ingrossed by the Company Justice here is very severe in respect to any of these Heathens especially one instance whereof I was an eye-witness of while I was there Three of them having ravish'd a Christian Maid-servant were hung up by the heels on a Gibbet and so ended their
about the Country and I desired I might be one with ' em We marched about for a matter of an hour or or two thro' nothing but Woods and Coco-Trees and then we came to a River but we could not pass it so we continued moving along the side of it till night and then not meeting with a conveniency of passing the River we took up our lodging there that night but for fear of the Enemy we hardly durst speak or stir all that night The next morning early we heard a noise not very far from us and we began to fancy that we might insensibly be got round upon our Army again but when we were got a little further we discovered the Enemy on the other side of the River as busie as might be cutting of Coco-Trees with a design to go and raise some new Bachers as they call 'em that is Fortifications The River was very narrow but very deep and seeing they could not come at us and that we could easily retire if need was to our Army which was but a mile from us we took a resolution and fired so briskly amongst them that we fetch'd several of 'em down off the Trees They on the other side did not fail tomake good use of their English Firelocks and to give fire upon us so that four of our Men fell Two of them that were only wounded I brought away and appli'd what was requisite to their wounds and having done that I went forward to overtake the rest of our Men but I was no sooner come up to them but I my self received a wound in my Thigh from a Black that was upon a Coco-Tree and the Ball lodged within me The small Skirmish being over some of our Men took me up and carried me to Anier where the Army was and from thence I was carried to the Hospital at Bantam There I was the daily care of the chief Surgeon of that place who was a very able Man named John Hanss a Leydener He used his utmost endeavours to get the Bullet out of the wound but all in vain And after I had undergone a long and grievous pain and had all the Splinters clear'd out we were forced to leave the Bullet in and to let the wound heal over it In two months time I was fully recover'd and found no pain nor did my Bullet ever trouble me till I came into Holland again I was now got again to my Employment in the Hospital that was committed to my care where we enjoy'd our selves with great security Only for fear of the worst we took care to man our outward Garrisons and to fortifie our Frontier Places But e're three Months were at an end we were sufficiently satisfied that there was no great need of fortifying our selves any more for the Javians came over to us in mighty numbers And to convince us of their sincerity and entire submission to us they sent us some hundreds of Carts full of Musquets Lances Pikes Bows and Arrows and other Warlike Instruments After this some of their Nobility and some Persons of greatest Note who had great Estates in those parts came to surrender themselves and to beg for Pardon of the Dutch Company But for that time the Company thought fit to leave that to the discretion of the Young King who pretended himself willing to receive them graciously and to pardon all that was past But he having got some of 'em into his power he forgot his Royal Word and commanded some of them to be cast to Tygers some to Venemous Serpents some to be strangled others were drown'd others had their Throats cut by his especial Command and all variously and miserably put to death Things being come to this pass the Company thought it was high time to put a stop to such Barbarity And therefore they acquainted him with their resentment of this his base dealing and made him sensible of the great imprudence as well as baseness he had been guilty of seeing he ought to have been glad to have seen these Persons come to submit themselves to him and furnish him with Subjects which he was now like to want and that so he might have his Towns and Cities once again raised and filled with Inhabitants The rest of them that came in being hereupon more civilly used and kindly treated insomuch that in the eighteen Months time that I was there all the Places were rebuilt and made finer than they were before For then the Chineeses who are willing to be under the Dutch Government came and settled there in greater numbers than ever For as they love to live among the Dutch because of the Priviledges they give them so the Dutch are very glad of their company because where-ever they are among them they cause a brisk Trade which turns to the advantage of the Dutch as well as of the Chineeses themselves The Country being now again pretty well Peopled with Neighbours and Forreigners and by the coming in of the Javians I thought it high time to look about me and to try to recruit my Pockets which were now very low all Provisions being exceeding dear and I had had no opportunity in a great while to get a Farthing by my Profession any other than what my Salary brought me in So I applied my self to the Javians among whom I thought there might be a great many wounded and accordingly I found pretty much practice amongst ' em With all this help I made shift to live handsomly enough but truly it was as much as I could do For considering the scarcity there was and the great fatigues I had born as well as the rest I thought it the prudentest way to look after my Health and to afford my self what my Constitution required rather than pinch my self and contract a fit of Sickness as several and indeed most People do who go over to the Indies with no other design but to enrich themselves at any rate Tho' by the by after all the pinching saving and scraping together that is not so easily done as People imagine For nothing is more common than the vulgar opinion that there 's no more to be done to get an Estate than just to go to the Indies from whence they reckon they may come home with a burden of Gold Pearls and Diamonds as if it was but picking them up and come away But it may be worth the while seeing we are speaking of this Vulgar Error to shew that these pretious things are so far from being thus easie to come at that it is even a very dangerous thing to attempt to carry off any of those things if a Man hath got any of them in his possession I my self went once to Amboyna and got intimately acquainted there with a Sergeant that had lived about nineteen years in that Country and was an Overseer over several Blacks that work in Press-Mills We came to trucking at last and I exchanged some of my Cheese Tobacco c. for for some
it self into the Sea near the place where we lay at Anchor along the sides of which are a great many strange Tree which bear a Fruit they call Wild Ananas 3 times a year when the Fruit is ripe it is extream pleasant Our Fleet which consisted now of no more than 9 Ships set sail for Batavia where we Arrived in a fortnight And found the other Fleet come three days before us I had changed my Ship and was in Business in the Hollandia where I had a great deal of work and most of my patients Afflicted with sore Leggs The Surgeon that did belong to it dyed in this Voyage and I the rather chose that Ship because it had already received Orders to go to the Isle of Bali Before it went off I went to Shore to take my leave of my old Acquaintance and there met with one that was lately come out of Europe a Native of Ulm a place I was well acquainted with and it being a day which was kept there as a Festival we kept it here also amongst our selves and diverted our selves very well Among other news he brought over with him the most considerable was that the Turks were beaten from before Vienna which did not a little contribute to our Joy and Satisfaction CHAP. X. Their departure and Arrival at Bali Arrows used by the Inhabitants which are Mortal They sell themselves for Slaves Their strange Idolatry Women Burn themselves with the Corps of their Husbands The Island Susu Inhabited by Men-Eaters Departure from Bali and arrivel at Batavia Observations on that place Account of his Voyage to Surat and return to Batavia which he leaves again to go to Bengal Pegu and Aracan Roses of Jericho IN two days time we set Sail with a fair Wind And the same day before Sun-set we passed by the Island Onrust then came between the Island Toppers-hoedie and Bantam along Great Java into open Sea And in 18 days time we reached the Island Bali and cast our Anchors before the Capital Town of the same name In our former Voyage to Banda and Amboina we passed by this place and came within 8 Miles of it But the Wind being then so fair for us we would not touch here but made the best of our way forward Otherwise we should have called here of Course as most Ships do to take in fresh Water and other Refreshments Here we unladed our Ship and exchanged the Commodities for those of the Countrey Which were chiefly Silk and Cotton wrought most of the Peo-People here being employed in Spinning and Weaving They are a very Strong sort of People somewhat Blacker than the generality of other Indians are They use no other Weapon when they fight but Arrows which they carry always about them in a kind of quiver These Arrows are so contrived that when the Man who is Wounded with 'em goes to draw them out they break besides that they are so Artificially Poyson'd that it is present death without any Remedy They permit themselves to be sold to any Nation over all the Indies for Slaves while I was there I bought a young Girl of a Merchant for 18 Rixdollers and took her with me to Batavia where I could make her earn me two Shillings or 18 Pence a day They are exceeding Brutish People and the Simplest of Heathens Their God is what ever they first cast their Eye on in the Morning so that it is still variable sometimes a Cow sometimes a Tree sometimes a Dog or a Bird c. This they keep in veneration for all that day and pray to it with great earnestness upon all emergencies They know nothing of Marrying amongst ' em But as it is among Brutes Men and Women are in common to each other which makes the Country very Populous Yet each man hath always some one whom he looks upon as a Principal Consort and by the Custom of the Country she is obliged to such a severe and Rigorous Ceremony upon the death of her Mate as would very ill go down with those who make a profession of more faithfulness and a more Honourable observance of their more solemn Engagements And I have seen them acquit themselves of it with the greatest Resolution imaginable I mean the Burning themselves when their reputed Husbands Corps is committed to the Flames The manner of it is thus When the Man is dead they sow him up in a Cotton cloath and carry him up to the Top of the House where they keep him four or five days during which time the Woman hath time to prepare her self that is to take her leave of her friends and all the while some old Women who are hired for that purpose are sitting at the door crying and howling Then they dig a great hole near the River side which they fill with Wood and having laid the Corps upon it they set fire to the Wood. The Woman all this while having taken her farewel of all her Relations and having got a whole bundle of presents and recommendations to their friends in the other World she binds up all her tokens together in a Cotton Cloath and when the Fire is throughly lighted she throws her self therein These tokens are different according to the Condition Inclination or degree of Relation of the Person they send to as one Man shall send his Wife Money the other Flowers the other some other small present all which she promises to deliver faithfully There stands round the Fire several Persons with their Instruments of Copper and other Metals on which they make such a horrid noise that there is no hearing of the Womans Shreeks besides there are Men ready with Vessels of Oyl to pour into the Fire to make it Burn more vehemently that she may the sooner be out of her pain When they are thus consumed to ashes they are taken up very clean and thrown into the River with another consort of howling and crying I know there hath been several Accounts of this given by others after a different Manner but what I have here given is as I have been an eye witness of it my self Here grows some of the sinest Fruits in the World and in great plenty so that I eat my fill of ' em These Fruits are a Refreshment of no small value to an European and it makes him have a much greater esteem for those remote and Barbarous Isles and it is very often the only thing for which one would value them it is as observable that the more Barbarous the Country is the more it excels in choice and delicate Fruits as this place may well serve for an example and all the Isles thereabouts which are Inhabited by the most Brutish sort of Men. And some of 'em by Men who devour one another and make a feast of their Victory as at Susu which lyes here hard by and likewise in the Country of the Hottentots near the Cape of Good Hope I have often wisht for some of them since I
my self with all that was necessary for the Voyage Which being done I went on Board my Ship the Fleet being ready to go off and we should have set Sail the very nextday had not the Ekersloo one of our three Ships sprung a Leak which obliged us to stay while they took all the Goods out of her again and mended her which was a whole fortnight This done she had her Lading put in again and then we went under Sail with a favourable Wind and next day pass'd by the Isle of Lucapara and thus we continued our Course with good Success for about eight days But as it is almost impossible for two or three Ships to make so considerable a Voyage without some Lett or Misfortune the Ekersloo struck upon a Bank of Sand which frighted us all very much As soon as she gave us notice of it by firing a Gun for we were a good way before her but had happily Steer'd aside and miss'd the Bank we immediately set out our Shallops and went to her and found there was no Remedy but Unlading her which we did with all speed and bestowed the Goods partly on Board of our Ship and partly on the other It was a great happiness that the Wind was not very high else we could never have done this When all the Goods were out we made shift by means of casting Anchors to get her off the Bank and having examined her within and found she had no Damage done to her Keel we put the Goods on Board of her again and continued our Course thanking God we had escaped such a great Danger by the favour of the Wind which still continued good for us This happen'd to us in our Course to Tumbolan and Ananibo as we sailed between Borneo and Malacca from which in three days we reach'd the Island Matuna As we pass'd by it we saw some Ships before us which we concluded were Chinese Jonckers About night they pass'd by us directing their Course towards Borneo which made us think they came from Cambodia At break of day we saw five more who likewise past by us about Noon and steer'd their Course towards Malacca When we were come up to the corner of that Island we took the Elevation of the Pole and found we were to Sail more to the Northward and in a short time we came to the River which runs through the Kingdom of Siam up which we sailed as far as the Town Bontempia and there we cast Anchor Our Master and the Factor went straightway in the Long-Boat to the Chief City Odia which is 30 Leagues up the River as soon as they were come back they went to Unlading I then went on Shore too and visited the Dutch Factory there The House which the Dutch Factors have there is amazing both for its Largeness Beauty and Strength Above are all the Lodgings which are wonderful Stately both without and within Under are the Warehouses which are of a vast bigness and richly stored with all manner of Commodities The City of Odia is very large but most of the Houses are very low So that all the Towers of their Temples which are computed to be above Five thousand being rais'd much higher and being all easily seen by reason of the other Buildings being so low seem altogether like a Forest in Winter It is impossible for any one to conceive what vast numbers of People is continually moving about in that City insomuch that a Man who is newly come would be apt to ask what 's the matter and take that for a gathering of the Mob or an unusual Croud which is but the usual Concourse of the Town It is seated upon the River Menan which is likewise fill'd with Ships Praws c. This River is of the same Nature with the Nile the Niger and the Ganges and like them overflows all the Fields about Odia and makes them very fruitful spreading it self over great part of the Country by means of several Arms or Creeks which Providence hath ordered for that purpose And besides this Advantage which this Inundation affords to the Country it is a mighty Fence to the City Odia because the River over-flowing at certain Seasons no Enemy can Besiege it but for some Months during which the City is always able to defend it self being extraordinary well Situated and Fortified Through most of the Streets run fine Channels as at Rotterdam so that one may go with a Boat from one part of the Town to the other which renders it mighty Commodious for Trade I may say that considering all things there is not a finer City in all India Our Ships having now in little more than a Fortnights time unladen and taken in their full Lading which consisted of several Commodities as Buck and Roe-Skins Jappan-Wood c. we fell down the River and with a fair Northerly Wind set Sail homewards again The next day it Snowed so hard and the Wind was so high that we were drove almost upon Land ' ere we could be aware of it but by good Providence we came off without any hurt and in 11 days came up with the Island Puloaura where we lay still three days refreshing our selves and then continued our Course We arrived at Batavia in three Weeks We were hardly come into Harbour when we saw the most dismal Spectacle that can be The Ship the Elephant which rode at Anchor hard by us laden with Powder and other Ammunition design'd for Bantam by some Accident took Fire and in an instant blew up into a thousand pieces so that of above 80 Men that were on Board her there was not one left alive to tell how it came It was the most dismal sight methoughts I ever had seen to behold so many humane Bodies toss'd at such a vast distance into the Air for some of them went over our Ship and so did several large pieces of the Ship likewise and what made it the more dismal was that no manner of help could be afforded them Instead of going ashore with the rest I went on Board a Ship that was come hither some days before us from Cameron in Persia because the Chirurgeon which belonged to that Ship was a Countryman and intimate Acquaintance of mine and we had been together in several Expeditions in the Wars of Bantam He was over-joyed to see me and I was no less pleased to find him well After many Questions past on both sides we came to give one another an Account of our Adventures since we parted which gave him occasion to tell me that he had had pretty good Fortune in all his Voyages but that he had narrowly escaped Death in a place where he thought himself most secure For saith he When I first went to Shore at Cameron I went with some of my Companions to the Factor's House and having spoken with them I had Business with we went into a Cabaret or publick-House whence after we had staid an hour or little more
nap there The 21th Three Soldiers came to meet us with three Horses sent from Manara for the Officers We got upon them with a very good will while the poor fellows were forc'd to drudge on without Shoes or Stockings in the same manner as they set out We arriv'd all at Aripen about 3 of the clock in the afternoon having gone about 22 Leagues in our three days march which was very hard for our Men who went all the way barefoot Aripen is a pretty strong place kept by 20 Dutch Soldiers provided with 4 Field-pieces and other Warlike Necessaries convenient for a place of that bigness Many Malabarians live about it of whom one may buy Flesh Milk Butter Eggs Fowls c. cheap enough And we bought here two pretty good Bullocks for one Rixdollar that serv'd both our Companies This place is chiefly design'd to keep the Pearl-bank from being sish'd by any one that hath no title to it which is an ossence punishable with death It is very unhealthy there and no European but must expect a Fever that will kill him it he stays there long For which reason they are exchang'd from Manara ev'ry four months and yet they lose generally half their Men. We staid there all night and On the 22th We march'd away again and at night came by the Island Manara to go to which we were to cross the Waters which is about a mile broad It is six miles from Aripen We were very kindly receiv'd by the Dutch Captain that lay there and treated very nobly with Flesh and Fish which is here in great plenty This Island as we mention'd before hath seven miles compass It is inhabited by several Malabars and abounds in Flesh Fowls and fruitful Trees and all the Water about it affords plenty of Fish In short it may be call'd an Earthly Paradise The Fort is well provided and is kept by near 100 Dutch Soldiers Each Soldier keeps a Boy to clean his Arms and carry them for him and a Woman to look after his Meat and serve him Proportionably to this the Officers live in very great State We lay here three days and The 16th We went in three Dutch Boats to Jafnapatan where we arriv'd on The 27th And were very well receiv'd and Quarter'd in the Fort that lies to the Sea The 28th 29th and 30th Our Men were exercis'd and 20 Elephants were brought upon the place whilst we Fir'd to use them to stand it without starting in War At first they were very fearful and untractable not being able to bear the noise and smoak of our Guns tossing up their Trunks and were very furious At last they were brought to it so that an Indian could get upon them and ride about a Furlong away from us and then drive them upon us we firing against them all the while at length they 'd break our Ranks take what care we could and tho' we shot in their very Noses and if the Cingulayans that rid them had not prevented them with their Instruments they would have trampl'd us under foot The 1st of December Two Companies of Soldiers came to us from the Coast of Cormandel out of the Fort Palliacate and Nagapatan They were Quarter'd in a Stable used generally to keep Elephants in The 2d Another Company came from Gala Battacula and Triconomala The 3d We had a general Muster and march'd with our 7 Companies and 8 Field-pieces drawn by Elephants and 20 others Elephants besides out of the Fort of Jafnapatan And being drawn out in the Fields there we were commanded to inclose our Leaders that is to form our selves into a Ring where we heard the Articles of War read to us Jafnapatan bears the Name of a small Kingdom which the Dutch took by surprize from the Portugueses It s Fort is well built and strong having four Bastions two Towers a Counterscarp and a deep Ditch It lies upon a Salt-water on the side of Manara where the Dutch have built a very strong fine Key All the chief Officers lodge within the Fort with their Wives The under Officers and Soldiers Wives live amongst the other Inhabitants in the Town which is about a League in compass But there are a great many Gardens in it and many poor small Hutts as also fair large Streets There are two different Market-places in it the one for Fish the other is for all sorts of Commodities as Silks Linnen Pearls Gold Silver Spices Salt Butter Allum Tobacco Rats and Mice Herbs all sorts of Colours in short all a Man can desire Their current Money is made of Copper and is either Shillings Two-pences Peny-pieces Damagasties Half-penies and Farthings One may buy 10 or 15 Figs for a Farthing that are almost a span long and sometimes 2 or 3 Pounds of Fish for the same price So that a Man that goes to Market with 4 or 5 Farthings may buy Provisions to serve a common Family two days for his Money I met here with an acquaintance of mine a Physician who was chief Chirurgeon to the Dutch Hospital and Physician to Min Heer Laurent Piil the Governor and was much esteem'd among the Natives of the Country for his Abilities and the great Cures he perform'd The 4th We march'd out Our Major Clebout went first carry'd by Slaves in a Palankin a sort of Sedan I have already mention'd After him march'd the 6 Companies with each an Elephant to draw the Baggage It was suppos'd that we were design'd to march to Wani where the Inhabitants had chosen a new Prince without consent of the Dutch their Prince Don Philip being Dead and design'd to free themselves for the future from paying Tribute to Jafnapatan But as soon as they understood that we were drawing towards 'em they sent to meet us with ten Elephants with offers to continue willingly a yearly Tribute of Elephants and Money on conditions we would secure them from the King of Candi The Major sent them to Jafnapatan with a Letter and we came at night to a place call'd Pas-Piil where a Dutch Garrison lay Here the Hutts were ready for our Men and provided with necessaries against our coming The 5th 6th and 7th We lay still here being much tir'd with going ten Leagues in a day in all that heat and so sandy a Country We found there three great Dutch Ships that were come from Batavia The 8th Four of our Companies viz. The two that came from Columbo the other two from Cormandel were to Embark secretly and the two other Companies were to remain in the Fort by reason of the Troubles that were in Wani That very evening we set forwards for the Coast of Cormandel The 9th Early in the morning we came before Negapatan Here a Dutch Yatch joyn'd us and two other Vessels together with three great Boats well Mann'd with Seamen With this Fleet we sail'd along the Coast by Krancko Baar a City belonging to the King of Denmark and lying 8 Leagues from Negapatan We sail'd by the Danish
for their Tobacco but we were glad we could have it on any account I for my part gave a great deal of Pepper and Cinnamon for half a pound of it The 26th 27th and 28th the Englishman kept by us but on the 22th he left us with wonderful swiftness and got out of sight immediately The 30th a great many flying Fishes fell down in our Ship some of which we Eat and the rest we kept for a Rarity The 31st abundance of Sea-hogs came through our Fleet Swimming against the Wind. Our Gunner shot one of them with an Elligar which is an Instrument that sticks in the Fish it hits it hath a Leaden weight at the But-end which makes that end sink and with the other it turns up the Fish As soon as that one was made to bleed all the others made away That which we catch'd was Seven Foot long and half that in compass It was perfect Bacon and had a deal of warm Blood The 1st of August we went directly Northward the Wind was at South-West and blew very cold The Days were long so that we rested more by Day than by Night The 2d 3d 4th 5th 6th and 7th we had much Rain with which we filled our Water-Barrels the Wind too being something boisterous parted us Our Vessel was just going to Founder and began to gape in some places half a. Foot Wide The Carpenters fell to Work and were forced to bind up the Cracks and Chinks with Cords Iron Bands and Chains and by our continual Pumping we made shift to keep the Ship up On the 8th we were forced to take in all our Sails and let our Ship Drive two Waves struck into our Ship which would have certainly Sunk us had not God's Mercy together with our extream Diligence happily freed us from the Danger We were at that time by our selves without either Friend or Foe near us Our Cook had for some Days not been able to Dress us any Victuals for the Tossing and Tumbling in our Ship so that we were forced to Eat Bacon that came from Bengal Raw and afterwards help the Digestion of it with Indian Brandy of which we had good store The 9th we heard several great Pieces of Cannon Fired but could not tell for what In the Afternoon about two a Clock we saw at our Right Hand a large Ship we found it was our Vice Admiral and perceived by the Pendants that it was in danger of Sinking We both endeavoured to get up to one another and the Admiral being come within reach of us the Men on Board begg'd that we would send our Long-Boat to help them They kept still Calling Bawling and Firing whilst we were advising whether we had best joyn them or keep off For if they being an Hundred and Fifty in Number had all come over to us we must have starved yet we designed to be ready to take up as many as we could if their Ship had sunk At last we resolved that our Master a very skilful Seaman should go to them to see what condition they were in and to give them his Advice When he was come unto them he advised rhem to throw Over-board some of their Goods as they designed to do before So they unloaded the Vessel of near Four Hundred Lasts of Spices as Cinnamon Cloves Nutmegs Pepper c by which means they could come to stop the Leak and so at last they saved themselves The Pepper being scattered about got into their Pumps so that they could not use them the same thing hath often happened with us too The 10th and 11th These Stormy Winds abated We began now to find it colder and colder and the Fogs to rise again In those two days all our Fleet except the Posthorn met again The 12th 13th and 14th The Fog was so very thick that we could not see one another but were forced to Fire often to know where we were all of us that we might keep together The 15th we met with an English Fisherman that was coming from Ysland he was loaden with Salt-fish We truck'd with him for some of it The 16th we passed by two Dutch Vessels going home from the Whale-fishing in Greenland Of these we got some Cheese Bisket and Tobacco for Spices One of them had catch'd ten Whales and the other Eleven which is reckoned a good Voyage The Men were very Lusty and Healthy but we look'd all like Death being almost quite spent and worn out with the labour and trouble our great danger had put us to Being come now into the Latitude of Sixty one Degrees 7 Minutes We turned to the North North-East The 17th Some Dutch Men of War came to meet us with another Ship that brought Provisions for our East-India Fleet and accompanied us back The 18th in the Morning we came in sight of Hitland and kept as much as we could towards the English Shoar according to the Orders we had received from the States of Holland least any Winds might have drove us into some ports of Norway especially because the States were at that time at Variance with the King of Denmark So we held to the North-East and East-North-East till The 1st of September when we came in sight of the Dutch Coasts Two of our Company struck off the day before to go to Zeland There came Pilots for each of our Ships who brought us safe through the Tonnen in the Vlic Here were two of the chief Men of the East-India Company in a Yatch expecting of us they welcomed us all and thanked us for the Faithful Service we had done them They took as many of us as would go to Amsterdam but our Chests and Goods we were to leave behind us in the Ships On the 2d of September we came to Amsterdam We were from the 14th of January to this time coming from Ceylon which is Three Thousand one Hundred Miles in Two Hundred and Thirty Two Days The same Day our Chests and Beds c. were brought into the East-India House and there searched by Men for that purpose If nothing Prohibited or worth above Two Month's Pay was found in them it was Delivered straight-way to the Owner otherwise it was Seized and Consiscated to the Searcher and the Owner either Fined or sent perhaps to the Rasphuys the same as Bridewell here The 3d I gave up my Accounts to the East-India Company FINIS BOOKS lately Printed AN Account of a Voyage from Archangel in Russia in the year 1697 of the Ship and Company Wintering near the North Cape in the Latitude of 71 their manner of living and what they suffered by extreme Cold Also Remarkable Observations of the Climate Country and Inhabitants c. By Tho. Allison Commander of the Ship The Ingenious and Diverting Letters of the Lady Travels into Spain describing the Devotions Nunneries Humours Customs Laws Militia Trade Diet and Recreation of that People Intermixt with great variety of Modern Adventures and surprizing Accidents being the truest and best Remarks extant on that Court and Country A new Voyage Round the VVorld Describing particularly the Isthmus of America several Coasts and Islands in the West-Indies the Isles of Cape verd the Passage by Terra del Fuego the South-Sea Coasts of Chili Peru and Mexico the Philipine Islands c. Their Soil Rivers Harbours Plants Fruits Animals and Inhabitants their Customs Religion Government and Trade By Captain William Dampier in two Volumes Observations concerning the present state of Religion in the Romish Church with some Reflections upon them made in a Journey through some Provinces of Germany in the year 1698. As also an Account of what seemed most Remarkable in those Countries By Theophilus Dorrington Rector of Wittresham in Kent Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow Esq Lieutenant General of the Horse Commander in chief of the Forces in Ireland one of the Council of State and a Member of the Parliament which begun on November the 3d 1640 in 3 Volumes Memoirs and Observations Topographical Physical Mathematical Mechanical Natural Civil and Ecclesiastical made in a late Journey through the Empire of China By Lewis le Compte Jesuit Confessor to the Dutchess of Burgundy one of the Royal Mathematicians and late Missionary in the Eastern Countries Voyages and Discoveries in South-America The first up the River of the Amazons which runs a Course of 1200 Leagues through the finest Country in the VVorld not yet planted by the Europeans to Quito in Peru and back again to Brazil by Christopher D' Auvigna The Second up the River of Plate and thence by Land to the Mines of Potosi by Monfieur Auarete The Third from Cayenne into Guiana in search of the Lake of Parima Englished from the Originals being the only Accounts of those Parts hitherto extant with Maps