as a man's finger, in clusters much as the cocoa-nuts do, and they grow forty or fifty in a cluster. This fruit is bigger than a nutmeg, and is much like it but rounder. It is much used all over the Eaft Indies. Their way is to cut it in four pieces, and wrap one of them up in an arek-leaf, which they fpread with a foft pafte made of lime or plaster, and then chew it altogether. Every man in these parts carries his lime-box by his fide, and dipping his finger into it, fpreads his betel and arek-leaf with it. The arek is a fmall tree or fhrub, of a green bark, and the leaf is long and broader than a willow. They are packed up to fell into parts that have them not, to chew with the betel. The betel-nut is most efteemed when it is young, and, before it grows hard, and then they cut it only in two pieces with the green hufk or shell on it. It is then exceeding juicy, and therefore makes them fpit much. It tastes rough in the mouth, and dyes the lips red, and makes the teeth black, but it preferves them, and cleanseth the gums. It is alfo accounted very wholesome for the ftomach; but fometimes it will caufe great giddinefs in the head of those that are not used to chew it. But this is the effect only of the old nut, for the young nuts will not do it. I speak of my own experience.

This island produceth alfo durians and jacks. The trees that bear the durians are as big as apple-trees, full of boughs. The rind is thick and rough: the fruit is fo large that they grow only about the bodies, or on the limbs near the body, like the cacao. The fruit is about the bignefs of a large pumpkin, covered with a thick green rough rind. When it is ripe the rind begins to turn yellow, but it is not fit to eat till it opens at the top. Then the fruit in the infide is ripe, and fends forth an excellent fcent. When the rind is opened, the fruit may be split into four quarters; each quarter hath several small cells that inclofe a certain quantity of the fruit, according to the bignefs of the cell, for fome are larger than others: the largest of the fruit may be as big as a pullet's egg. It is as white as milk and as foft as cream, and the tafte very delicious as those that are accuftomed to them; but those who have not been used to eat them will dislike them at firft, because they smell liked roasted onions. This fruit must be eaten in its prime, (for there is no eating of it before it is ripe,) and even then it will not keep above a day or two before it putrefies, and turns black or of a dark colour, and then it is not good. Within the fruit there is a stone as big as a small bean, which hath a thin shell over it. Those that are minded to eat the ftones or nuts roast them, and then a thin fhell comes off, which incloses the nut, and it eats like a chefnut. The jack or jaca is much like the durian both in bignefs and fhape. The trees that bear them alfo are much alike, and fo is their manner of the fruits growing; but the infide is different: for the fruit of the durian is white, that of the jack is yellow, and fuller of ftones. The durian is most esteemed; yet the jack is a very pleasant fruit, and the stones or kernels are good roasted.

There are many other forts of grain, roots and fruits in this island, which to give a particular description of would fill up a large volume.

In this island are also many sorts of beasts, both wild and tame; as horses, bulls and cows, buffaloes, goats, wild hogs, deer, monkies, guanos, lizards, fnakes, &c. Inever faw or heard of any beafts of prey here, as in many other places. The hogs are ugly creatures; they have all great knobs growing over their eyes, and there are multitudes of them in the woods. They are commonly very poor, yet fweet. Deer are here very plentiful in fome places, where they are not difturbed.

Of the venomous kind of creatures here are fcorpions, whose sting is in their tail; and centapees, called by the English forty-legs, both which are also common in the West Indies, in Jamaica, and elsewhere. These centapees are four or five inches long,

as

as big as a goofe-quill, but flattish, of a dun or reddifh colour on the back, but belly whitish, and full of legs on each fide the belly. Their sting or bite is more raging than the fcorpion. They lie in old houfes and dry timber. There are feveral forts of Inakes, fome very poifonous. There is another fort of creature like a guano both in colour and fhape, but four times as big, whofe tongue is like a small harpoon, having two beards like the beards of a fifh-hook; they are faid to be very venomous, but I know not their names. I have feen them in other places alfo, as at Pulo Condore, or the island Condore, and at Achin, and have been told that they are in the Bay of Bengal.

The fowls of this country are ducks and hens: other tame fowl I have not feen nor heard of any. The wild fowl are pigeons, parrots, parroquets, turtle-doves, and abundance of small fowls. There are bats as big as a kite.

There are a great many harbours, creeks, and good bays for fhips to ride in; and rivers navigable for canoes, proes or barks, which are all plentifully stored with fish of divers forts, fo is also the adjacent fea. The chiefeft fish are bonetas, fnooks, cavallys, bremes, mullets, ten-pounders, &c. Here are alfo plenty of fea turtle, and fmall manatee, which are not near fo big as thofe in the Weft Indies. The biggest that I faw would not weigh above fix hundred pound; but the flesh both of the turtle and manatee are very sweet.

The weather at Mindanao is temperate enough as to heat, for all it lies fo near the equator, and especially on the borders near the fea. There they commonly enjoy the breezes by day, and cooling land-winds at night. The winds are easterly one part of the year, and wefterly the other. The easterly winds begin to blow in October, and it is the middle of November before they are fettled. These winds bring fair weather. The westerly winds begin to blow in May, but are not fettled till a month afterwards. The west winds always bring rain, tornadoes, and very tempestuous weather. At the first coming on of these winds they blow but faintly, but then the tornadoes rife one in a day, fometimes two: these are thunder showers which commonly come against the wind, bringing with them a contrary wind to what did blow before. After the tornadoes are over, the wind fhifts about again, and the sky becomes clear, yet then in the vallies and the fides of the mountains there rifeth a thick fog which covers the land. The tornadoes continue thus for a week or more; then they come thicker, two or three in a day, bringing violent gufts of wind and terrible claps of thunder. At laft they come fo faft, that the wind remains in the quarter from whence these tornadoes do rife, which is out of the west, and there it fettles till October or November. When these weftward winds are thus fettled the sky is all in mourning, being covered with black clouds, pouring down exceffive rains, fometimes mixt with thunder and lightning, that nothing can be more difmal. The winds raging to that degree that the biggest trees are torn up by the roots, and the rivers fwell and overflow their banks, and drown the low land, carrying great trees into the fea. Thus it continues fometimes a week together before the fun or stars appear. The fierceft of this weather is in the latter end of July and in Auguft, for then the towns feem to ftand in a great pond, and they go from one house to another in canoes. At this time the water carries away all the filth and naftiness from under their houses. Whilft this tempestuous feafon lafts the weather is cold and chilly. In September the weather is more moderate, and the winds are not fo fierce, nor the rain fo violent. The air thenceforward begins to be more clear and delightfome; but then in the morning there are thick fogs, continuing till ten or eleven o'clock before the fun fhines out, especially when it has rained in the night. In October the easterly winds begin to blow again, and bring fair weather till April. Thus much concerning the natural state of Mindanao.

CHAP. II.—Of the Inhabitants, and civil State of the Isle of Mindanao. The Mindanayans, Hillanoones, Sologues, and Alfoores. Of the Mindanayans, properly fo called; their Manners and Habits. -The Habits and Manners of their Women.-A comical Cuftom at Mindanao. - Their Houfes, their Diet, and Washings. The Languages Spoken there, and Transactions with the Spaniards. Their Fear of the Dutch, and feeming Defire of the English. - Their Handicrafts, and peculiar Sort of Smith's Bellows. Their Shipping, Commodities and Trade. The Mindanao and Manilla Tobacco. A Sort of Leprofy there, and other Distempers. - Their Marriages. — The Sultan of Mindanao, his Poverty, Power, Family, &c. -The Proes or Boats here. Raja Laut the General, Brother to the Sultan, and his Family. Their Way of Fighting. -Their Religion. Raja Laut's Devotion. A Clock or Drum in their Mofques. Of their Circumcifion, and the Solemnity then used. Of other their Religious Obfervations and Superftitions. — Their Abhorrence of Swine's Flesh, &c.

THIS island is not subject to one Prince, neither is the language one and the fame; but the people are much alike in colour, ftrength and ftature. They are all or most of them of one religion, which is Mahometanism, and their cuftoms and manner of living are alike. The Mindanao people, more particularly fo called, are the greatest nation in the island, and trading by fea with other nations they are therefore the more civil. I fhall fay but little of the reft, being lefs known to me, but fo much as hath come to my knowledge take as follows: there are, befides the Mindanayans the Hilanoones (as they call them), or the Mountaneers, the Sologues and Alfoores.

The Hilanoones live in the heart of the country; they have little or no commerce by fea, yet they have proes that row with twelve or fourteen oars a piece. They enjoy the benefit of the gold mines; and with their gold buy foreign commodities of the Mindanao people. They have also plenty of bees'-wax, which they exchange for other commodities.

The Sologues inhabit the north-west end of the island. They are the least nation of all; they trade to Manila in proes, and to fome of the neighbouring islands, but have no commerce with the Mindanao people.

The Alfoores are the fame with the Mindanayans, and were formerly under the subjection of the Sultan of Mindanao, but were divided between the Sultan's children, and have of late had a Sultan of their own; but having by marriage contracted an alliance with the Sultan of Mindanao, this has occafioned that Prince to claim them again as his fubjects; and he made war with them a little after we went away, as I afterwards understood.

The Mindanayans properly fo called, are men of mean ftatures, fmall limbs, straight bodies and little heads. Their faces are oval, their foreheads flat, with black small eyes, fhort low nofes, pretty large mouths; their lips thin and red, their teeth black, yet very found, their hair black and straight, the colour of their skin tawny, but inclining to a brighter yellow than fome other Indians, especially the women. They have a custom to wear their thumb-nails very long, especially that on their left thumb, for they do never cut it but fcrape it often. They are indued with good natural wits, are ingenious, nimble and active when they are minded, but generally very lazy and thievish, and will not work except forced by hunger. This laziness is natural to most . Indians; but these people's laziness, seems rather to proceed not fo much from their natural inclinations, as from the feverity of their Prince, of whom they stand in awe : for he dealing with them very arbitrarily, and taking from them what they get, this

damps

damps their industry, fo they never ftrive to have any thing but from hand to mouth. They are generally proud and walk very stately. They are civil enough to strangers, and will eafily be acquainted with them, and entertain them with great freedom; but they are implacable to their enemies, and very revengeful if they are injured, frequently poifoning fecretly those that have affronted them.

They wear but few cloaths; their heads are circled with a fhort turbat, fringed or laced at both ends; it goes once about the head, and is tied in a knot, the laced ends hanging down. They wear frocks and breeches, but no stockings nor fhoes.

The women are fairer than the men; and their hair is black and long, which they tie in a knot, that hangs back in their poles. They are more round visaged than the men, and generally well featured; only their nofes are very fmall, and fo low between their eyes, that in fome of the female children the rifing that should be between the eyes is fcarce difcernible; neither is there any fenfible rifing in their foreheads. At a distance they appear very well; but being nigh, these impediments are very obvious. They have very fmall limbs. They wear but two garments; a frock and a fort of petticoat; the petticoat is only a piece of cloth, fowed both ends together: but it is made two feet too big for their waits, fo that they may wear either end uppermoft: that part that comes up to their waist, because it is fo much too big, they gather it in their hands, and twist it till it fits close to their waifts, tucking in the twisted part between their waist and the edge of the petticoat, which keeps it close. The frock fits loofe about them, and reaches down a little below the waift. fleeves are a great deal longer than their arms, and fo fmall at the end, that their hands will scarce go through. Being on the fleeve fits in folds about the wrift, wherein they take great pride.

The

The better fort of people have their garments made of long cloth; but the ordinary fort wear cloth made of plantain-tree, which they call Saggen, by which name they call the plantain. They have neither stocking nor fhoe, and the women have very small feet.

The women are very defirous of the company of ftrangers, efpecially of white men: and doubtless would be very familiar, if the cuftom of the country did not debar them from that freedom, which feems coveted by them. Yet from the highest to the lowest they are allowed liberty to converfe with, or treat ftrangers in the fight of their hufbands.

There is a kind of begging custom at Mindanao, that I have not met elsewhere with in all my travels; and which I believe is owing to the little trade they have, which is thus when strangers arrive here, the Mindanao men will come aboard, and invite them to their houses, and inquire who has a comrade, (which word I believe they have from the Spaniards) or a pagally, and who has not. A comrade is a familiar male friend; a pagally is an innocent platonic friend of the other fex. All strangers are in a manner obliged to accept of this acquaintance and familiarity, which must be first purchased with a small prefent, and afterwards confirmed with fome gift or other to continue the acquaintance: and as often as the ftranger goes afhore, he is welcome to his comrade or pagally's houfe, where he may be entertained for his money to eat, drink, or fleep; and complimented, as often as he comes afhore with tobacco and betel-nut, which is all the entertainment he must expect gratis. The richest men's wives are allowed the freedom to converfe with her pagally in public, and may give or receive presents from him. Even the Sultan's and general's wives, who are always coopt up, will yet look out of their cages when a stranger paffeth by, and demand of

C 2

him

him if he wants a pagally: and to invite him to their friendship, will send a prefent of tobacco and betel-nut to him by their fervants.

The chiefeft city on this island is called by the fame name of Mindanao. It is feated on the fouth fide of the island in latitude feven degrees twenty minutes north on the banks of a small river, about two miles from the fea. The manner of building is somewhat strange, yet generally used in this part of the East Indies. Their houses are all built on posts, about fourteen, fixteen, eighteen, or twenty feet high. These posts are bigger or lefs, according to the intended magnificence of the fuperftructure. They have but one floor, but many partitions or rooms, and a ladder or stairs to go up out of the streets. The roof is large and covered with palmeto or palm-leaves. So there is a clear paffage like a piazza (but a filthy one) under the house. Some of the poorer people that keep ducks or hens, have a fence made round the posts of their houses, with a door to go in and out; and this under room serves for no other ufe. Some use this place for the common draught of their houses, but building mostly clofe by the river in all parts of the Indies, they make the river receive all the filth of their houfe; and at the time of the land-floods, all is washed very clean.

The Sultan's houfe is much bigger than any of the reft. It stands on about one hundred and eighty great pofts or trees, a great deal higher than the common building, with great broad ftairs made to go up. In the first room he hath about twenty iron guns, all faker and minion, placed on field-carriages. The general and other great men have fome guns alfo in their houfes. About twenty paces from the fultan's house there is a small low house, built purposely for the reception of ambaffadors or merchant strangers. This alfo ftands on pofts, but the floor is not raised above three or four feet above the ground, and is neatly matted purposely for the fultan and his council to fit on; for they ufe no chairs, but fit crofs-legged like tailors on the floor.

The common food at Mindanao is rice, or fago, and a small fish or two. The better fort eat buffalo, or fowls ill dreft, and abundance of rice with it. They use no fpoons to eat their rice, but every man takes a handful out of the platter, and by wetting his hand in water, that it may not stick to his hand, fqueezes into a lump, as hard as poffibly he can make it, and then crams it into his mouth. They all strive to make thefe lumps as big as their mouth can receive them; and feem to vie with each other, and glory in taking in the biggeft lump; fo that fometimes they almost choke themfelves. They always wafh after meals, or if they touch any thing that is unclean for which reason they spend abundance of water in their houses. This water, with the washing of their dishes, and what other filth they make, they pour down near their fire place for their chambers are not boarded, but floored with split bamboes, like lathe, fo that the water presently falls underneath their dwelling rooms, where it breeds maggots, and makes a prodigious stink. Befides this filthinefs, the fick people ease themselves, and make water in their chambers; there being a fmall hole made purposely in the floor, to let it drop through. But healthy found people commonly ease themselves and make water in the river. For that reafon you fhall always fee abundance of people of both fexes in the river, from morning till night; fome eafing themselves, others wafhing their bodies or clothes. If they come into the river purpofely to wash their clothes, they strip and stand naked till they have done; then put them on, and march out again: both men and women take great delight in fwimming, and washing themselves, being bred to it from their infancy. I do believe it is very wholesome to wash mornings and evenings in these hot countries, at least three or four