and torches on each fide. After us came twelve of the general's men, with old Spa nish matchlocks, marching four in a row. After them about forty lances, and behind them as many with great fwords, marching all in order. After them came abundance only with creffets by their fides, who marched up close without any order. When we came near the fultan's houfe, the fultan and his men met us, and we wheeled off to let them pafs. The fultan had three pageants went before him: in the first pageant were four of his fons, who were about ten or eleven years old; they had gotten abundance of finall ftones, which they roguifhly threw about on the people's heads: in the next were four young maidens, nieces to the fultan, being his fifter's daughters; and in the third, there was three of the fultan's children, not above fix years old. The fultan himself followed next, being carried in his couch, which was not like your Indian palankin, but open, and very little and ordinary. A multitude of people came after, without any order: but as foon as he was paft by, the general and Captain Swan, and all our men, closed in just behind the fultan, and fo all marched together to the general's houfe. We came thither between ten and eleven o'clock, where the greateft part of the company were immediately difmiffed; but the fultan and his children, and his nieces, and fome other perfons of quality, entered the general's houfe. They were met at the head of the ftairs by the general's women, who with a great deal of refpect conducted them into the house. Captain Swan, and we that were with him, followed after. It was not long before the general caufed his dancing-women to enter the room and divert the company with that pastime. I had forgot to tell you that they have none but vocal mufic here, by what I could learn, except only a row of a kind of bells without clappers, fixteen in number, and their weight increasing gradually from about three to ten pound weight. These are fet in a row on a table in the general's house, where for seven or eight days together before the circumcifion day, they were struck each with a little stick for the biggeft part of the day, making a great noife, and they ceafed that morning. So thefe dancing-women fung themselves, and danced to their own mufic. After this the general's women, and the sultan's fons, and his nieces, danced. Two of the fultan's nieces were about eighteen or nineteen years old, the other two were three or four years younger. Thefe young ladies were very richly dreffed, with loofe garments of filk, and small coronets on their heads. They were much fairer than any women I did ever fee there, and very well featured; and their nofes, though but finall, yet higher than the other women's, and very well proportioned. When the ladies had very well diverted themselves and the company with dancing, the general caufed us to fire fome fky-rockets, that were made by his and Captain Swan's order purposely for this night's folemnity; and after that the fultan and his retinue went away, with a few attendants, and we all broke up: and thus ended this day's folemnity. But the boys, being fore with their amputation, went straddling for a fortnight after.

They are not, as I faid before, very curious, or strict in obferving any days, or times of particular devotions, except it be Ramdam time, as we call it. The Ramdam time was then in Auguft, as I take it, for it was shortly after our arrival here. In this time they fast all day, and about feven o'clock in the evening they spend near an hour in prayer. Towards the latter end of their prayer they loudly invoke their prophet for about a quarter of an hour, both old and young bawling out very strangely, as if they intended to fright him out of his fleepinefs or neglect of them. After their After their prayer is ended, they spend some time in feasting before they take their repofe. Thus they do every day for a whole month at leaft; for fometimes it is two or three days longer before

before the Ramdam ends for it begins at the new moon, and lasts till they fee the
next new moon, which fometimes in thick hazy weather is not till three or four days
after the change, as it happened while I was at Achin, where they continued the Ram-
dam till the new moon's appearance. The next day after they have seen the new moon,
the guns are all discharged about noon, and then the time ends.

A main part of their religion confifts in washing often, to keep themselves from
being defiled; or after they are defiled to cleanfe themfelves again. They also take
great care to keep themselves from being polluted, by tafting or touching any thing
that is accounted unclean; therefore fwine's flesh is very abominable to them; nay,
any one that hath either tafted of swine's flefh, or touched thofe creatures, is not per-
mitted to come into their houses in many days after, and there is nothing will scare them
more than a swine. Yet there are wild hogs in the islands, and thofe fo plentiful, that
they will come in troops out of the woods in the night into the very city, and come
under their houses to rummage up and down the filth that they find there. The na-
tives therefore would even defire us to lie in wait for the hogs to deftroy them, which
we did frequently, by fhooting them and carrying them prefently on board, but were
prohibited their houfes afterwards.

And now I am on this fubject, I cannot omit a ftory concerning the general. He
once defired to have a pair of fhoes made after the English fashion, though he did very
feldom wear any; fo one of our men made him a pair, which the general liked very well.
Afterwards fome body told him, that the thread wherewith the fhoes were fewed were
pointed with hog's briftles. This put him into a great paffion; fo he fent the fhoes
to the man that made them, and fent him withal more leather to make another pair,
with threads pointed with some other hair, which was immediately done, and then he
was well pleased.

CHAP. III.

here.

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Their coafting along the Isle of Mindanao, from a Bay on the East Side to
another at the South-eaft End. -Tornados and boisterous Weather. The South-east
Coaft, and its Savannah and Plenty of Deer. - They coaft along the South Side to the
River of Mindanao City, and anchor there. The Sultan's Brother and Son come
aboard, and invite them to fettle there. Of the Feasibleness and probable Advantage of
fuch a Settlement from the neighbouring Gold and Spice Ilands. Of the beft Way to
Mindanao by the South Sea and Terra Auftralis; and of an accidental Difcovery there
by Captain Davis, and a Probability of a greater. The Capacity they were in to fettle
The Mindanayans measure their Ship. — Captain Swan's Prefent to the Sultan:
his Reception of it, and Audience given to Captain Swan, with Raja Laut, the Sultan's
Brother's Entertainment of him. The Contents of two English Letters fhewn them by
the Sultan of Mindanao. Of the Commodities, and the Punishments there. The
General's Caution how to demean themfelves; at his Perfuafion they lay up their Ships
in the River. The Mandanayans' Careffes.-The great Rains and Floods of the City.
The Mandanayans have Chinese Accountants.- How their Women dance.- A Story
of one John Thacker. - Their Bark eaten up, and their Ship endangered by the Worm.
Of the Worms here and elsewhere. -Of Captain Swan.-Raja Laut, the General's
Deceitfulness. Hunting wild Kine.-The Prodigality of fome of the English..
Captain Swan treats with a young Indian of a Spice-lfland. - A Hunting Voyage with
the General. His punishing a Servant of his. Of his Wives and Women. - A Sort
of frong Rice-Drink. The General's foul Dealing and Exactions. - Captain Swan's
Uneafinefs and indifcreet Management. - His Men mutiny. Of a Snake twisting

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D 2

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about

about one of their Necks.

The main Part of the Crew go away with the Ship, leav. ing Captain Swan and some of his Men: feveral others poisoned there.

HAVING in the two laft chapters given fome account of the natural, civil, and religious state of Mindanao, I shall now go on with the prosecution of our affairs during our stay there.

It was in a bay on the north-eaft fide of the island that we came to an anchor, as hath been said. We lay in this bay but one night, and part of the next day. Yet there we got speech with fome of the natives, who by figns made us to understand, that the city of Mindanao was on the weft fide of the island. We endeavoured to perfuade one of them to go with us to be our pilot, but he would not: therefore in the afternoon we loofed from hence, steering again to the fouth-east, having the wind at fouth-west. When we came to the fouth-eaft end of the island Mindanao, we saw two fmall islands about three leagues diftant from it. We might have paffed between them and the main island, as we learnt fince; but not knowing them, nor what dangers we might encounter there, we chose rather to fail to the eastward of them; but meeting very strong wefterly winds we got nothing forward in many days. In this time we first faw the islands Meangis, which are about fixteen leagues diftant from the Mindanao, bearing south-east. I fhall have occafion to speak more of them hereafter.

The 4th day of July we got into a deep bay, four leagues north-west from the two fmall islands before mentioned. But the night before, in a violent tornado, our bark being unable to bear any longer, bore away, which put us in fome pain for fear fhe was overfet, as we had like to have been ourselves. We anchored on the fouth-weft fide of the bay, in fifteen fathoms water, about a cable's length from fhore. Here we were forced to fhelter ourselves from the violence of the weather, which was fo boisterous with rains and tornados and a strong wefterly wind, that we were very glad to find this place to anchor in, being the only fhelter on this fide from the weft winds.

This bay is not above two miles wide at the mouth, but farther in it is three leagues wide, and feven fathoms deep, running north-north-weft. There is a good depth of water about four or five leagues in, but rocky foul ground for about two leagues in from the mouth on both fides of the bay, except only in that place where we lay. About three leagues in from the mouth, on the eastern fide, there are fair fandy bays, and very good anchoring in four, five and fix fathoms. The land on the east fide is high, mountainous and woody, yet very well watered with fmall brooks, and there is one river large enough for canoes to enter. On the weft fide of the bay the land is of a mean height with a large favannah bordering on the fea, and ftretching from the mouth of the bay a great way to the weftward.

This favannah abounds with long grafs, and it is plentifully stocked with deer. The adjacent woods are a covert for them in the heat of the day; but mornings and evenings they feed in the open plains as thick as in our parks in England. I never faw any where fuch plenty of wild deer, though I have met with them in feveral parts of America, both in the north and fouth feas.

The deer live here pretty peaceably and unmolefted, for there are no inhabitants on that fide of the bay. We vifited this favannah every morning, and killed as many deer as we pleased, fometimes fixteen or eighteen in a day; and we did eat nothing but venifon all the time we stayed there.

We faw a great many plantations by the fides of the mountains, on the east fide of the bay, and we went to one of them, in hopes to learn of the inhabitants whereabouts the city was, that we might not over-fail in the night, but they fled from us.

We

We lay here till the twelfth day before the winds abated of their fury, and then we failed from hence, directing our courfe to the weftward. In the morning we had a land-wind at north. At eleven o'clock the fea breeze came at west just in our teeth, but it being fair weather we kept on our way, turning and taking the advantage of the land-breezes by night and the fea-breezes by day.

Being now past the south-eaft part of the ifland we coafted down on the south fide, and we saw abundance of canoes a fishing, and now and then a fmall village. Neither were these inhabitants afraid of us, as the former, but came aboard; yet we could not understand them nor they us but by figns: and when we mentioned the word Mindanao they would point towards it.

The 18th day of July we arrived before the river of Mindanao, the mouth of which lies in latitude 6 degrees 22 minutes north, and is laid in 231 degrees 12 minutes longitude weft, from the Lizard in England. We anchored right against the river in fifteen fathom water, clear hard fand; about two miles from the fhore, and three or four miles from a small island that lay without us to the fouthward. We fired feven or nine guns, I remember not well which, and were answered again with three from the shore, for which we gave one again. Immediately after our coming to an anchor, Raja Laut and one of the Sultan's fons came off in a canoe, being rowed with ten oars, and demanded in Spanish what we were, and from whence we came? Mr. Smith (he who was taken prisoner at Leon in Mexico) answered in the fame language that we were English, and that we had been a great while out of England. They told us that we were welcome, and asked us a great many questions about England; especially concerning our Eaft India merchants, and whether we were fent by them to fettle a factory here? Mr. Smith told them that we came hither only to buy provifion. They feemed a little discontented when they understood that we were not come to fettle among them; for they had heard of our arrival on the east fide of the island a great while before, and entertained hopes that we were fent purpofely out of England hither to fettle a trade with them, which it should feem they are very defirous of: for Captain Goodlud had been here not long before to treat with them about it; and when he went away told them, as they faid, that in fhort time they might expect an ambaffador from England to make a full bargain with them.

Indeed, upon mature thoughts, I fhould think we could not have done better than to have complied with the defire they feemed to have of our fettling here; and to have taken up our quarters among them. For as thereby we might better have confulted our own profit and fatisfaction, than by the other loofe roving way of life; fo it might probably have proved of public benefit to our nation, and been a means of introducing an English fettlement and trade, not only here, but through feveral of the fpice-islands which lie in its neighbourhood.

For the islands Meangis, which I mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, lie within twenty leagues of Mindanao. Thefe are three fmall islands that abound with gold and cloves, if I may credit my author, Prince Jeoly, who was born on one of them, and was at that time a flave in the city of Mindanao. He might have been purchased by us of his mafter for a fmall matter (as he was afterwards by Mr. Moody, who came hither to trade, and laded a fhip with clove-bark), and by tranfporting him home to his own country, we might have gotten a trade there. But of Prince Jeoly I fhall fpeak more hereafter. These islands are as yet probably unknown to the Dutch, who, as I said before, endeavour to engross all the fpice into their own hands.

There was another opportunity offered us here of fettling on another spice-ifland that was very well inhabited for the inhabitants fearing the Dutch, and understanding that the English were fettling at Mindanao, their Sultan fent his nephew to Minda

nao

nao while we were there to invite us thither. Captain Swan conferred with him about it divers times, and I do believe he had fome inclination to accept the offer, and I am fure most of the men were for it; but this never came to a head, for want of a true understanding between Captain Swan and his men, as may be declared hereafter.

Befide the benefit which might accrue from this trade with Meangis, and other the fpice iflands, the Philippine islands themselves, by a little care and industry, might have afforded us a very beneficial trade, and all thefe trades might have been managed from Mindanao, by fettling there firft. For that ifland lieth very convenient for trading either to the fpice-iflands, or to the rest of the Philippine iflands; fince as its foil is much of the fame nature with either of them, fo it lies as it were in the centre of the gold and spice trade in these parts; the islands north of Mindanao abounding most in gold, and those fouth of Meangis in fpice.

As the island Mindanao lies very convenient for trade fo confidering its diftance, the way thither may not be over long and tirefome. The course that I would choofe should be to fet out of England about the latter end of August, and to pass round Terra del Fuego, and fo ftretching over towards new Holland, coaft it along that Chore till I came near to Mindanao; or first I would coaft down near the American fhore, as far as I found convenient, and then direct my courfe accordingly for the ifland. By this I fhould avoid coming near any of the Dutch fettlements, and be fure to meet always with a conftant brifk eafterly trade-wind, after I was once paft Terra del Fuego. Whereas in paffing about the Cape of Good Hope, after you are shot over the Eaft Indian occean and are to come to the islands, you must pass through the Streights of Malacca or Sandy, or elfe fome other ftreights east from Java, where you will be fure to meet with contrary winds, go on which fide of the equator you please; and this would require ordinarily feven or eight months for the voyage, but the other I fhould hope to perform in fix or seven at most. In your return from thence alfo you must observe the fame rule as the Spaniards do in going from Manila to Acapulco; only as they run towards the north pole for variable winds, fo you must run to the fouthward, till you meet with a wind that will carry you over to Terra del Fuego. There are places enough to touch at for refreshment, either going or coming. You may touch going thither on either fide of Terra Patagonia, or, if you please, at the Gallapagoes Inlands, where there is refreshment enough; and returning you may probably touch fomewhere on New Holland, and fo make fome profitable discovery in thefe places without going out of your way. And to speak my thoughts freely, I believe it is owing to the neglect of this eafy way that all that vaft tract of Terra Australis which bounds the South Sea is yet undiscovered: those that cross that fea feeming to design fome business on the Peruvian or Mexican coast, and so leaving that at a distance. To confirm which, I fhall add what Captain Davis told me lately, that after his departure from us at the haven of Ria Lexa, (as is mentioned in the eight chapter,) he went after feveral traverses to the Gallapagoes, and that standing thence fouthward for wind, to bring him about Terra del Fuego, in the latitude of twenty-feven fouth, about five-hundred leagues from Copayapo, on the coaft of Chili, he faw a small fandy island just by him; and that they faw to the weftward of it a long tract of pretty high land, tending away towards the northweft out of fight. This might probably be the coast of Terra Auftralis Incognita.

But to return to Mindanao: as to the capacity we were then in, of fettling ourselves at Mindanao, although we were not fent out of any fuch defign of fettling, yet we were as well provided or better, confidering all circumftances, than if we had. For there was scarce any useful trade but fome or other of us understood it. We had fawyers, carpenters, joiners, brickmakers, bricklayers, fhoemakers, tailors, &c.