by Daniel Defoe
particularencouragement; that whatever disappointment we might meet with, in thesearch after unknown countries, yet we were sure of an open sea behindus; and that whenever we thought fit to run south beyond the tropic, weshould find innumerable islands where we might get water, and some sortof provisions, or come back into a favourable climate, and have thebenefit of the trade winds, to carry us either backward or forward, asthe season should happen to guide us.
Last of all, we had this assurance, that, the dangers of the seasexcepted, we were sure of an outlet before us, if we went forward, orbehind us, if we were forced back; and, having a rich cargo, if we wereto do nothing but go home, we should be able to give our employers suchan account of ourselves, as that they would be very far from beinglosers by the voyage; but that, if we reached safe the coast of NewSpain, and met with an open commerce there, as we expected, we shouldperhaps make the most prosperous voyage that was ever made round theglobe before.
These considerations put an end to all my thoughts of going northward;some of our secret council, (for, by the way, we consulted our foremastmen no more, but had a secret council among ourselves, the resolutionsof which we solemnly engaged not to disclose); some of these, I say,were for steering the usual course, from the Philippines to New Spain,viz., keeping in the latitudes of 11 or 13 deg. north the line, and somaking directly for California; in which latitude they proposed that wemight, perhaps, by cruising thereabout, meet with the Manilla ships,going from New Spain to Manilla, which we might take as prizes, and thenstand directly for the coast of Peru. But I opposed this, principallybecause it would effectually overthrow all my meditated discoveries tothe southward; and, secondly, because I had observed, that, on the northof the line, there are no islands to be met with, in all the long run ofnear two thousand leagues, from Guam, one of the Ladrones, to the landof California; and that we did not find we were able to subsist duringso long a run, especially for want of water; whereas, on the south ofthe line, as well within the tropic as without, we were sure to meetwith islands innumerable, and that even all the way; so that we weresure of frequent relief of fresh water, of plants, fowl, and fish, ifnot of bread and flesh, almost all the way.
This was a main consideration to our men, and so we soon resolved totake the southern course; yet, as I said, we stood away for the Ladronesfirst. These are a cluster of islands, which lie in about 11 to 13 deg.north latitude, north-east from the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, and eastand by north from that part of the Philippines where we were, and at thedistance of about four hundred leagues, and all the ships which go orcome between the Philippines and New Spain touch at them, for theconvenience of provisions, water, &c.; those that go to Spain put inthere, in order to recruit and furnish for, and those that come fromSpain, to relieve themselves after so long a run as that of six thousandmiles, for so much it is at least from Guam to Acapulco; on theseaccounts, and with these reasonings, we came to the isles of theLadrones.
During our run between the Philippine and Ladrone islands, we livedwholly upon our fresh provisions, of which we laid in a great stock atManilla, such as hogs, fowls, calves, and six or seven cows, all alive,so that our English beef and pork, which lay well stored, was nottouched for a long time.
At the Ladrones we recruited, and particularly took on board, as wellalive as pickled up, near two hundred hogs, with a vast store of roots,and such things as are their usual food in that country. We took in alsoabove three thousand cocoa-nuts and cabbages; yams, potatoes, and otherroots, for our own use; and, in particular, we got a large quantity ofmaize, or Indian wheat, for bread, and some rice.
We stored ourselves likewise with oranges and lemons; and, buying agreat quantity of very good limes, we made three or four hogsheads oflime-juice, which was a great relief to our men in the hot season, tomix with their water; as for making punch, we had some arrack and somesugar, but neither of them in such quantity as to have much punch madeafore the mast.
We were eighteen days on our passage from the Strait of Mindora to Guam,and stayed six days at the latter, furnishing ourselves withprovisions, appearing all this while with French colours, and CaptainMerlotte as commander. However we made no great ceremony here with theSpanish governor, as I have said already, only that Captain Merlotte,after we had been here two days, sent a letter to him by a Frenchofficer, who, showing his commission from the king of France, thegovernor presently gave us product, as we call it, and leave to buy whatprovisions we wanted.
In compliment for this civility, we sent the governor a small present offine scarlet camlet and two pieces of baize; and he made a very handsomereturn, in such refreshments as he thought we most wanted.
There was another reason for our keeping in this latitude till we cameto the Ladrones; namely, that all the southern side of that part of theway, between the Philippines and the Ladrones, is so full of islands,that, unless we had been provided with very good pilots, it would havebeen extremely hazardous; and, add to this, that, beyond these islandssouth, is no passage; the land, which they call Nova Guinea, lying awayeast and east-south-east, farther than has yet been discovered; so thatit is not yet known whether that country be an island or the continent.
Having for all these reasons gone to the Ladrones, and beingsufficiently satisfied in our reasons for going away from thence to thesouthward, and having stored ourselves, as above, with whatever thoseislands produced, we left the Ladrones the 10th day of September in theevening, and stood away east-south-east, with the wind north-north-west,a fresh gale; after this, I think it was about five days, when, havingstretched, by our account, about a hundred and fifty leagues, we steeredaway more to the southward, our course south-east-by-south.
And now, if ever, I expected to do something by way of discovery. I knewvery well there were few, if any, had ever steered that course; or that,if they had, they had given very little account of their travels. Theonly persons who leave anything worth notice being Cornelius Vanschoutenand Francis Le Mare, who, though they sailed very much to the south, yetsay little to the purpose, as I shall presently show.
The sixteenth day after we parted from the Ladrones, being, byobservation, in the latitude of 17 deg. south of the line, one of our mencried, A sail! a sail! which put us into some fit of wonder, knowingnothing of a ship of any bulk could be met with in those seas; but ourfit of wonder was soon turned to a fit of laughter, when one of our menfrom the foretop, cried out, Land! which, indeed, was the case; and thefirst sailor was sufficiently laughed at for his mistake, though, givinghim his due, it looked at first as like a sail as ever any land at adistance could look.
Towards evening we made the land very plain, distance about sevenleagues south-by-east, and found that it was not an island, but a vasttract of land, extended, as we had reason to believe, from the side ofGilolo, and the Spice Islands, or that which we call Nova Guinea, andnever yet fully discovered. The land lying away from the west-north-westto the south-east-by-south, still southerly.
I, that was for making all possible discovery, was willing, besides theconvenience of water, and perhaps fresh provisions, to put in here, andsee what kind of country it was; so I ordered the brigantine to stand infor the shore. They sounded, but found no ground within half a league ofthe shore; so they hoisted out their boat, and went close in with theshore, where they found good anchor-hold in about thirty-six fathom, anda large creek, or mouth of a river; here they found eleven to thirteenfathom soft oozy sand, and the water half fresh at the mouth of thecreek.
Upon notice of this, we stood in, and came all to an anchor in the verycreek; and, sending our boats up the creek, found the water perfectlyfresh and very good upon the ebb, about a league up the river.
Among all the islands in this part of the world, that is to say, fromthe Philippines eastward, of which there are an infinite number, wenever came near any but we found ourselves surrounded with canoes and avariety of boats, bringing off to us cocoa-nuts, plantains, roots, andgreens, to traffic for such things as they could get; and that in suchnumbers, we were tired wi
th them, and sometimes alarmed, and obliged tofire at them. But here, though we saw great numbers of people at adistance from the shore, yet we saw not one boat or bark, nor anythingelse upon the water.
We stayed two or three days taking in fresh water, but it was impossibleto restrain our men from going on shore, to see what sort of a countryit was; and I was very willing they should do so. Accordingly, two ofour boats, with about thirty men in both of them, went on shore on theeast side of the creek or harbour where our ship lay.
They found the country looked wild and savage; but, though they couldfind no houses, or speak with the inhabitants, they saw their footstepsand their seats where they had sat down under some trees; and afterwandering about a little, they saw people, both men and women, at adistance; but they ran away from our men, at first sight, likefrightened deer; nor could they make any signal to them to beunderstood; for when our men hallooed and called after them, they ranagain as if they had been bewitched.
Our men gathered