by Daniel Defoe
uncertain what to do; but William the Quaker put this Matter into a Way of
Barter. He came to me, and told me he really thought the Merchants look'd like
fair Men, that meant honestly; and besides, says William, it is their Interest
to be honest now; for as they know upon what Terms we got the Goods we are to
truck with them, so they know we can afford good Pennyworths; and in the next
Place, it saves them going the whole Voyage: So that the Southerly Monsoons yet
holding, if they traded with us, they could immediately return with their Cargo
to China, tho' by the Way we afterwards found they intended for Japan. But that
was all one, for by this Means they sav'd at least eight Months Voyage. Upon
these Foundations William said he was satisfied we might turst them: For, says
William, I would as soon trust a Man whose Interest binds him to be just to me,
as a Man whose Principle binds himself. Upon the whole, William proposed that
two of the Merchants should be left on board our Ship as Hostages, and that Part
of our Goods should be loaded in their Vessel, and let the third go with it into
the Port where their Ship lay; and when he had delivered the Spices, he should
bring back such things as it was agreed should be exchanged. This was concluded
on, and William the Quaker ventured to go along with them, which upon my World I
should not have cared to have done, nor was I willing that he should; but he
went still upon the Notion, that it was their Interest to treat him friendly.
In the mean time we came to an Anchor under a little Island, in the Latitude of
23 Degrees, 28 Minutes, being just under the Northern Tropick, and about twenty
Leagues from the Island. Here we lay thirteen Days, and I began to be very
uneasy for my Friend William, for they had promised to be back again in four
Days, which they might very easily have done. However, at the End of thirteen
Days we saw three Sail coming directly to us, which a little surprized us all at
first, not knowing what might be the Case, and we began to put our selves in a
Posture of Defence; but as they came nearer us, we were soon satisfy'd: For the
first Vessel was that which William went in, who carried a Flag of Truce, and in
a few Hours they all came to an Anchor, and William came on board us with a
little Boat, with the Chinese Merchant in his Company, and two other Merchants,
which seem'd to be a kind of Brokers for the rest.
Here he gave us an Account, how civilly he had been used, how they had treated
him with all imaginable Frankness and Opennes, that they had not only given him
the full Value of his Spices and other Goods which he carry'd, in Gold, by good
Weight, but had loaded the Vessel again with such Goods as he knew we were
willing to trade for; and that afterwards they had resolved to bring the great
Ship out of the Harbour, to lye where we were, that so we might make what
Bargain we thought fit; only William said he had promised in our Name, that we
should use no Violence with them, nor detain any of the Vessels after we had
done trading with them. I told him, we would strive to outdo them in Civility,
and that we would make good every Part of his Agreement. In Token whereof I
caused a white Flag likewise to be spread at the Poop of our great Ship, which
was the Signal agreed on.
As to the third Vessel which came with them, it was a kind of Bark of the
Country, who having Intelligence of our Design to traffick, came off to deal
with us, bringing a great deal of Gold, and some Provisions, which at that time
we were very glad of.
In short, we traded upon the high Seas with these Men, and indeed we made a very
good Market, and yet sold Thieves Pennyworths too. We sold here above sixty Ton
of Spice, chiefly Cloves and Nutmegs, and above two Hundred Bales of European
Goods; such as Linnen and Wollen Manufactures. We considered we should have
Occasion for some, such things our selves, and so we kept a good Quantity of
English Stuffs, Cloaths, Bays, &c. for our selves. I shall not take up any of
the little Room I have left here, with the further Particulars of our Trade;
'tis enough to mention, that except a Parcel of Tea, and twelve Bales of fine
China wrought Silks, we took nothing in Exchange for our Goods but Gold: So that
the Sum we took here in that glittering Commodity, amounted to above Fifty
Thousand Ounces good Weight.
When we had finished our Barter, we restored the Hostages, and gave the three
Merchants about the Quantity of Twelve Hundred Weight of Nutmegs, and as many of
Cloves, with a handsom Present of European Linnen and Stuff for themselves, as a
Recompence for what we had taken from them; and so we sent them away exceedingly
well satisfy'd.
Here it was that William gave me an Account, that while he was on board the
Japonese Vessel, he met with a kind of Religious, or Japan Priest, who spoke
some Words of English to him; and being very inquisitive to know how he came to
learn any of those Words, he told him, that there was in his Country thirteen
Englishmen; he called them Englishmen very articulately and distinctly, for he
had conversed with them very frequently and freely: He said they were all that
were left of two and thirty Men, who came on Shore on the North Side of Japan,
being driven upon a great Rock in a stormy Night, where they lost their Ship,
and the rest of their Men were drowned: That he had perswaded the King of his
Country to send Boats off to the Rock or Island, where the Ship was lost, to
save the rest of the Men, and to bring them on Shore; which was done, and they
were used very kindly; and had Houses built for them, and Land given them to
plant for Provision, and that they lived by themselves.
He said he went frequently among them, to perswade them to worship their God, an
Idol, I suppose, of their own making, which he said they ungratefully refused;
and that therefore the King had once or twice ordered them to be all put to
Death; but that, as he said, he had prevailed upon the King to spare them, and
let them live their own Way, as long as they were quiet and peaceable, and did
not go about to withdraw others from the Worship of the Coutry.
I ask'd William, why he did not enquire from whence they came? I did, said
William, for how could I but think it strange, said he, to hear him talk of
English Men on the North Side of Japan. Well, said I, what Account did he give
of it? An Account, said William, that will surprize thee, and all the World
after thee, that shall hear of it, and which makes me wish thou wouldst go up to
Japan, and find them out. What do ye mean, said I? Whence could they come? Why,
says William, he pull'd out a little Book, and in it a Piece of Paper, where it
was written in an English Man's Hand, and in plain English Words, thus; and says
William, I read it my self: We came from Greenland, and from the North Pole.
This indeed was amazing to us all, and more to those Seamen among us who knew
any thing of the infinite Attempts which had been made from Europe, as well by
the English as the Dutch, to discover a Passage that Way into those Parts of the
World; and as William pre
ss'd us earnestly to go on to the North, to rescue
those poor Men, so the Ship's Company began to incline to it; and in a Word, we
all came to this, that we would stand in to the Shore of Formosa, to find this
Priest again, and have a farther Account of it all from him. Accordingly the
Sloop went over, but when they came there, the Vessels were very unhappily
fail'd, and this put an End to our Enquiry after them, and perhaps may have
disappointed Mankind of one of the most noble Discoveries that ever was made, or
will again be made in the World, for the Good of Mankind in general: But so much
for that.
William was so uneasy at losing this Opportunity, that he press'd us earnestly
to go up to Japan, to find out these Men. He told us, that if it was nothing but
to recover Thirteen honest poor Men from a kind of Captivity, which they would
otherwise never be redeemed from, and where perhaps they might some time or
other be murdered by the barbarous People, in Defence of their Idolatry; it were
very well worth our while, and it would be in some Measure making amends for the
Mischiefs we had done in the World: But we that had no Concern upon us for the
Mischiefs we had done, had much less about any Satisfaction to be made for it;
so he found that kind of Discourse would weigh very little with us. Then he
press'd us very earnestly to let him have the Sloop to go by himself, and I told
him I would not oppose it; but when he came to the Sloop, none of the Men would
go with him; for the Case was plain, they had all a Share in the Cargo of the
great Ship, as well as in that of the Sloop, and the Richness of the Cargo was
such, that they would not leave it by any means: So poor William, much to his
Mortification, was obliged to give it over. What became of those thirteen Men,
or whether they are not there still, I can give no Account of.
We were now at the End of our Cruise; what we had taken was indeed so
considerable, that it was not only enough to satisfy the most covetous and the
most ambitious Minds in the World, but it did indeed satisfy us; and our Men
declared they did not desire any more. The next Motion therefore was about going
back, and the Way by which we should perform the Voyage, so as not to be
attack'd by the Dutch in the Straits of Sundy.
We had pretty well stored our selves here with Provisions, and it being now near
the Return of the Monsoons, we resolved to stand away to the Southward; and not
only to keep without the Philippine Islands, that is to say, to the Eastward of
them, but to keep on to the Southward, and see if we could not leave, not only
the Molucco's, or Spice Islands, behind us, but even Nova Guinea and Nova
Hollandia also; and so getting into the variable Winds, to the South of the
Tropick of Capricorn, steer away to the West, over the great Indian Ocean.
This was indeed at first a monstrous Voyage in its Appearance, and the Want of
Provisions threaten'd us. William told us in so many Words, that it was
impossible we could carry Provisions enough to subsist us for such a Voyage, and
especially fresh Water; and that as there would be no Land for us to touch at,
where we could get any Supply, it was a Madness to undertake it.
But I undertook to remedy this Evil, and therefore desired them not to be uneasy
at that, for I knew we might supply our selves at Mindanao, the most Southerly
Island of the Philippines. Accordingly, we set Sail, having taken all the
Provisions here that we could get, the 28th of September, the Wind veering a
little at first from the N. N. W. to the N. E. by E. but afterwards settled
about the N. E. and the E. N. E. We were nine Weeks in this Voyage, having met
with several Interruptions by the Weather, and put in under the Lee of a small
Island in the Latitude of 16 Degrees, 12 Minutes, of which we never knew the
Name, none of our Charts having given any Account of it: I say, we put in here,
by reason of a strange Tornado or Hurricane, which brought us into a great deal
of Danger. Here we rode about sixteen Days, the Winds being very tempestuous,
and the Weather uncertain. However, we got some Provisions on Shore, such as
Plants and Roots, and a few Hoggs. We believe there were Inhabitants on the
Island, but we saw none of them.
From hence, the Weather settling again, we went on, and came to the Southmost
Part of Mindanao, where we took in fresh Water, and some Cows; but the Climate
was so hot, that we did not attempt to salt up any more, than so as to keep a
Fortnight or three Weeks, and away we stood South ward crossing the Line, and
leaving Gillolo on the Starboard Side, we coasted the Country they call New
Guiney, where, in the Latitude of eight Degrees South, we put in again for
Provisions and Water, and where we found Inhabitants, but they fled from us, and
were altogether inconversable. From thence, sailing still Southward, we left all
behind us that any of our Charts or Maps take any Notice of, and went on till we
came to the Latitude of 17 Degrees, the Wind continuing still N. E.
Here we made Land to the Westward, which when we had kept in Sight for three
Days, coasting along the Shore, for the Distance of about four Leagues, we began
to fear we should find no Outlet West, and so should be obliged to go back
again, and put in among the Molucco's at last; but at length we found the Land
break off, and go trending away to the West Sea, seeming to be all open to the
South and S. W. and a great Sea came rowling out of the South, which gave us to
understand, that there was no Land that Way for a great Way.
In a Word, we kept on our Course to the South, a little Westerly, till we pass'd
the South Tropick, where we found the Winds variable; and now we stood away fair
West, and held it out for about twenty Days, when we discovered Land right
a-head, and on our Larboard Bow, we made directly to the Shore, being willing to
take all Advantages now for supplying our selves with fresh Provisions and
Water, knowing we were now entring on that vast unknown Indian Ocean, perhaps
the greatest Sea on the Globe, having with very little Interruption of Islands,
a continued Sea quite round the Globe.
We found a good Road here, and some People on Shore; but when we landed, they
fled up the Country, nor would they hold any Correspondence with us, or come
near us, but shot at us several Times with Arrows as long as Launces. We set up
white Flags for a Truce, but they either did not, or would not, understand it:
On the contrary, they shot our Flag of Truce thro' several times with their
Arrows; so that, in a Word, we never came near any of them.
We found good Water here, tho' it was something difficult to get at it, but for
living Creatures we could see none; for the People, if they had any Cattle,
drove them all away, and shew'd us nothing but themselves, and that sometimes in
a threatning Posture, and in Number so great, that made us suppose the Island to
be greater than we at first imagined. It is true, they would not come near
enough for us to engage with them, at least, not openly; but they came near
enough for us to see them, and by the Help of our G
lasses, to see that they were
clothed and arm'd, but their Clothes were only about their lower and middle
Parts; that they had long Launces, like Half Pikes, in their Hands, besides Bows
and Arrows; that they had great high Things on their Heads, made, as we
believed, of Feathers, and which look'd something like our Grenadiers Caps in
England.
When we saw them so shye, that they would not come near us, our Men began to
range over the Island, if it was such, for we never surrounded it, to search for
Cattel, and for any of the Indians Plantations, for Fruits or Plants; but they
soon found, to their Cost, that they were to use more Caution than that came to,
and that they were to discover perfectly every Bush and every Tree, before they
ventured abroad in the Country; for, about fourteen of our Men going further
than the rest, into a Part of the Country which seemed to be planted, as they
thought, for it did but seem so, only I think it was overgrown with Canes, such
as we make our Cane Chairs with: I say, venturing too far, they were suddenly
attack'd with a Shower of Arrows from almost every Side of them, as they
thought, out of the Tops of the Trees.
They had nothing to do, but to fly for it, which however they could not resolve
on, till five of them were wounded; nor had they escaped so, if one of them had
not been so much wiser, or thoughtfuller than the rest, as to consider, that
tho' they could not see the Enemy, so as to shoot at them, yet perhaps the Noise
of their Shot might terrify them, and that they should rather fire at a Venture.
Accordingly Ten of them faced about, and fired at random any where among the
Canes.
The Noise and the Fire not only terrify'd the Enemy, but, as they believed,
their Shot had luckily hit some of them; for they found not only that the Arrows
which came thick among them before, ceased, but they heard the Indians halloo,
after their Way, to one another, and make a strange Noise more uncouth and
inimitably strange, than any they had ever heard, more like the Howling and
Barking of wild Creatures in the Woods, than like the Voice of Men, only that
sometimes they seemed to speak Words.
They observ'd also, that this Noise of the Indians went farther and farther off,
so that they were satisfied the Indians fled away, except on one Side, where
they heard a doleful Groaning and Howling, and where it continued a good while,
which they supposed was from some or other of them being wounded, and howling by
reason of their Wounds; or kill'd, and others howling over them: But our Men had
enough of making Discoveries; so they did not trouble themselves to look
farther, but resolved to take this Opportunity to retreat. But the worst of
their Adventure was to come; for as they came back, they pass'd by a prodigious
great Trunk of an old Tree, what Tree it was they said they did not know, but it
stood like an old decay'd Oak in a Park, where the Keepers in England take a
Stand, as they call it, to shoot a Deer, and it stood just under the steep Side
of a great Rock or Hill, that our People could not see what was beyond it.
As they came by this Tree, they were of a sudden shot at from the Top of the
Tree, with seven Arrows and three Launces, which, to our great Grief, kill'd two
of our Men, and wounded three more. This was the more surprizing, because being
without any Defence, and so near the Trees, they expected more Launces and
Arrows every Moment; nor would flying do them any Service, the Indians being, as
appeared, very good Marksmen. In this Extremity they had happily this Presence
of Mind, viz. to run close to the Tree, and stand, as it were under it; so that
those above could not come at, or see them, to throw their Launces at them. This
succeeded, and gave them Time to consider what to do: They knew their Enemies