In This Vessel Were Found 60,000 Quintals[358] Of Pepper, With A Great Deal Of Other Spices, Besides Ivory, Tin, Wax, And Powder, The Whole Valued At 60,000 Crowns; Besides Several Good Cannon, Some Valuable Baggage, And Silver.

In the hold were nine children, the biggest only about nine years old, all loaded with irons, and starving of hunger.

[Footnote 358: This is either an enormous exaggeration, or a gross error. The quantity in the text is equal to 3500 tons. - E.]

Coasting along the island of Hainan, Antonio met some fishers of pearls, whom he used courteously. They told him that the island belonged to China. Hence he went to the river Tananquir, where he was suddenly attacked by two large vessels, both of which were taken, after a long struggle, in which 80 of the enemy were slain, with the loss of 14 men belonging to Antonio, only one of whom was a Portuguese. After a while they heard lamentable cries in the hold of one of these ships, in which 17 prisoners were found, two of whom were Portuguese. From one of these Antonio was informed that these vessels had belonged to Necoda Xicaulem, who, after becoming a Christian at Malacca and marrying a Portuguese woman, had killed her and many more of her nation. The booty in these two ships was valued at 50,000 crowns. One of the vessels was burnt, as Antonio had not a sufficient number of men to navigate her.

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