We Here Found The Union Of London,
Vice-Admiral Of The Fourth Voyage, Her People Being Much Distressed
For Provisions To Carry Them Home.
They related to our general their
having unfortunately lost company of their admiral and pinnace, between
Saldanha and the
Cape of Good Hope, of which they had never heard since,
and various other unfortunate circumstances of their outward-bound
voyage.[349] Our general supplied them plentifully with provisions, and
also restored union among the ship's company, Mr Samuel Bradshaw being
much disliked by the factious master and his adherents, for his sober,
discreet, and provident management of the company's business.
[Footnote 349: It is unnecessary to repeat these circumstances, having
been already related; and need only be mentioned, that the bay in
Madagascar, where the captain and others were betrayed, is here called
Jungomar, or Vinganora, and is said to have been at the north-west
corner of Madagascar. In modern maps, the bay of Vingora is placed on
the west side of Madagascar, its mouth being in lat. 13 deg. 41' S. and E.
long. 49 deg. 28'. - E.]
At this place I particularly remarked two singular kinds of trees. One
of these yields from its leaves and boughs a yellow sap of so fat a
nature, that when fire is put to it standing quite green, the fire
blazes up immediately over all the leaves and branches. Its wood is
white and soft. The other kind has white wood with a small brown heart,
but nearly as hard as lignum vitae. The trees which we of the
Pepper-corn cut for fire-wood, hung all full of green fruit called
Tamerim, [tamarinds,] as large as an English bean-cod, having a very
sour taste, and reckoned good against the scurvy. The men of our
admiral, having more leisure than ours, gathered some of this fruit for
their own use. We saw likewise here abundance of a plant, hardly to be
distinguished from the sempervivum of Socotora, whence the Socotrine
aloes is made; but I know not if the savage natives of this island have
any knowledge of its use. The natives, for what reason I know not, came
not near us, so that we got not here any beef or mutton, though oxen
used to be had here for a dollar a-piece. But we were told the
disorderly fellows of the Union had improvidently given whatever the
savages asked, so that scarcely any are now to be had even for ten
shillings each. Though savage, the people of this island are not
ignorant in ordering their men in battle array, as was experienced by
the Union at Jungomar: But in all parts of the island, it is necessary
for the Christians to be very much on their guard, for the natives are
very treacherous.
We left St Augustine bay on the 9th September, leaving the Union still
there. The 29th, the wind being E.S.E. and the current, as I judged,
setting S.W. we were entangled with a lee-shore, which we called the
Carribas,[350] being several small islands with sundry ledges of rocks
among them, only to be discovered by the breaking of the waves upon
them.
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