The
17th At Night We Came To Anchor On The Coast Of Socotora, One And A Half
League To The Westwards Of The King's Town Called Tammarin, Two Miles
From Shore, In Twenty Fathoms Water, Small White Sand.
The 18th we came
to anchor in nine fathoms on fine sand in the road of Tammarin, a league
from shore, and right over against the king's house.
[Footnote 404: Cape das Baxas, on the coast of Samhar, is in lat. 5 deg. N.
so that the latitude in the text must be too short by about thirty-eight
minutes. - E.]
[Footnote 405: Cape Orfui is in lat. 11 deg. N.]
[Footnote 406: Cape Guardafui is in lat. 12 deg. 24' N.]
Sec. 2. Occurrences at Socotora and in the Red Sea.
I sent ashore Mr Richard Cockes, our cape merchant, well accompanied, to
wait upon the king of Socotora, to acquaint him who we were and the
cause of our coming, and to procure cattle and fish to refresh our men.
Mr Cockes was received and entertained in a friendly manner, and came
back with a present of fresh provisions, together with a letter left
there by Sir Henry Middleton, dated 1st September, 1611, aboard the
Trades-increase in Delisha road, the original of which I retained, and
returned an accurate copy for the information of future ships.[407] The
19th we went ashore in state, and were welcomed by the king, who feasted
the whole company. He was superbly dressed in crimson velvet, richly
decorated with gold lace. His house was built of freestone, in the
fashion of a castle, and he had above an hundred attendants, fifty of
whom were well clothed according to the Moorish fashion, the rest being
natives of the island. His name was Sultan Amur Bensaid,[408] being
the son of the king of Cushin [Caixem, Caxem, Kushem, or Kessem] on the
coast of Arabia. After many compliments and courtesies, we took our
leave of him at night, and returned on board. At this place we paid for
cattle twelve dollars each, three shillings for sheep, and a dollar for
goats; which, though dear, were hardly fit for men's meat, being so
vilely and in a more than beastly manner abused by the people, that they
were quite loathsome to see when opened. For rice we paid three-pence a
pound, and the same price for dates. Hens a shilling each. Tobacco 700
leaves for a dollar. Eggs a penny each. And the king, who is universal
merchant, would only take Spanish dollars, refusing our English money.
[Footnote 407: This letter was a brief summary of the disadventures of
Sir Henry in the Red Sea by Turkish perfidy; as in his own journal has
already appeared, with a caveat to all English ships, and notice of the
road of Assab. - Purch.]
[Footnote 408: The editor of Astley's Collection, who appears to have
been an orientalist, gives this name and title, Soltan Amor
Ebensayd. - E.]
The 27th, I called a meeting of the merchandizing council, to whom I
read the company's instructions, and the letter from Sir Henry
Middleton, received from the king of Socotora.
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