Sending Our Boat On Shore, We Found Some Of
Them Sunken Islands, Having Nothing Above Water But The Trees Or Their
Roots.
All these islands were a mere wilderness of woods, but in one of
them we found a tolerably good watering place; otherwise it was a very
uncomfortable place, having neither fruits, fowls, or any other
refreshment for our men.
We took these islands to be some of the broken
lands which are laid down to the south-east of the island of Bantam.
Having taken in wood and water, we weighed anchor and stood for Patane,
as well as a bad wind would permit; for we found the winds in these
months very contrary, keeping always at N. or N.W. or N.E.
While near Pulo Laor, on the 12th December, we descried three sail, and
sent our pinnace and shallop after one of them which was nearest, while
we staid with the ship, thinking to intercept the other two; but they
stood another course in the night, so that we saw them no more. In the
morning we descried our pinnace and shallop about four leagues to
leeward, with the other ship which they had taken; and as both wind and
current were against them, they were unable to come up to us, so that we
had to go down to them. On coming up with them, we found the prize was a
junk of Pan-Hange,[74] of about 100 tons, laden with rice, pepper, and
tin, going for Bantam in Java. Not caring for such mean luggage, our
general took as much rice as was necessary for provisioning our ship,
and two small brass guns, paying them liberally for all; and took
nothing else, except one man to pilot us to Patane, who came willingly
along with us, when he saw our general used them well. The other two
pilots, we had taken before from the three praws, were very unskilful,
wherefore our general rewarded them for the time they had been with us,
and sent them back to their own country in this junk.
[Footnote 74: This should rather be, perhaps, Pau-hang, being the same
place called by other writers Pahaung, Pahang, or Pahan, often called
Pam in the Portuguese accounts, and pronounced by them Pang. - Astl. I.
310. c.]
We parted from her on the 13th, steering for Pulo Timaon, adjoining to
the country of the King of Pan-Hange, [Pahan,] and were much vexed with
contrary winds and adverse currents: For, from the beginning of November
to the beginning of April, the sea runs always to the southwards, and
from April to November back again towards the north. The wind also in
these first five months is most commonly northerly, and in the other
seven months southerly. All the ships, therefore, of China, Patane,
Johor, Pahan, and other places, going to the northward, come to Bantam,
or Palimbangan, when the northern monsoon is set in, and return back
again when the southern monsoon begins, as before stated, by observing
which rule they have the wind and current along with them; but by
following the opposite course, we found such violent contrary winds and
currents, that in three weeks we did not get one league forwards.
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