They Had
Each Four Oars Of A Side, Resting On Pins Fastened To The Gunwales, The
Heads Of The Pins Being Let Into The Middle Of The Oars, So That They
Hung In Just Equipoise, Saving Much Labour To The Rowers.
These people
make much more speed in rowing than our men, and perform their work
standing, by which they take up less room.
They told us we were just
before the entrance to Nangasaki, which bore N.N.E.; the straits of
Arima being N.E. by N. and that the high hill we saw yesterday was
upon the island called Uszideke,[8] making the straits of Arima, at
the north end of which is good anchorage, and at the south end is the
entrance to Cahinoch.[9] We agreed with two of the masters of these
fishing-boats for thirty dollars each, and rice for their food, to pilot
us to Firando, on which agreement their people came aboard our ship,
and voluntarily performed its duty as readily as any of our own
mariners. We steered N. by W. the pilots reckoning that we were thirty
leagues from Firando. One of the boats which came to us at this time
belonged to the Portuguese who dwelt at Nangasaki, being Christian
converts, and thought our ship had been the Portuguese ship from Makao;
but, on finding we were not, made all haste back again to advise them,
refusing every entreaty to remain with us.
[Footnote 5: The island of Tanao-sima is probably here meant, being the
most southerly of the Japanese islands.
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