Pulo Mintaon, off the S.W. coast of Sumatra, nearly under
the line, is probably here meant.
- E.]
The 19th of May I sailed from Bantam, and the 10th June I put into
Tecoo. The 3d July I hove my ship down on the careen to sheath her. It
is of great use to double sheath such ships as go to Surat, as though
the outer sheathing may be eaten like a honey-comb by the worms, the
inner is not at all injured. It were also of great use to have the
rudder sheathed with thin copper,[175] to prevent the worms from eating
off its edges, which is very detrimental in steering, and cannot be
easily remedied, being so deep in the water. The natives of Sumatra
inhabiting Priaman are barbarous, deceitful, and continually craving
presents or bribes; and sometimes I have been in imminent hazard of
being murdered, a hundred of them drawing their crisses upon us at once,
because we refused to let them have our goods on trust, or at prices of
their own making. The 20th, Thomas Bonnar, master of the Expedition,
died, and was succeeded by John Row, who was the third master in this
voyage.
[Footnote 175: We had formerly occasion to notice a ship sheathed with
iron at Japan, and this is the first indication or proposal for using
copper in that way. Iron sheathing has never been adopted into British
practice, while copper sheathing is now universal. Captain Peyton does
not appear to have been aware that copper sheathing is incompatible
with iron fastenings, which indeed was only learnt long after, by woeful
experience, and the loss of many ships and men. In consequence of a
strong predisposing chemical afinity, exerted by the contiguity of the
copper and iron in the sea water, the muriatic acid corrodes the iron
bolts and other fastenings, all of which are now made of copper in ships
that are to be copper sheathed. - E.]
The 26th, the Dragon and Pepper-corn arrived from Acheen, where they had
purchased pepper, carried there from Tecoo in large junks and praws,
which navigate between these places, but never out of sight of land. The
king of Acheen commands the people of Tecoo to bring their pepper to his
port, and allows none to purchase it there, but those who barter their
Surat goods at such rates as he pleases to impose. Often likewise, he
sends to Priaman and Tecoo the Surat commodities procured by him in that
manner, obliging the merchants there to buy at rates by him imposed, and
no person is allowed to buy or sell till his goods are sold. This makes
our trade with them the better.[176] Jambo is on the east side of
Sumatra, and yields a similar large-grained pepper with what is procured
at Priaman, but is not under the dominion of the king of Acheen, as are
Baruse, Passaman, Tecoo, Priaman, Cottatinga, and other places on the
western side of that island.
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