[Footnote 271:

The true name of this place is Mutchelipatnam; in Purchas it is called Messulapitan and Masulpatam.

- E.]

The 18th of October, a ship belonging to Masulipatam arrived from Mokha, by which we had news of the Lion being at Mokha, having a small frigate or bark in her company. The same day the Bee arrived from Narsipore-pete, with provisions for the fleet. The 19th, the Dragon's Claw came from Narsipore-pete[272] almost laden with rice and paddy.[273] On Thursday the 9th December, Mr Ball, Mr Methwould, and the other merchants who were to remain in the country, went ashore in the afternoon. In the morning of Friday the 10th, we left the road of Masulipatam, and anchored in the afternoon off the headland, to wait for the Pepper-corn, which came to us in the evening. By my estimation, the difference of longitude between the island of Engano and Masulipatam is 19 deg. 30' of a great circle; and, although this does not give the true longitude in these parts near the equator, as custom has so called it, I do, that I may not savour of innovation.

[Footnote 272: This may designate the road of Narsipore; but petah usually signifies in India the suburb or town connected with a fortress. - E.]

[Footnote 273: Paddy is rice in its natural state as it comes from the plant on which it grows; rice is paddy deprived by art of its coarse husk. - E.]

Next morning, very early, we descried the land of Sumatra, the hill of Passaman bearing E.N.E 1/2 N. twelve leagues distant,[274] and the high land of Priaman E. 1/2 S. fourteen leagues off. We here met with two shoals, within a mile of each other, E. and W. The Gift came over the eastermost, and had not less than four and a half fathoms. I sent the Claw over the other, on which were four fathoms where she first crossed, but only two fathoms in returning, a little more to the northward. About nine this morning the wind came to the S.E. and so continued till three in the afternoon, by which time we had got to the southward of all the shoals; and so, with little wind, we spent the night between these shoals and the island of Battoo, [Batoa.] In this situation, a sagging current bore us to the northwards near the shoals, which, if it had set S.E. as formerly experienced, it ought to have carried us near to Tecoo.

[Footnote 274: Purchas must here have omitted a part of the text, particularly the series of dates between Masulipatam and Passaman in Sumatra. As the text now stands, it would seem as if they had gone from Masulipatam to the coast of Sumatra, a run of about 1600 miles, in one night, an utter impossibility. But from the context, instead of the 11th December, 1619, the day after leaving Masulipatam, it would appear they reached the coast of Sumatra on the 23d January, 1620, giving forty-four days for the run across the bay of Bengal.

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