[Footnote 44: By the latitude indicated in the text, Captain Saris
appears to have fallen in with the coast of Fo-kien, and to have passed
through between that province and the island of Formosa, without
discovering the existence of that island. - E.]
[Footnote 45: Probably the island of Tchang-to-huen, to the S.W. of the
bay of Canton, the situation of which agrees with the latitude in the
text, and the sound of the two first syllables of which name has some
affinity with that given by Saris, evidently from Spanish or Portuguese
charts. At this part, of his voyage, Saris entirely misses to notice the
large island of Hai-nan. - E.]
The 18th, in lat. 15 deg. 43' N. we had sight of an island called
Pulo-cotan, being high land, and is about twenty leagues, according to
report, from the shoal called Plaxel. In the morning of the 19th the
coast of Cambodia was on our starboard side, about two leagues off,
along which we steered S.E. by E. easterly, our latitude at noon being
13 deg. 31' N. estimating the ship to be then athwart Varella. We have
hitherto found the wind always trade along shore, having gone large
all the way from Firando, the wind always following us as the land
trended. The 20th at noon we were in latitude 10 deg. 53', and three
glasses, or an hour and half after, we had sight of a small island,
which we concluded to be that at the end of the shoal called
Pulo-citi. We found the book of Jan Huyghens van Linschoten very
true, for by it we have directed our course ever since we left Firando.
The 22d we had sight of Pulo Condor about five leagues off, our
latitude at noon being 8 deg. 20' N.
About four a.m. on the 25th we made the island of Pulo Timon, and two
hours afterwards saw Pulo Tinga. The 28th at three p.m. we had oosy
ground at twenty fathoms, having divers long islands on our starboard
and sundry small islands on our larboard, forming the straits of
China-bata, which we found to be truly laid down in a chart made by a
Hollander called Jan Janson Mole, which he gave to Mr Hippon, who gave
it to the company. Pulo Bata, one of these islands, is low land, and
is full of trees or bushes at the S.W. end.
A little before noon on the 29th, we perceived the colour of the water
a-head of the ship to change very much, by which observation we escaped
an imminent danger. This shoal seemed of a triangular shape, the S.W.
end being the sharpest, and is not far from the entrance into the
straits of China-bata.
