This city is defended
by a strong wall, and is composed of well-built spacious houses, covered
with pan-tiles, the streets being broad and regular, with a large
market-place in the middle, and has many fair churches and convents. The
harbour is large; and, besides the two great Acapulco ships, contains
abundance of small vessels belonging to the place, besides usually
thirty or forty stout Chinese junks; and the Portuguese also have
liberty to trade to this place. Many Chinese merchants also reside
constantly in this city. A league from the city, nearer the sea, there
is a strong fortress to defend the harbour, where the great ships lie at
anchor. Most of this account I received from Mr Coppinger, our surgeon,
who had formerly been thither, sailing from the Coromandel coast.
The time of the year being now too far spent for our purpose, we
resolved to sail for Pulo Condore, a knot of small islands on the coast
of Cambodia, and to return in May to lie in wait for the Acapulco ship.
We accordingly made sail from the island of Luconia on the 26th of
February; and coming into the lat. of 14 deg. N. we steered our course W.
for Pulo Condore,[197] and in our way got sight of the south end of the
Pracel shoals, being three small isles, or large spots of sand, just
above water, only a mile from us. We came in sight of Pulo Condore on
the 13th March, and anchored next day on the north side of that island,
in ten fathoms, on clean hard sand, two miles from the shore.
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