Captain Swan's Present To The Sultan

Captain Swan considered that the season would oblige us to spend some time at this island, thought it convenient to make what interest he could with the sultan who might either obstruct or support his designs.

And so he therefore immediately gave a present to send ashore to the sultan:

• 3 yards of scarlet cloth
• 3 yards of broad gold lace
• a Turkish scimitar
• a pair of pistols

To Raja Laut, he sent:

• 3 yards of scarlet cloth
• 3 yards of silver lace.

This present was carried by Mr. Henry More in the evening.

He was first conducted to Raja Laut’s house where he remained till report thereof was made to the sultan, who immediately gave order for all things to be made ready to receive him.

About 9pm, a messenger came from the sultan to bring the present away. Then Mr. More was conducted all the way with torches and armed men till he came to the house where the sultan was.

The sultan with 8-10 men of his council were seated on carpets, waiting his coming. The present that Mr. More brought was laid down before them, and was very kindly accepted by the sultan, who caused Mr. More to sit down by them and asked a great many questions of him.

The discourse was in Spanish by an interpreter. This conference lasted about an hour and then he was dismissed and returned again to Raja Laut’s house. There was a supper provided for him, and the boat’s crew; after which he returned aboard.

The next day the sultan sent for Captain Swan: he immediately went ashore with a flag flying in the boat’s head and two trumpets sounding all the way. When he came ashore he was met at his landing by two principal officers, guarded along with soldiers and abundance of people gazing to see him. The sultan waited for him in his chamber of audience, where Captain Swan was treated with tobacco and betel, which was all his entertainment.

THE CONTENTS OF TWO ENGLISH LETTERS SHOWN THEM BY THE SULTAN OF MINDANAO.

The sultan sent for 2 English letters for Captain Swan to read, purposely to let him know that our East India merchants did design to settle here, and that they had already sent a ship hither.

One of these letters was sent to the sultan from England by the East India merchants. The chiefest things contained in it, as I remember, for I saw it afterwards in the secretary’s hand, who was very proud to show it to us, was to desire some privileges in order to the building of a fort there. This letter was written in a very fair hand; and between each line there was a gold line drawn. The other letter was left by Captain Goodlud, directed to any English-men who should happen to come thither. This related wholly to trade, giving an account at what rate he had agreed with them for goods of the island, and how European goods should be sold to them with an account of their weights and measures, and their difference from ours.

THE COMMODITIES AND THE PUNISHMENTS THERE

The rate agreed on for Mindanao gold was 14 Spanish dollars (which is a current coin all over India) the English ounce, and 18 dollars the Mindanao ounce.

But for beeswax and clove-bark I do not remember the rates, neither do I well remember the rates of Europe commodities; but I think the rate of iron was not above 4 dollars a hundred. Captain Goodlud’s letter concludes thus. “Trust none of them, for they are all thieves, but tace is Latin for a candle.”

Captain Goodlud was robbed of some goods by one of the general’s men, and that he that robbed him was fled into the mountains and could not be found while Captain Goodlud was here.

But, the fellow returning back to the city some time after our arrival here, Raja Laut brought him bound to Captain Swan and told him what he had done, desiring him to punish him for it as he pleased; but Captain Swan excused himself and said it did not belong to him, therefore he would have nothing to do with it.

However the General Raja Laut would not pardon him, but punished him according to their own custom, which I did never see but at this time.

He was stripped stark naked in the morning at sun-rising, and bound to a post, so that he could not stir hand nor foot but as he was moved; and was placed with his face eastward against the sun. In the afternoon they turned his face towards the west that the sun might still be in his face; and thus he stood all day, parched in the sun (which shines here excessively hot) and tormented with the mosquitoes or gnats: after this the general would have killed him if Captain Swan had consented to it. I did never see any put to death; but I believe they are barbarous enough in it.

The general told us himself that he put two men to death in a town where some of us were with him; but I heard not the manner of it. Their common way of punishing is to strip them in this manner and place them in the sun; but sometimes they lay them flat on their backs on the sand, which is very hot; where they remain a whole day in the scorching sun with the mosquitoes biting them all the time.

This action of the general in offering Captain Swan the punishment of the thief caused Captain Swan afterwards to make him the same offer of his men when any had offended the Mindanao men: but the general left such offenders to be punished by Captain Swan as he thought convenient. So that for the least offence Captain Swan punished his men, and that in the sight of the Mindanayans; and I think sometimes only for revenge; as he did once punish his chief mate Mr. Teat, he that came captain of the bark to Mindanao.

At that time Captain Swan had his men as much under command as if he had been in a king’s ship. Had he known how to use his authority he might have led them to any settlement, and have brought them to assist him in any design he had pleased.

THE GENERAL’S CAUTION HOW TO DEMEAN THEMSELVES; AT HIS PERSUASION THEY LAY UP THEIR SHIPS IN THE RIVER.

Captain Swan being dismissed from the sultan, with abundance of civility, after about 2 hours’ discourse with him, went thence to Raja Laut’s house.

Raja Laut had then some difference with the sultan, and therefore he was not present at the sultan’s reception of our captain but waited his return and treated him and all his men with boiled rice and fowls.

He then told Captain Swan again, and urged it to him, that it would be best to get his ship into the river as soon as he could because of the usual tempestuous weather at this time of the year; and that he should want no assistance to further him in anything. He told him also that, as we must of necessity stay here some time, so our men would often come ashore; and he therefore desired him to warn his men to be careful to give no affront to the natives; who, he said, were very revengeful.

That their customs being different from ours, he feared that Captain Swan’s men might some time or other offend them, though ignorantly; that therefore he gave him this friendly warning to prevent it: that his house should always be open to receive him or any of his men, and that he, knowing our customs, would never be offended at anything. After a great deal of such discourse he dismissed the Captain and his company, who took their leave and came aboard.

Captain Swan, having seen the two letters, did not doubt but that the English did design to settle a factory here: therefore he did not much scruple the honesty of these people, but immediately ordered us to get the ship into the river. The river upon which the city of Mindanao stands is but small and has not above 10 or 11 foot water on the bar at a spring-tide: therefore we lightened our ship and, the spring coming on, we with much ado got her into the river, being assisted by 50 or 60 Mindanayan fishermen who lived at the mouth of the river; Raja Laut himself being aboard our ship to direct them. We carried her about a quarter of a mile up, within the mouth of the river, and there moored her head and stern in a hole where we always rode afloat.

THE MINDANAYANS’ CARESSES.

After this the citizens of Mindanao came frequently aboard to invite our men to their houses, and to offer us pagallies. It was a long time since any of us had received such friendship, and therefore we were the more easily drawn to accept of their kindnesses; and in a very short time most of our men got a comrade or two, and as many pagallies; especially such of us as had good clothes and store of gold, as many had who were of the number of those that accompanied Captain Harris over the Isthmus of Darien, the rest of us being poor enough.

Nay, the very poorest and meanest of us could hardly pass the streets but we were even hauled by force into their houses to be treated by them: although their treats were but mean, namely, tobacco, or betel-nut, or a little sweet spiced water; yet their seeming sincerity, simplicity, and the manner of bestowing these gifts made them very acceptable.

When we came to their houses they would always be praising the English, as declaring that the English and Mindanayans were all one. This they expressed by putting their two forefingers close together and saying that the English and Mindanayans were “samo, samo,” that is, all one. Then they would draw their forefingers half a foot asunder and say the Dutch and they were “bugeto,” which signifies so, that they were at such distance in point of friendship: and for the Spaniards they would make a greater representation of distance than for the Dutch: fearing these, but having felt and smarted from the Spaniards who had once almost brought them under.

Captain Swan did seldom go into any house at first but into Raja Laut’s. There he dined commonly every day; and as many of his men as were ashore and had no money to entertain themselves resorted thither about 12 o’clock, where they had rice enough boiled and well dressed, and some scraps of fowls, or bits of buffalo, dressed very nastily.

Captain Swan was served a little better, and his two trumpeters sounded all the time that he was at dinner. After dinner Raja Laut would sit and discourse with him most part of the afternoon. It was now the Ramdam time, therefore the general excused himself that he could not entertain our captain with dances and other pastimes, as he intended to do when this solemn time was past; besides, it was the very height of the wet season, and therefore not so proper for pastimes.

THE GREAT RAINS AND FLOODS OF THE CITY.

We had now very tempestuous weather and excessive rains which so swelled the river that it overflowed its banks; so that we had much ado to keep our ship safe: for every now and then we should have a great tree come floating down the river and sometimes lodge against our bows, to the endangering the breaking our cables, and either the driving us in over the banks or carrying us out to sea; both which would have been very dangerous to us, especially being without ballast.

The city is about a mile long (of no great breadth) winding with the banks of the river on the right hand going up, though it has many houses on the other side too. But at this time it seemed to stand as in a pond, and there was no passing from one house to another but in canoes. This tempestuous rainy weather happened the latter end of July, and lasted most part of August.

When the bad weather was a little assuaged Captain Swan hired a house to put our sails and goods in while we careened our ship. We had a great deal of iron and lead, which was brought ashore into this house. Of these commodities Captain Swan sold to the sultan or general 8 or 10 tuns at the rates agreed on by Captain Goodlud, to be paid in rice.

THE MINDANAYANS HAVE CHINESE ACCOUNTANTS

The Mindanayans are no good accountants. Therefore the Chinese that live here do cast up their accounts for them.

After this, Captain Swan bought timber-trees of the general, and set some of our men to saw them into planks to sheath the ship’s bottom. He had two whip-saws on board which he brought out of England, and four or five men that knew the use of them, for they had been sawyers in Jamaica.

HOW THEIR WOMEN DANCE

When the Ramdam time was over, and the dry time set in a little, the general, to oblige Captain Swan, entertained him every night with dances. The dancing women that are purposely bred up to it and make it their trade I have already described. But beside them all the women in general are much addicted to dancing. They dance 40 or 50 at once; and that standing all round in a ring, joined hand in hand and singing and keeping time. But they never budge out of their places nor make any motion till the chorus is sung; then all at once they throw out one leg and bawl out aloud; and sometimes they only clap their hands when the chorus is sung. Captain Swan, to retaliate the general’s favours, sent for his violins and some that could dance English dances; wherewith the general was very well pleased. They commonly spent the biggest part of the night in these sort of pastimes.

A STORY OF ONE JOHN THACKER

Among the rest of our men that did use to dance thus before the general there was one John Thacker who was a seaman bred, and could neither write nor read but had formerly learnt to dance in the music houses about Wapping: this man came into the South Seas with Captain Harris and, getting with him a good quantity of gold, and being a pretty good husband of his share, had still some left besides what he laid out in a very good suit of clothes.

The general supposed by his garb and his dancing that he had been of noble extraction; and to be satisfied of his quality asked of one of our men if he did not guess aright of him?

The man of whom the general asked this question told him he was much in the right; and that most of our ship’s company were of the like extraction; especially all those that had fine clothes; and that they came aboard only to see the world, having money enough to bear their expenses wherever they came; but that for the rest, those that had but mean clothes, they were only common seamen. After this the general showed a great deal of respect to all that had good clothes, but especially to John Thacker, till Captain Swan came to know the business, and marred all; undeceiving the general and drubbing the nobleman: for he was so much incensed against John Thacker that he could never endure him afterwards; though the poor fellow knew nothing of the matter.

THEIR BARK EATEN UP, AND THEIR SHIP ENDANGERED BY THE WORM

About the middle of November we began to work on our ship’s bottom, which we found very much eaten with the worm: for this is a horrid place for worms. We did not know this till after we had been in the river a month, and then we found our canoes’ bottoms eaten like honeycombs; our bark, which was a single bottom, was eaten through; so that she could not swim. But our ship was sheathed, and the worm came no further than the hair between the sheathing plank and the main plank.

RAJA LAUT, THE GENERAL’S DECEITFULNESS

We did not mistrust the general’s knavery until now. He went to our ship and saw us ripping off its sheathing plank. He saw the firm bottom underneath. He shook his head in discontent, saying he did never see a ship with 2 bottoms before.

He told us that a Dutch ship was eaten up in 2 months’ time here and the general took all her guns. He was hoping to get ours too. This is why he was so eager to assist us to get our ship into the river, for when we came out again we had no assistance from him.

THE WORMS HERE AND ELSEWHERE

We had no worms till we came to this place: for when we careened at the Marias the worm had not touched us; nor at Guam, for there we scrubbed; nor after we came to the island Mindanao; for at the south-east end of the island we heeled and scrubbed also.

The Mindanayans are so sensible of these destructive insects that whenever they come from sea they immediately haul their ship into a dry dock, and burn her bottom. There let her lie dry till they are ready to go to sea again. The canoes or proas they haul up dry and never suffer them to be long in the water.

Those worms which get into a ship’s bottom in the salt water will die in the fresh water. The fresh-water worms will die in salt water. But in the brackish water, both sorts will increase prodigiously.

Our ship was sometimes brackish water, yet commonly fresh; but what sort of worm this was I know not.

Some men think that these worms breed in the plank. But I think they breed in the sea for I have seen millions of them swimming in the water, particularly in the Bay of Panama; for there Captain Davis, Captain Swan, and myself and most of our men did take notice of them divers times, which was the reason of our cleaning so often while we were there. These were the largest worms that ever saw.

I have also seen them in Virginia and in the Bay of Campeachy; in the latter of which places the worms eat prodigiously. They are always in bays, creeks, mouths of rivers, and such places as are near the shore; being never found far out at sea that I could ever learn: yet a ship will bring them lodged in its plank for a great way.