Pulo Ubi

The 23rd day we arrived at Pulo Ubi about 40 leagues to the westward of Pulo Condore at the entrance of the Bay of Siam, at the south-west point of land that makes the bay; namely, the Point of Cambodia.

This island is about 7-8 round, and it is higher land than any of Pulo Condore isles.

Against the south-east part of it there is a small key, about a cable’s length from the main island.

This Pulo Ubi is very woody and it has good water on the north side, where you may anchor; but the best anchoring is on the east side against a small bay; then you will have the little island to the southward of you.

At Pulo Ubi we found two small barks laden with rice belonging to Cambodia, from whence they came not above two or three days before, and they touched here to fill water.

Rice is the general food of all these countries, therefore it is transported by sea from one country to another, as corn in these parts of the world. For in some countries they produce more than enough for themselves and send what they can spare to those places where there is but little.

The 24th day we went into the Bay of Siam: this is a large deep bay, of which, and of this kingdom.

At Pulo Ubi we found two small vessels at an anchor on the east side: they were laden with rice and lacquer, which is used in japanning of cabinets.

One of these came from Champa, bound to the town of Malacca, which belongs to the Dutch who took it from the Portuguese; and this shows that they have a trade with Champa.

This was a very pretty neat vessel, her bottom very clean and curiously coated, she had about forty men all armed with cortans, or broadswords, lances, and some guns, that went with a swivel upon their gunwale.

They were of the idolaters, natives of Champa, and some of the briskest, most sociable, without fearfulness or shyness, and the most neat and dextrous about their shipping, of any such I have met with in all my travels.

The other vessel came from the river of Cambodia and was bound towards the Straits of Malacca.

Both of them stopped here, for the westerly-winds now began to blow, which were against them, being somewhat bleated.

We anchored also on the east side, intending to fill water. While we lay here we had very violent wind at south-west and a strong current setting right to windward. The fiercer the wind blew, the more strong the current set against it.

This storm lasted till the 20th day, and then it began to abate.

The 21st day of May we went back from hence towards Pulo Condore.

A Chinese Junk From Palimbam In Sumatra.

In our way we overtook a great Chinese junk that came from Palembang, a town on Sumatra.

She was full of pepper which they bought there and was bound to Siam.

The men of this junk told us that the English were settled on Sumatra, at a place called Sillabar. The first knowledge we had that the English had any settlement on Sumatra was from these.

When we came to an anchor we saw a small bark at an anchor near the shore; therefore Captain Read sent a canoe aboard her to know from whence they came; and, supposing that it was a Malayan vessel, he ordered the men not to go aboard for they are accounted desperate fellows and their vessels are commonly full of men who all wear cressets, or little daggers, by their sides.

The canoe’s crew, not minding the captain’s orders, went aboard, all but one man that stayed in the canoe. The Malayans, who were about 20 of them, seeing our men all armed, thought that they came to take their vessel; therefore at once, on a signal given, they drew out their cressets and stabbed five or six of our men before they knew what the matter was. The rest of our men leapt overboard, some into the canoe and some into the sea, and so got away.

Among the rest one Daniel Wallis leapt into the sea who could never swim before nor since; yet now he swam very well a good while before he was taken up. When the canoes came aboard Captain Read manned two canoes and went to be revenged on the Malayans; but they seeing him coming did cut a hole in the vessel’s bottom and went ashore in their boat. Captain Read followed them but they ran into the woods and hid themselves. Here we stayed ten or eleven days for it blew very hard all the time.

While we stayed here Herman Coppinger our surgeon went ashore, intending to live here; but Captain Read sent some men to fetch him again. I had the same thoughts, and would have gone ashore too but waited for a more convenient place. For neither he nor I, when we were last on board at Mindanao, had any knowledge of the plot that was laid to leave Captain Swan and run away with the ship; and, being sufficiently weary of this mad crew, we were willing to give them the slip at any place from whence we might hope to get a passage to an English factory. There was nothing else of moment happened while we stayed here.