to be false, yet, as my partner said very well, if we had fallen into
their hands, and they had such a prepossession against us beforehand, it
had been in vain for us to have defended ourselves, or to hope for any
good quarters at their hands; especially considering that our accusers
had been our judges, and that we could have expected nothing from them
but what rage would have dictated, and ungoverned passion have executed;
and therefore it was his opinion, we should go directly back to Bengal,
from whence we came, without putting in at any port whatever; because
there we could give an account of ourselves, and could prove where we
were when the ship put in, whom we bought her of, and the like; and,
which was more than all the rest, if we were put to the necessity of
bringing it before the proper judges, we should be sure to have some
justice; and not be hanged first, and judged afterwards.
I was some time of my partner’s opinion; but after a little more serious
thinking, I told him, I thought it was a very great hazard for us to
attempt returning to Bengal, for that we were on the wrong side of the
Straits of Malacca; and that if the alarm was given, we should be sure
to be waylaid on every side, as well by the Dutch of Batavia, as the
English elsewhere; that if we should be taken, as it were, running away,
we should even condemn ourselves, and there would want no more evidence
to destroy us. I also asked the English sailor’s opinion, who said, he
was of my mind, and that we should certainly be taken.
This danger a little startled my partner, and all the ship’s company;
and we immediately resolved to go away to the coast of Tonquin, and so
on to China; and from thence pursuing the first design, as to trade,
find some way or other to dispose of the ship, and come back in some of
the vessels of the country, such as we could get. This was approved of
as the best method for our security; and accordingly we steered away
N.N.E. keeping above fifty leagues off from the usual course to
the eastward.
This, however, put us to some inconvenience; for first the winds when we
came to that distance from the shore, seemed to be more steadily against
us, blowing almost trade as we call it, from the E. and E.N.E.; so that
we were a long while upon our voyage, and we were but ill provided with
victuals for so long a run; and, which was still worse, there was some
danger that those English and Dutch ships, whose boats pursued us,
whereof some were bound that way, might be got in before us; and if not,
some other ship bound to China might have information of us from them,
and pursue us with the same vigour.
I must confess I was now very uneasy, and thought myself, including the
last escape from the long boats, to have been in the most dangerous
condition that ever I was in through all my past life; for whatever ill
circumstances I had been in, I was never pursued for a thief before; nor
had I ever done any thing that merited the name of dishonest or
fraudulent, much less thievish. I had chiefly been mine own enemy; or,
as I may rightly say, I had been nobody’s enemy but my own. But now I
was embarrassed in the worst condition imaginable; for though I was
perfectly innocent, I was in no condition to make that innocence appear:
and if I had been taken, it had been under a supposed guilt of the worst
kind; at least a crime esteemed so among the people I had to do with.
This made me very anxious to make an escape, though which way to do it I
knew not; or what port or place we should go to. My partner, seeing me
thus dejected, though he was the most concerned at first, began to
encourage me; and describing to me the several ports of the coast, told
me, he would put in on the coast of Cochinchina, or the bay of Tonquin;
intending to go afterwards to Macao, a town once in the possession or
the Portuguese, and where still a great many European families resided,
and particularly the missionary priests usually went thither, in order
to their going forward to China.
Hither we then resolved to go; and accordingly, though after a tedious
and irregular course, and very much straitened for provisions, we came
within sight of the coast very early in the morning; and upon reflection
upon the past circumstances we were in, and the danger, if we had not
escaped, we resolved to put into a small river, which, however, had
depth enough of water for us, and to see if we could, either overland or
by the ship’s pinnace, come to know what ships were in any port
thereabouts. This happy step was, indeed, our deliverance; for though we
did not immediately see any European ships in the bay of Tonquin, yet
the next morning there came into the bay two Dutch ships; and a third
without any colours spread out, but which we believed to be a Dutchman,
passed by at about two leagues distance, steering for the coast of
China; and in the afternoon went by two English ships, steering the same
course; and thus we thought we saw ourselves beset with enemies, both
one way and the other. The place we were in was wild and barbarous, the
people thieves, even by occupation or profession; and though, it is
true, we had not much to seek of them, and except getting a few
provisions, cared not how little we had to do with them; yet it was with
much difficulty that we kept ourselves from being insulted by them
several ways.
We were in a small river of this country, within a few leagues of its
utmost limits northward, and by our boat we coasted north-east to the
point of land which opens to the great bay of Tonquin: and it was in
this beating up along the shore that we discovered as above, that, in a
word, we were surrounded with enemies. The people we were among were the
most barbarous of all the inhabitants of the coast; having no
correspondence with any other nation, and dealing only in fish and oil,
and such gross commodities; and it may be particularly seen that they
are, as I said, the most barbarous of any of the inhabitants, viz. that
among other customs they have this one, that if any vessel had the
misfortune to be shipwrecked upon their coast, they presently make the
men all prisoners; that is to say, slaves; and it was not long before we
found a spice of their kindness this way, on the occasion following:
I have observed above that our ship sprung a leak at sea, and that we
could not find it out: and however it happened, that, as I have said, it
was stopped unexpectedly, in the happy minute of our being to be seized
by the Dutch and English ships, near the bay of Siam; yet, as we did not
find the ship so perfectly tight and sound as we desired, we resolved,
while we were in this place, to lay her on shore, take out what heavy
things we had on board, which were not many, and to wash and clean her
bottom, and if possible to find out where the leaks were.
Accordingly, having lightened the ship, and brought all our guns, and
other moveable things, to one side, we tried to bring her down, that we
might come at her bottom; for, on second thoughts, we did not care to
lay her dry aground, neither could we find out a proper place for it.
The inhabitants, who had never been acquainted with such a sight, came
wondering down to the shore to look at us; and seeing the ship lie down
on one side in such a manner, and heeling towards the shore, and not
seeing our men, who were at work on her bottom with stages, and with
their boats, on the off side, they presently concluded that the ship was
cast away, and lay so very fast on the ground.
On this supposition they came all about us in two or three hours time,
with ten or twelve large boats, having some of them eight, some ten men
in a boat, intending, no doubt, to have come on board and plunder the
ship; and if they had found us there, to have carried us away for
slaves to their king, or whatever they call him, for we knew not who was
their governor.
When they came up to the ship, and began to row round her, they
discovered us all hard at work, on the outside of the ship’s bottom and
side, washing, and graving, and stopping, as every seafaring man
knows how.
They stood for awhile gazing at us, and we, who were a little surprised,
could not imagine what their design was; but being willing to be sure,
we took this opportunity to get some of us into the ship, and others to
hand down arms and ammunition to those that were at work to defend
themselves with, if there should be occasion; and it was no more than
need; for in less than a quarter of an hour’s consultation, they agreed,
it seems, that the ship was really a wreck; that we were all at work
endeavouring to save her, or to save our lives by the help of our boats;
and when we handed our arms into the boats, they concluded by that
motion that we were endeavouring to save some of our goods. Upon this
they took it for granted they all belonged to them, and away they came
directly upon our men, as if it had been in a line of battle.
Our men seeing so many of them began to be frighted, for we lay but in
an ill posture to fight, and cried out to us to know what they should
do? I immediately called to the men who worked upon the stages, to slip
them down and get up the side into the ship, and bade those in the boat
to row round and come on board; and those few of us who were on board
worked with all the strength and hands we had to bring the ship to
rights; but, however, neither the men upon the stage, nor those in the
boats, could do as they were ordered, before the Cochinchinese were upon
them, and with two of their boats boarded our long-boat, and began to
lay hold of the men as their prisoners.
The first man they laid hold of was an English seaman, a stout, strong
fellow, who having a musket in his hand, never offered to fire it, but
laid it down in the boat, like a fool as I thought. But he understood
his business better than I could teach him; for he grappled the Pagan,
and dragged him by main force out of their own boat into ours; where
taking him by the two ears, he beat his head so against the boat’s
gunnel, that the fellow died instantly in his hands; and in the mean
time a Dutchman, who stood next, took up the musket, and with the
but-end of it so laid about him, that he knocked down five of them who
attempted to enter the boat. But this was little towards resisting
thirty or forty men, who fearless, because ignorant of their danger,
began to throw themselves into the long-boat, where we had but five men
to defend it. But one accident gave our men a complete victory, which
deserved our laughter rather than any thing else, and that was this:—
Our carpenter being prepared to grave the outside of the ship, as well
as to pay the seams where he had caulked her to stop the leaks, had got
two kettles just let down into the boat; one filled with boiling pitch,
and the other with rosin, tallow, and oil, and such stuff as the
shipwrights used for that work; and the man that tended the carpenter
had a great iron ladle in his hand, with which he supplied the men that
were at work with that hot stuff: two of the enemy’s men entered the
boat just where this fellow stood, being in the fore-sheets; he
immediately sainted them with a ladleful of the stuff, boiling hot,
which so burnt and scalded them, being half naked, that they roared out
like two bulls, and, enraged with the fire, leaped both into the sea.
The carpenter saw it, and cried out, “Well done, Jack, give them some
more of it;” when stepping forward himself, he takes one of their mops,
and dipping it in the pitch-pot, he and his man threw it among them so
plentifully, that, in short, of all the men in three boats, there was
not one that was not scalded and burnt with it in a most frightful,
pitiful manner, and made such a howling and crying, that I never heard a
worse noise, and, indeed, nothing like it; for it was worth observing,
that though pain naturally makes all people cry out, yet every nation
have a particular way of exclamation, and make noises as different from
one another as their speech. I cannot give the noise these creatures
made a better name than howling, nor a name more proper to the tone of
it; for I never heard any thing more like the noise of the wolves,
which, as I have said, I heard howl in the forest on the frontiers of
Languedoc.
I was never pleased with a victory better in my life; not only as it was
a perfect surprise to me, and that our danger was imminent before; but
as we got this victory without any bloodshed, except of that man the
fellow killed with his naked hands, and which I was very much concerned
at; for I was sick of killing such poor savage wretches, even though it
was in my own defence, knowing they came on errands which they thought
just, and knew no better; and that though it may be a just thing,
because necessary, for there is no necessary wickedness in nature; yet I
thought it was a sad life, when we must be always obliged to be killing
our fellow-creatures to preserve ourselves; and, indeed, I think so
still; and I would, even now, suffer a great deal, rather than I would
take away the life even of the worst person injuring me. I believe also,
all considering people, who know the value of life, would be of my
opinion, if they entered seriously into the consideration of it.
But to return to my story. All the while this was doing, my partner and
I, who managed the rest of the men on board, had, with great dexterity,
brought the ship almost to rights; and, having gotten the guns into
their places again, the gunner called to me to bid our boat get out of
the way, for he would let fly among them. I called back again to him,
and bid him not offer to fire, for the carpenter would do the work
without him; but bade him heat another pitch-kettle, which our cook, who
was on board, took care of. But the enemy was so terrified with what
they met with in their first attack, that they would not come on again;
and some of them that were farthest off, seeing the ship swim, as it
were, upright, began, as we supposed, to see their mistake, and gave
over the enterprise, finding it was not as they expected. Thus we got
clear of this merry fight; and having gotten some rice, and some roots
and bread, with about sixteen good big hogs on board two days before, we
resolved to stay here no longer, but go forward, whatever came of it;
for we made no doubt but we should be surrounded the next day with
rogues enough, perhaps more than our pitch-kettle would dispose of
for us.
We therefore got all our things on board the same evening, and the next
morning were ready to sail. In the meantime, lying at an anchor some
distance from the shore, we were not so much concerned, being now in a
lighting posture, as well as in a sailing posture, if any enemy had
presented. The next day, having finished our work within board, and
finding our ship was perfectly healed of all her leaks, we set sail. We
would have gone into the bay of Tonquin, for we wanted to inform
ourselves of what was to be known concerning the Dutch ships that had
been there; but we durst not stand in there, because we had seen several
ships go in, as we supposed, but a little before; so we kept on N.E.
towards the isle of Formosa, as much afraid of being seen by a Dutch or
English merchant-ship, as a Dutch or English merchant-ship in the
Mediterranean is of an Algerine man of war.
When we were thus got to sea, we kept on N.E. as if we would go to the
Manillas or the Philippine islands, and this we did, that we might not
fall into the way of any of the European ships; and then we steered
north again, till we came to the latitude of 22 degrees 20 minutes, by
which means we made the island of Formosa directly, where we came to an
anchor, in order to get water and fresh provisions, which the people
there, who are very courteous and civil in their manners, supplied us
with willingly, and dealt very fairly and punctually with us in all
their agreements and bargains, which is what we did not find among
other people, and may be owing to the remains of Christianity, which was
once planted here by a Dutch mission of Protestants, and is a testimony
of what I have often observed, viz. that the Christian religion always
civilizes the people and reforms their manners, where it is received,
whether it works saving effects upon them or not.
From hence we sailed still north, keeping the coast of China at an equal
distance, till we knew we were beyond all the ports of China where our
European ships usually come: but being resolved, if possible, not to
fall into any of their hands, especially in this country, where, as our
circumstances were, we could not fail of being entirely ruined; nay, so
great was my fear in particular, as to my being taken by them, that I
believe firmly I would much rather have chosen to fall into the hands of
the Spanish Inquisition.
Being now come to the latitude of 30 degrees, we resolved to put into
the first trading port we should come at, and standing in for the shore,
a boat came off two leagues to us, with an old Portuguese pilot on
board, who, knowing us to be an European ship, came to offer his
service, which indeed we were very glad of, and took him on board; upon
which, without asking us whither we would go, he dismissed the boat he
came in, and sent it back.
I thought it was now so much in our choice to make the old man carry us
whither we would, that I began to talk with him about carrying us to the
gulf of Nanquin, which is the most northern part of the coast of China.
The old man said he knew the gulf of Nanquin very well; but smiling,
asked us what we would do there?
I told him we would sell our cargo, and purchase China wares, calicoes,
raw silks, tea, wrought silks, &c. and so would return by the same
course we came. He told us our best port had been to have put in at
Macao, where we could not fail of a market for our opium to our
satisfaction, and might, for our money, have purchased all sorts of
China goods as cheap as we could at Nanquin.
Not being able to put the old man out of his talk, of which he was very
opinionated, or conceited, I told him we were gentlemen as well as
merchants, and that we had a mind to go and see the great city of Pekin,
and the famous court of the monarch of China. “Why then,” says the old
man, “you should go to Ningpo, where, by the river that runs into the
sea there, you may go up within five leagues of the great canal. This
canal is a navigable made stream, which goes through the heart of all
that vast empire of China, crosses all the rivers, passes some
considerable hills by the help of sluices and gates, and goes up to the
city of Pekin, being in length near two hundred and seventy leagues.”
“Well,” said I, “Seignior Portuguese, but that is not our business now;
the great question is, if you can carry us up to the city of Nanquin,
from whence we can travel to Pekin afterwards?” Yes, he said, he could
do so very well, and there was a great Dutch ship gone up that way just
before. This gave me a little shock; a Dutch ship was now our terror,
and we had much rather have met the devil, at least if he had not come
in too frightful a figure; we depended upon it that a Dutch ship would
be our destruction, for we were in no condition to fight them; all the
ships they trade with in those parts being of great burden, and of much
greater force than we were.
The old man found me a little confused, and under some concern, when he
named a Dutch ship: and said to me, “Sir, you need be under no
apprehension of the Dutch; I suppose they are not now at war with your
nation.”—“No,” said I, “that’s true; but I know not what liberties men
may take when they are out of the reach of the laws of their
country.”—“Why,” said he, “you are no pirates, what need you fear? They
will not meddle with peaceable merchants, sure.”
If I had any blood in my body that did not fly up into my face at that
word, it was hindered by some stop in the vessels appointed by nature to
circulate it; for it put me into the greatest disorder and confusion
imaginable; nor was it possible for me to conceal it so, but that the
old man easily perceived it.
“Sir,” said he, “I find you are in some disorder in your thoughts at my
talk; pray be pleased to go which way you think fit, and depend upon it
I’ll do you all the service I can.”—“Why, Seignior,” said I, “it is
true, I am a little unsettled in my resolution at this time, whither to
go in particular; and I am something more so for what you said about
pirates. I hope there are no pirates in these seas; we are but in an ill
condition to meet with them; for you see we have but a small force, and
but very weakly manned.”
“O Sir,” said he, “do not be concerned; I do not know that there have
been any pirates in these seas these fifteen years, except one, which
was seen, as I hear, in the bay of Siam, about a month since; but you
may be assured she is gone to the southward; nor was she a ship of any
great force, or fit for the work; she was not built for a privateer, but
was run away with by a reprobate crew that were on board, after the
captain and some of his men had been murdered by the Malaccans, at or
near the island of Sumatra.”
“What!” said I, seeming to know nothing of the matter, “did they murder
the captain?”—“No,” said he, “I do not understand that they murdered
him; but as they afterwards ran away with the ship, it is generally
believed they betrayed him into the hands of the Malaccans, who did
murder him; and, perhaps, they procured them to do it.”—“Why then,”
said I, “they deserved death, as much as if they had done it
themselves.”—“Nay,” said the old man, “they do deserve it, and they
will certainly have it if they light upon any English or Dutch ship; for
they have all agreed together that if they meet that rogue they will
give him no quarter.”
“But,” said I to him, “you say the pirate is gone out of these seas;
how can they meet with him then?”—“Why, that is true,” said he, “they
do say so; but he was, as I tell you, in the bay of Siam, in the river
Cambodia, and was discovered there by some Dutchmen who belonged to the
ship, and who were left on shore when they ran away with her; and some
English and Dutch traders being in the river, they were within a little
of taking him. Nay,” said he, “if the foremost boats had been well
seconded by the rest, they had certainly taken him; but he finding only
two boats within reach of him, tacked about, and fired at these two, and
disabled them before the others came up; and then standing off to sea,
the others were not able to follow him, and so he got away. But they
have all so exact a description of the ship, that they will be sure to
know him; and where-ever they find him, they have vowed to give no
quarter to either the captain or the seamen, but to hang them all up at
the yard-arm.”
“What!” said I, “will they execute them, right or wrong; hang them
first, and judge them afterwards?”—“O Sir!” said the old pilot, “there
is no need to make a formal business of it with such rogues as those;
let them tie them back to back, and set them a-diving; it is no more
than they rightly deserve.”
I knew I had my old man fast aboard, and that he could do me no harm; so
I turned short upon him. “Well, Seignior,” said I, “and this is the very
reason why I would have you carry us to Nanquin, and not to put back to
Macao, or to any other part of the country where the English or Dutch
ships came; for be it known to you, Seignior, those captains of the
English and Dutch ships are a parcel of rash, proud, insolent fellows,
that neither know what belongs to justice, or how to behave themselves
as the laws of God and nature direct; but being proud of their offices,
and not understanding their power, they would get the murderers to
punish robbers; would take upon them to insult men falsely accused, and
determine them guilty without due inquiry; and perhaps I may live to
call some of them to an account of it, where they may be taught how
justice is to be executed; and that no man ought to be treated as a
criminal till some evidence may be had of the crime, and that he is
the man.”