_Of Tanasserim and other Places_.
In continuation of my peregrinations, I sailed from the port of
_Piqueno_ to Cochin, from whence I went to Malacca, and afterwards to
Pegu, being 800 miles distant. That voyage is ordinarily performed in
twenty-five or thirty days; but we were four months on the way, and at
the end of three months we were destitute of provisions. The pilot
alleged that, according to the latitude by his observation, we could not
be far from _Tanassery_, or _Tanasserim_, a city in the kingdom of Pegu.
In this he was mistaken, as we found ourselves in the middle of many
islands and uninhabited rocks, yet some Portuguese who were on board
affirmed that they knew the land, and could even point out where the
city of Tanasserim stood. This city belongs of right to Siam, and is
situated on the side of a great river, which comes from the kingdom of
Siam. At the month of this river there is a village called _Mirgim,
Merghi_, or _Morgui_, at which some ships load every year with
_Verzino_, _Nypa_, and Benzoin, with a few cloves, nutmegs, and mace,
that come from Siam; but the principal merchandise are _Verzino_ and
_Nypa_. This last is an excellent wine, which is made from the flower of
a tree called _Nyper_. They distil the liquor prepared from the _Nyper_,
and make therewith an excellent drink, as clear as crystal, which is
pleasant to the taste, and still better to the stomach, as it has most
excellent virtues, insomuch that if a person were rotten with the lues,
and drinks abundantly of this wine, he shall be made whole, as I have
seen proved: For when I was in Cochin, the nose of a friend of mine
began to drop off with that disease, on which he was advised by the
physicians to go to Tanasserim at the season of the new wines, and to
drink the _Nyper_ wine day and night, as much as he was able. He was
ordered to use it before being distilled, when it is most delicate; for
after distillation it become much stronger, and is apt to produce
drunkenness. He went accordingly, and did as he was directed, and I have
seen him since perfectly sound and well-coloured. It is very cheap in
Pegu, where a great quantity is made every year; but being in great
repute in the Indies, it is dear when carried to a distance.
I now return to my unfortunate voyage, where we were among the
uninhabited rocks and islands far from Tanasserim, and in great straits
for victuals. From what was said by the pilot and two Portuguese, that
we were directly opposite the harbour of Tanasserim, we determined to go
thither in out boat to bring provisions, leaving orders to the ship to
await our return. Accordingly, twenty-eight of us went into the boat,
and left the ship about noon one day, expecting to get into the harbour
before night; but, after rowing all that day and the next night, and all
the ensuing day, we could find no harbour nor any fit place to land;
for, trusting to the ignorant counsel of the pilot and the two
Portuguese, we had overshot the harbour and left it behind us. In this
way we twenty-eight unfortunate persons in the boat lost both our ship
and the inhabited land, and were reduced to the utmost extremity, having
no victuals along with us. By the good providence of God, one of the
mariners in the boat had brought a small quantity of rice along with
him, intending to barter it for some other thing, though the whole was
so little that three or four men might have eaten it all at one meal. I
took charge of this small store, engaging, with God's blessing, that it
should serve to keep us all in life, till it might please God to send us
to some inhabited place, and when I slept I secured it in my bosom, that
I might not be robbed of my precious deposit. We were nine days rowing
along the coast, finding nothing but an uninhabited country and desert
islands, where even grass would have been esteemed a luxury in our
miserable state. We found indeed some leaves of trees, but so hard that
we could not chew them. We had wood and water enough, and could only row
along with the flood tide, as when it ebbed we had to make fast our boat
to one of the desert islands. On one of these days, it pleased God that
we discovered a nest or hole, in which were 144 tortoise eggs, which
proved a wonderful help to us, as they were as large as hens eggs,
covered only by a tender skin, instead of a shell. Every day we boiled a
kettle full of these eggs, mixing a handful of rice among the broth. At
the end of nine days, it pleased God that we discovered some fishermen
in small barks, employed in catching fish. We rowed immediately towards
them with much delight and thankfulness, for never were men more glad
than we, being so much reduced by famine that we could hardly stand on
our legs; yet, according to the allotment we had made of our rice, we
still had as much as would have served four days. The first village we
came to was in the gulf of _Tavay_, on the coast of Tanasserim, in the
dominions of Pegu, where we found plenty of provisions; yet for two or
three days after our arrival none of us could eat much, and most of us
were at the point of death. From Tavay to _Martaban_, in the kingdom of
Pegu, the distance is 72 miles[164]. We loaded our boat at Tavay with
provisions sufficient for six months, and then went in our boat to the
city and port of Martaban, in the kingdom of Pegu, and arrived there in
a short time. But not finding our ship there as we hoped, we dispatched
two barks in search of her. They found her in great calamity at an
anchor, with a contrary wind, which was exceedingly unfortunate for the
people, especially as they had been a whole month without a boat, which
prevented them from making any provision of wood and water. The ship,
however, arrived safe, by the blessing of God, in the harbour of
Martaban.
[Footnote 164: On the coast of Tanasserim, in lat. 13° N. is an island
called _Tavay_, so that the gulf of Tavay in the text was probably in
that neighbourhood. Martaban is in lat. 16° 40' N. So that the
difference of latitude is 8° 40', and the distance cannot be less than
250 miles.--E.]