Part 35 (1/2)
But my fellow-traveller and I had different notions: I do not nae his was most just, and the most suited to the end of a merchant's life; hen he is abroad upon adventures, it is his wisdo for hiet the most money by My new friend kept hi, and would have been content to have gone, like a carrier's horse, always to the same inn, backward and forward, provided he could, as he called it, find his account in it: on the other hand,boy, that never cares to see a thing twice over
But this was not all: I had a kind of impatience upon me to be nearer hoinable, which way to go
In the interval of these consultations, my friend, as always upon the search for business, proposed another voyage tohome a load of cloves from the Manillas, or thereabouts; places where, indeed, the Dutch do trade, but the islands belong partly to the Spaniards; though ent not so far, but to some other, where they have not the whole power as they have at Batavia, Ceylon, &c We were not long in preparing for this voyage; the chief difficulty was in bringing , and finding that really stirring about and trading, the profit being so great, and, as I may say, certain, had more pleasure in it, andstill; which, to me especially, was the unhappiest part of life, I resolved on this voyage too: which weat Borneo, and several islands, whose names I do not remember, and came home in about five months We sold our spice, which was chiefly cloves, and sos, to the Persiannear five of one, we really got a great deal of money
My friend, e made up this account, sreeable insult uponabout here, like aat the nonsense and ignorace of the Pagans?”--”Why truly,” said I, ”in to be a convert to the principles ofBut I must tell you,”
said I, ”by the way, you do not knohat I a; for if once I conquer my backwardness, and embark heartily, as old as I am, I shall harass you up and down the world till I tire you; for I shall pursue it so eagerly, I shall never let you lie still”
But to be short with my speculations: a little while after this there came in a Dutch shi+p from Batavia; she was a coaster, not an European trader, and of about two hundred tons burden: thebeen so sickly, that the captain had not al; and, as if having got o for Europe, he gave public notice, that he would sell his shi+p; this careat mind to buy it So I went home to him, and told him of it: he considered awhile, for he was no rashso; but, however, ill have her” Accordingly we bought the shi+p; and, agreeing with the master, we paid for her, and took possession; e had done so, we resolved to entertain the men, if we could, to join the our business; but on a sudden, they not having received their wages, but their share of the money, as we afterwards learnt, not one of theth were told, that they were all gone together, by land, to Agra, the great city of the Mogul's residence; and from thence were to travel to Surat, and so by sea to the Gulf of Persia
Nothing had so heartily troubledwith theht, and in such couarded reat design; and I should both have seen the world, and gone homewards too; but I was much better satisfied a few days after, when I came to knohat sort of fellows they were; for, in short, their history was, that this unner only, not the coe, in which they were attacked on shore by some of the Malaccans, who had killed the captain and three of his men; and that after the captain was killed, these men, eleven in number, had resolved to run aith the shi+p, which they did; and had brought her in at the Bay of Bengal, leaving the mate and five men more on shore; of e shall hear farther
Well; let them come by the shi+p how they would, we cah we did not, I confess, exaht; for we never inquired any thing of the seamen, who, if we had examined, would certainly have faltered in their accounts, contradicted one another, and perhaps have contradicted themselves; or, one how or other, we should have seen reason to have suspected them: but the man shewed us a bill of sale for the shi+p, to one Emanuel Clostershoven, or soery) and called hi withal a little too unwary, or at least having no suspicion of the thing, ent through with our bargain
However, we picked up solish seamen here after this, and soe to the south-east, for cloves, &c that is to say, a the Philippine and Malacca isles; and, in short, not to fill this part of my story with trifles, hat is yet to come is so remarkable, I spent, fro froood success; and was now the last year with e to China; but designing first to go to Sia by contrary winds obliged to beat up and down a great while in the Straits of Malacca, and aot clear of those difficult seas, but we found our shi+p had sprung a leak, and ere not able, by all our industry, to find out where it was This forced us to make for some port; and my partner, who knew the country better than I did, directed the captain to put into the river of Calishto take the charge of the shi+p upon reat bay or gulf which goes up to Sia often on shore for refreshlishlish East India shi+p, which rode in the saht hilish, ”Sir,” says he, ”you are a stranger toto tell you, that very nearly concerns you”
I looked stedfastly at hiht at first I had known him, but I did not ”If it very nearly concerns me,” said I, ”and not yourself, what moves you to tell it er you are in; and, for aught I see, you have no knowledge of it”--”I know no danger I am in,” said I, ”but that my shi+p is leaky, and I cannot find it out; but I propose to lay her aground to-morrow, to see if I can find it”--”But, Sir,” says he, ”leaky or not leaky, find it or not find it, you will be wiser than to lay your shi+p on shore to-morrohen you hear what I have to say to you Do you know, Sir,” said he, ”the town of Caues up this river? And there are two large English shi+ps about five leagues on this side, and three Dutch”--”Well,” said I, ”and what is that to me?”--”Why, Sir,” says he, ”is it for a man that is upon such adventures as you are, to come into a port, and not examine first what shi+ps there are there, and whether he is able to deal with them? I suppose you do not think you are a match for them?” I was amused very much at his discourse, but not amazed at it; for I could not conceive what he meant; and I turned short upon him, and said, ”Sir, I wish you would explain yourself; I cannot iine what reason I have to be afraid of any of the Company's shi+ps, or Dutch shi+ps; I am no interloper; what can they have to say to ry, half pleased; and pausing awhile, but s, ”Well, Sir,” says he, ”if you think yourself secure, you must take your chance; I aood advice; but assure yourself if you do not put to sea immediately, you will the very next tide be attacked by five long-boats full of ed for a pirate, and the particulars be exaht, Sir,” added he, ”I should haveyou a piece of service of such irateful,” said I, ”for any service, or to any man that offers me any kindness; but it is past n upon me for; however, since you say there is no tin in hand against o on board this minute, and put to sea immediately, ifit: but, Sir,” said I, ”shall I go away ignorant of the reason of all this? Can you give ht into it?”
”I can tell you but part of the story, Sir,” says he; ”but I have a Dutch seaman here with me, and, I believe, I could persuade him to tell you the rest; but there is scarce time for it: but the short of the story is this, the first part of which, I suppose, you knoell enough, viz that you ith this shi+p at Sumatra; that there your captain was murdered by the Malaccans, with three of his men; and that you, or some of those that were on board with you, ran aith the shi+p, and are since turned pirates This is the sum of the story, and you will all be seized as pirates, I can assure you, and executed with very little ceremony; for you know et thelish,” said I, ”and I thank you; and though I know nothing that we have done, like what you talk of, but I a such work is a-doing, as you say, and that you seeuard”--”Nay, Sir,” says he, ”do not talk of being upon your guard; the best defence is to be out of the danger: if you have any regard to your life, and the lives of all your h-water; and as you have a whole tide before you, you will be gone too far out before they can coh water; and as they have twenty et near two hours of theth of the way: besides, as they are only boats, and not shi+ps, they will not venture to follow you far out to sea, especially if it blows”
”Well,” said I, ”you have been very kind in this: what shall I do for you toto make me amends, because you may not be convinced of the truth of it: I will make an offer to you; I have nineteen months pay due to land in; and the Dutchman, that is with ood our pay to us, ill go along with you: if you find nothing more in it, ill desire no more; but if we do convince you, that we have saved your life, and the shi+p, and the lives of all the men in her, ill leave the rest to you”
I consented to this readily; and went immediately on board, and the two men with me As soon as I came to the shi+p's side, my partner, as on board, careat deal of joy, ”O ho! O ho! we have stopped the leak!”--”Say you so?” said I; ”thank God; but weigh the anchor then ih!” says he; ”what do you mean by that? What is the matter?” says he ”Ask no questions,” said I, ”but all hands to work, and weigh without losing a minute” He was surprised: but, however, he called the captain, and he ih the tide was not quite done, yet a little land breeze blowing, we stood out to sea; then I called hie; and we called in the reat deal of time, so before we had done, a seaman comes to the cabin door, and calls out to us, that the captain made him tell us, ere chased ”Chased!” said I; ”by whom, and by what?”--”By five sloops, or boats,” said the fellow, ”full of men”--”Very well,” said I; ”then it is apparent there is so in it” In the next place, I ordered all our n to seize the shi+p, and to take us for pirates; and asked them, if they would stand by us, and by one another? The men answered, cheerfully, one and all, that they would live and die with us Then I asked the captain, ay he thought best for us to ht with them; for resist them I resolved ould, and that to the last drop He said, readily, that the as to keep the as we could, and then to fire at the us; but when neither of these would do any longer, we should retire to our close quarters; perhaps they had not et in upon us
The gunner had, in the uns to bear fore and aft, out of the steerage, to clear the deck, and load them with musket-bullets and small pieces of old iron, and what next caht; but all this while kept out to sea, ind enough, and could see the boats at a distance, being five large long-boats following us, with all the sail they could lasses, we could see were English, had outsailed the rest, were near two leagues a head of theained upon us considerably; so that we found they would coun without a shot, to inti of truce, as a signal for parley; but they kept crowding after us, till they ca, they having , and fired at the this, they cah to call to the, trumpet, which we had on board; so we called to them, and bade them keep off at their peril
It was all one, they crowded after us, and endeavoured to come under our stern, so to board us on our quarter: upon which, seeing they were resolute for th that followed the the shi+p to, so that they lay upon our broadside, when iuns at them; one of them had been levelled so true, as to carry away the stern of the hinder down their sail, and running all to the head of the boat to keep her fro the foremost boat still crowd on after us, we made ready to fire at her in particular
While this was doing, one of the three boats that was behind, being forwarder than the other two, made up to the boat which we had disabled, to relieve her, and we could afterwards see her take out the ain to the foreain, and to knoas her business with us; but had no answer: only she crowded close under our stern Upon this our gunner, as a very dexterous fellow, run out his two chase-guns, and fired at her; but the shot , the men in the boat shouted, waved their caps, and caain, fired ah itthe reat deal ofno notice of that, weared the shi+p again, and brought our quarter to bear upon theuns more, we found the boat was split almost to pieces; in particular, her rudder, and a piece of her stern, were shot quite away; so they handed their sail ireat disorder; but, to couns at theain; where he hit the, and some of the men already in the water Upon this I immediately manned out our pinnace, which we had kept close by our side, with orders to pick up so, and immediately to come on board with thean to come up Our men in the pinnace followed their orders, and took up three ood while before we could recover him As soon as they were on board, we crowded all the sail we could make, and stood farther out to sea; and we found, that when the other three boats caave over their chase
Being thus delivered froh I knew not the reason of it, yet seereater than I apprehended, I took care that we should change our course, and not let any one i; so we stood out to sea eastward, quite out of the course of all European shi+ps, whether they were bound to China, or any where else within the commerce of the European nations
When ere now at sea, we began to consult with the two sea of all this should be? The Dutch us, that the fellow that sold us the shi+p, as we said, was no more than a thief that had run aith her Then he told us how the captain, whose nah I do not remember it noas treacherously murdered by the natives on the coast of Malacca, with three of his ot into the woods, where they wandered about a great while; till at length he, in particular, in a miraculous manner, made his escape, and swa near the shore, in its way from China, had sent their boat on shore for fresh water; that he durst not come to that part of the shore where the boat was, but ht to take in the water farther off, and swireat while, at last the shi+p's boat took him up
He then told us, that he went to Batavia, where two of the sea deserted the rest in their travels; and gave an account, that the felloho had run aith the shi+p, sold her at Bengal to a set of pirates, which were gone a-cruising in her; and that they had already taken an English shi+p, and two Dutch shi+ps, very richly laden
This latter part we found to concern us directly; and though we knew it 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 frooverned passion have executed; and therefore it was his opinion, we should go directly back to Bengal, fro in at any port whatever; because there we could give an account of ourselves, and could prove where hen the shi+p put in, e bought her of, and the like; and, which was more than all the rest, if ere put to the necessity of bringing it before the proper judges, we should be sure to have soed afterwards
I was some time of , I told hireat hazard for us to atte side of the Straits of Malacca; and that if the alariven, 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 ae should even condemn ourselves, and there would want no lish sailor's opinion, who said, he was of my er a little startled my partner, and all the shi+p's coo away to the coast of Tonquin, and so on to China; and fron, as to trade, find some way or other to dispose of the shi+p, and come back in soet This was approved of as the best ly we steered away NNE keeping above fifty leagues off from the usual course to the eastward