My nephew left me two persons to attend me; one of them was his servant, and the other clerk to the purser, who engaged to be mine. I took lodging in an English woman's house, where several French, one English, and two Italian merchants resided. The handsome entertainment I met with here, occasioned me to stay nine months, considering what course I should take. Some English goods I had with me of great value, besides a thousand pieces of eight, and a letter for more, if there was such necessity. The goods I soon disposed of to advantage, and bought here several good diamonds, which I could easily carry about with me. One morning the English merchant came to me, as being very intimate together, countryman, said he, I have a project to communicate to you, which I hope will suit to both our advantage. To be short, Sir, we are both in a remote part of the world from our country; but yet in a place where men of business may get a great deal of money. Now, if you will put a thousand pounds to my thousand pounds, we will hire a ship to our satisfaction; you shall be Captain, I will be merchant: and we'll go a trading voyage to China, for why should we lie still like drones, while the whole world is in a continual motion.
This proposal soon got my consent, being very agreeable to my rambling genius; and the more so, because I looked upon my countryman to be a very sincere person; it required some time before we could get a vessel to our mind, and sailors to man it accordingly; at length we bought a ship, and got an English mate, boatswain, and gunner, a Dutch carpenter, and three Portuguese foremast men; and, for want of others, made shift with Indian seamen. We first sailed to Achin, in the island of Sumatra, and then to Siam, where we bartered our wares for some arrack and opium, the last of which bore a great price among the Chinese; in a word, we went up to Suskan, making a very great voyage; &, after eight months time, I returned to Bengal, very well satisfied with this adventure, having not only got a sufficient quantity of money, but an insight of getting a great deal more.
The next voyage my friend proposed to me, was to go among the spice islands, and bring home a load of cloves from the Manillas, or thereabouts; islands belonging partly to Spain, but where the Dutch trade very considerably. We were not long in preparing for this voyage, which we made no less successful than the last, touching at Borneo, and several other places which I do not perfectly remember, and returning home in about five months time. We soon sold our spices, which were chiefly cloves and some nutmegs, to the Persian merchants, who carried them away to the gulph; and, in short, making five to one advantage, we were loaded with money.
Not long after my friend and I had made up our accounts, to our entire satisfaction, there came in a Dutch coaster from Batavia of about two hundred tons. The crew of this vessel pretended themselves so sickly, that there were not hands sufficient to undertake a voyage; and the Captain having given out that he intended to go to Europe, public notice was given that the ship was to be sold. No sooner did this come to our ears, but we bought the ship, paid the master, and took possession. We would also have very willingly entertained some of the men; but they having received their share of booty, were not to be found, being altogether fled to Agra, the great city of the Mogul's residence; and from thence went to travel to Surat, and so by the sea to the Persian Gulph. And indeed they had reason to fly in this manner; for the truth of it was the pretended Captain was the gunner only, and not the commander; that having been on a trading voyage, they were attacked on shore by the Malayans, who killed three men and the Captain; after whose death the other eleven men ran away with the ship to the Bay of Bengal, and left the mate and five men more on shore: but of this affair we shall have occasion to speak more at length hereafter.
However they came by the ship, we thought we bought it honestly; neither did we suspect any thing of the matter, when the man showed us a bill of sale for the ship (undoubtedly forged) to one Emanuel Clostershoven, which name he went by. And so without any more to do, we picked up some Dutch and English seamen, resolving for another voyage for cloves among the Phillippine and Molucca Islands: in short, we continued thus five or six years, trading from port to port with extraordinary success. In the seventh year, we undertook a voyage to China, designing to touch at Siam, and buy some rice by the way. In this voyage, contrary winds beat us up and down for a considerable time among the islands in the Straits of Molucca. No sooner were we clear of those rugged seas, but we perceived our ship had sprung a leak, which obliged us to put into the river Cambodia, which lies northward of the Gulph, and goes up to Siam.
One day, as I was on shore refreshing myself, there comes to me an Englishman, who was gunner's mate on board an English East India ship, riding up the river near the city of Cambodia. Sir, said he, you may wonder at my business, having never seen me in your life; but tho' I am a stranger, I have something to tell you that very nearly concerns you: & indeed it is the imminent danger you are in has moved me to give you this timely notice. "Danger!" said I, "what danger? I know of none, except my ship being leaky, for which I design to have her run aground to-morrow morning" I hope you will be better employed when you shall hear what I have to say to you. You know the town of Cambodia is about fifteen leagues up this river; about three leagues on this side of it, there lie two Dutch and three English ships. And would you venture here without considering what strength you have to engage them? I knew not what he meant by this discourse, and turning short upon him, "Sir," said I, "I know no reason I have to be afraid either of any Dutch or English ships. I am no interloper, and what business have they with me?" Well, Sir, said the man, if you do think yourselves secure, all as I can say, you must take your chance; however, I am very sorry you are so deaf to good advice; but I assure you; if you do not put to sea immediately, you will be attacked by five long-boats full of men, hanged yourself for a pirate, if you are taken, and the particulars examined afterwards. I thought, Sir, added he, I might have met a better reception for such a singular piece of service. "Sir," said I, "I was never ungrateful to any man; but pray explain yourself and I'll go on board this minute, whether the leak be stopped or no." Why, Sir, said he, to be short, because time is precious, the matter is this: You know well enough that you was with the ship at Sumatra, when your Captain was murdered by the Malayans, with three of his sailors; and that either you, or some who were on board you, ran away with the ship, and are since turned pirates at sea. Now, Sir, this is the sum of what I had to say: and I can positively assure you, that if you are taken, you will be executed without much ceremony, for undoubtedly you cannot but be sensible what little law merchant ships show to pirates, whenever they fall into their hands.
"Sir,' said I, 'I thank you for your kind information; and though I am sure no man could come more honestly by the ship than I have done, yet knowing their enterprize, and being satisfied of your honest intention, I'll be upon my defence. Pr'ythee, Sir, said the man, don't talk of being upon your defence, the best that you can make is to be out of danger; and therefore, if you have any regard for your life, & the lives of your men, take the advantage, without fail, of putting out to sea at high-water: by which means, as you have a whole tide before you, you will be gone too far out of their reach before they can come down.
"I am mighty well satisfied," said I, "in this particular, and for your kindness, which merits my great esteem; pray, Sir, what amends shall I make you?" He replied, "I know not what amends you are willing to make, because you may have some doubts of its certainty: but, to convince you of the truth of what I say, I have one offer to make to you. On board one of the English ships, I have nineteen months pay due to me, and this Dutchman that is with me has seven months pay due to him, which if you will make good to us, we will go along with you. If you shall find that there is nothing in what we have said, then we shall desire nothing; but when you are convinced that we have saved the ship, your life, and the lives of the men, we will leave the whole to your generosity."
So reasonable did this every way appear, that I immediately consented, and we went directly on board. As soon as we came on board, my partner calls joyfully out, That they had stopped the leak? "Well, thank God," said I, "but pray let us weigh anchor forthwith."--Weigh, said he, what is the meaning of this hurry? "Pray ask no questions," said I, "but all hands to work, without losing a moment's time." Upon which, in great surprise, the Captain was called, who immediately ordered the anchor to be got up; and though the tide was not quite down, yet being assisted with a little land breeze, we stood to sea. I then called my partner into the cabin, and related the story at large, which was confirmed and more amplified by the two men I had brought on board. Scarce had we finished our discourse upon this head, but a sailor came to the cabin door, with a message from the Captain, that we were chased by five sloops full of armed men. "Very well," said I, "it is plain now there is something in it." And so, going upon deck, I told all the men there was a design for seizing the ship, and of executing us for pirates; and asked them whether they would faithfully stand by us, and by one another? To which they unanimously replied, "That they would fight to their last drop of blood." I then asked the Captain, which way he thought best for us to manage the battle? Sir, said he, the only method is to keep them off with our great shot as long as we are able, and then have recourse to our small arms: and when both these fail us, then retire to close quarters, when perhaps the enemy wanting materials, can neither break open our bulk heads, nor get in upon us. Meantime, the gunner was ordered to bring two guns to bear fore and aft out of the steerage, and so load them with musket-bullets and small pieces of old iron; and the deck being cleared, we prepared for the engagement, still, however, keeping out at sea. The boats followed us, with all the sail they could make, and we could perceive the two foremost were English, which out-sailed the rest by two leagues, and which we found would come up with us: hereupon, we fired a gun without a ball, intimating that they should bring to, and we put out a flag of truce, as a signal for parley; but finding them crowding after us, till they came within shot, we took in our white, and hanging out the red flap, immediately fired at them with ball: we then called to them with a speaking trumpet, bidding them at their peril keep off.
But all this signified nothing; for depending upon the strength that followed them, they were resolutely bent for mischief: hereupon I ordered them to bring the ship to, by which means, they lying upon our broadside, we let fly at them at once, one of whom carried away the stern of the hindermost boat, and obliged them not only to take down their sail, but made them all run to the head of the boat, to keep them from sinking, and so she lay by, having enough of it. In the meantime, we prepared to welcome the foremost boat in the same manner. While we were doing this, one of the three hindermost boats came up to the relief of that which was disabled, and took the men out of her. We again called to parley with them; but, instead of an answer, one of the boats came close under our stern; whereupon our gunner let fly his two chase guns, but missing, the men in the boat shouted, and, waving their caps, came on with greater fury. To repair this seeming disgrace, the gunner soon got ready, and firing a second time, did a great deal of mischief among the enemy. We waved again, and, bringing our quarter to bear upon them, fired three guns more, when we found the boat a sinking, and several men already in the sea; hereupon, manning our pinnace, I gave orders to save as many as they could, and instantly to come on board, because the rest of their boats were approaching: accordingly they did so, and took up three of them, one of whom was almost past recovery; and then crowding all the sail we could, after our men came on board, we stood out farther to sea, so that the other three boats gave over the chase, when they came up to the first two. Thus delivered from imminent danger, we changed our course to the eastward, quite out of the course of all European ships.