Among the Philippine Islands. When they were past the SW part of Mindanao, they sailed Northward towards Manila, plundering the country vessels that came in their way. What was seen here of the coasts is noticed slightly and with uncertainty. They met two Mindanao vessels laden with silks and calicoes; and near Manila they took some Spanish vessels, one of which had a cargo of rice.
March. Pulo Condore. From the Philippine Islands they went to the Island Pulo
Condore, where two of the men who had been poisoned at Mindanao, died. 'They were opened by the surgeon, in compliance with their dying request, and their livers were found black, light, and dry, like pieces of cork.'
In the China Seas. From Pulo Condore they went cruising to the Gulf of Siam, and to different parts of the China Seas. What their success was, Dampier did not think proper to tell, for it would not admit of being palliated under the term Buccaneering. Among their better projects and contrivances, one, which could only have been undertaken by men confident in their own seamanship and dexterity, was to search at the Prata Island and Shoal, for treasure which had been wrecked there, the recovery of which no one had ever before ventured to attempt. In pursuit of this scheme, they unluckily fell too far to leeward, and were unable to beat up against the wind.
July. Ponghou Isles. The Five Islands. In July they went to the Ponghou Islands, expecting to find there a port which would be a safe retreat. On the 20th of that month, they anchored at one of the Islands, where they found a large town, and a Tartar garrison. This was not a place where they could rest with ease and security. Having the wind at SW, they again got under sail, and directed their course to look for some Islands which in the charts were laid down between Formosa and Luconia, without any name, but marked with the figure 5 to denote their number. These Buccaneers, or rather pirates, had no other information concerning the Five Islands than seeing them on the charts, and hoped to find them without inhabitants.
Dampier's account of the Five Islands would lose in many respects if given in any other than his own words, which therefore are here transcribed.
Dampier's Description of the Five Islands. 'August the 6th, We made the Islands; the wind was at South, and we fetched in with the Westernmost, which is the
largest, on which we saw goats, but could not get anchor-ground, therefore we stood over to others about three leagues from this, and the next forenoon anchored in a small Bay on the East side of the Easternmost Island in fifteen fathoms, a cable's length from the shore; and before our sails were furled we had a hundred small boats aboard, with three, four, and some with six men in them. August 7th. There were three large towns on the shore within the distance of a league. Most of our people being aloft (for we had been forced to turn in close with all sail abroad, and when we anchored, furled all at once) and our deck being soon full of Indian natives, we were at first alarmed, and began to get our small-arms ready; but they were very quiet, only they picked up such old iron as they found upon our deck. At last, one of our men perceived one of them taking an iron pin out of a gun-carriage, and laid hold of him, upon which he bawled out, and the rest leaped into their boats or overboard, and they all made away for the shore. But when we perceived their fright, we made much of him we had in hold, and gave him a small piece of iron, with which we let him go, and he immediately leaped overboard and swam to his consorts, who hovered near the ship to see the issue. Some of the boats came presently aboard again, and they were always afterward very honest and civil. We presently after this, sent our canoe on shore, and they made the crew welcome with a drink they call Bashee, and they sold us some hogs. We bought a fat goat for an old iron hoop, a hog of 70 or 80 lbs. weight for two or three pounds of iron, and their bashee drink and roots for old nails or bullets. Their hogs were very sweet, but many were meazled. We filled fresh water here at a curious brook close by the ship.
'We lay here till the 12th, when we weighed to seek for a
better anchoring place. We plied to windward, and passed between the South end of this Island and the North end of another Island South of this. These Islands were both full of inhabitants, but there was no good riding. We stopped a tide under the Southern Island. The tide runs there very strong, the flood to the North, and it rises and falls eight feet. It was the 15th day of the month before we found a place we might anchor at and careen, which was at another Island not so big as either of the former.