[Footnote 362: Probably turmeric.--E.]
Every ship we saw, before we could come to speak them, had advice sent by the governor of Aden to inform them of us. When the Calicut ship was under our command, the governor sent off a boat, manned with Arabs, having on board two Turkish soldiers of the garrison, who had formerly been instruments of Abdal Rahman[363] aga, to bind and torture our men whom they had betrayed. On seeing our men, whom they had used so ill, they were in great doubt what usage they might now receive, as their guilty conscience told them they merited no good treatment at our hands. They brought some fruit to sell, and, I suppose, came as spies to see what we were doing. At the first sight of our men, whom they knew, they would fain have put off their boat again, but I would not permit them, causing them to be reminded of their former behaviour to our men, when in their hands; and when I thought them sufficiently terrified, I ordered them to be told, that they should now see how far our nation differed from the cruelty of Turks, who had most barbarously and injuriously used our men, without giving any cause of offence, whom they had betrayed by fair promises, yet I should now dismiss them without harm. They immediately departed, making many fair promises of sending us refreshments. They accordingly sent off next day a boat loaded with fish; but we were too far off for them to reach us, as we were obliged to put the Calicut ship to leeward towards the Red Sea.
[Footnote 363: In Purchas called Abdraheman; perhaps the name was Abd Arrahman.--Astl. I. 421. c.]
The morning of the 14th, the wind at east, we descried another ship of like burden with the former bound for Aden, which, about ten o'clock, a.m. we forced to come to anchor. I learnt that she was from Pormean, a town not far from Kuts Nagone,[364] a place tributary to the Great Mogul, who had despised our king, and abused our nation. The nakhada of this ship was a Banian; and being fearful, if any other ship should approach Aden, I must either leave the one or the other, I therefore made haste to search her by my own people. With great labour, before darkness overtook us, we had out of her six packs of coarse dutties, of six corges a pack; other thirty-six bales, containing thirty-six corges of coarse dutties; one small bale of candekins-mill, or small pieces of blue calico; with about thirty or more white bastas, and a little butter and lamp oil. So far as we could discover for that night, the rest of her lading consisted of packs of cotton-wool, as we term it, which we proposed to examine farther next day.
[Footnote 364: According to the editor of Astley's Collection, I. 421. d. Kuts Nagone is a place in the peninsula of Guzerat, not far from the western cape. The western cape of Guzerat is Jigat Point; but no such places are to be found in our best modern maps, and the only name similar is Noanagur, on the south side of the Gulf of Cutch; whence Kuts-Nagone in the text may be a corruption of Cutch-Noanagur.--E.]
This day Moharim aga, who was now mir, or governor of Aden, sent me a present of eggs, limes, and plantains; but I sent back word by the messenger, that the various intolerable injuries done to my friends and nation at this place last year, had occasioned my present approach, to do my nation and myself what right I might, to the disturbance and injury of the Turks; and as my coming was not to ask any favour from them, I would not accept any of their dissembled presents; for, as they cut our throats when we came to them in friendship, we could expect no favour now when we came in declared enmity. Wherefore, having received what was useful for my people, I had sent back what I considered the things to be worth. There came off also a boat, with store of fresh fish, which I caused to be bought, always making the bringer to eat part of what he brought, for fear of poison.
The 27th April we descried a sail plying to the eastwards, between us and the shore, which, being detained by the pinnace, proved to be a jelba belonging to Shaher, bound homewards with grain and other commodities, among which was some opium, and having several pilgrims from Mecca, as passengers on their way home. We purchased from them nine and a half pounds of opium as a trial, and dismissed them. The 30th I stopt two vessels, both belonging to a place on the Abyssinian or African coast, called Bandar Zeada; one laden only with mats, and the other having sixty-eight fat-rumped sheep, which we bought from them, and dismissed them.
The 8th May we plied towards the bab under easy sail, with a pleasant wind at N.E. by E. At ten a.m. we descried land on the African coast, looking at first like an island, but soon perceived it to be the main. From thence we steered N.W. towards the bab, which, by estimation, was then about ten leagues distant; and near four p.m. we descried the straits, when we lingered off and on to spend the night. At day-light next morning we made sail towards the bab. On entering the strait we descried a sail astern, coming direct for the strait, on which I struck my top-sails to wait for her, and sent off my pinnace to take possession. The pinnace returned with the Nakhada and Malim, whom I examined, and found them to be subjects of the Great Mogul, belonging to a place called Larree,[365] situated at the mouth of the great river of Sindi. I luft up along with this ship into a bay, on the east side of the straits, where we came to anchor in seven fathoms. I then sent my merchants aboard to examine her loading, which consisted of divers packs and fardels of cloth, seeds of various kinds, leather, jars of butter, and a great quantity of oil, some for eating and some for lamps. As this vessel had many passengers, and I could not keep her for want of water, I took out of her the likeliest packs of Indian cloth to serve our purposes, with some butter and oil for our own use, and then allowed her to proceed for Mokha.
[Footnote 365: Bander Larry, or Larry Bunder, on the Pity river, the most north-western branch of the Delta of the Indus, or Scinde river.--E.]
About three p.m. I descried a ship of 200 tons opening the east land of the straits, and immediately following her a vessel of huge size, her main-yard being forty-three yards long. On coming near the great ship, we knew her, by her masts and tops, to be the Mahmudi of Dabul; and knowing the pride of her captain, I was anxious to gain the command over him, as he would never formerly, either at Mokha or Dabul, come to visit our general. Seeing him stand from us, I gave him one shot, and stood with the other ship, which, seeing us stand with the great ship, struck to leeward, thinking to escape in the darkness of the night, now approaching. I took her for a ship of Diu; but, on getting up to her, she proved to be from Kuts Nagone, laden with cotton-wool, some packs of Indian cloth, with some butter and oil. Having got some of her principal men aboard my ship, I made her edge with me into shoal water, on the Arab coast, where I endeavoured, by means of lights, to discover five of my men, whom I had left in the Larree ship. We anchored at midnight in twelve fathoms, four leagues within the bab, where the next two days we took out of the Larree ship sixty-six bundles of Indian cloth, but which we returned again, as not needing it, and took only eight corges of bastas, for which we paid to their content, and some butter and oil. I now learned by a jelba, that Sir Henry Middleton had gone to Assab roads, with eight or nine India ships, on which I made sail to join him there, but the wind being unfavourable, had to come to anchor.