As Key Malladaia did not make his appearance on the 14th, his people doubted that the Dutch had detained him, on seeing us making our way among the islands, and suspecting he was in treaty with us. Wherefore we set sail with the wind at N.W. and plied up towards Machian. The channel between Bachian, Machian, Tidore, and Ternate, stretches N. by W. and S. by E. and is six leagues across in its narrowest part. In the morning of the 15th, we passed between Gilolo, otherwise called Batta-china and Caia, our latitude at noon being 0° 17' N. so that Machian was not truly placed on our chart, in which the equator is made to pass through its middle, whereas we found it five leagues more to the northwards. The 16th in the morning we were close by the island of Caia, and had sight of a sail to the northwards, which we learnt from a fisherman to be a Dutch vessel, bound from. Machian to Tidore with sago, of which the natives make use instead of bread.[426] In the morning of the 17th we were near a fort of the Hollanders, called Tabalda; and at four p.m. we came to anchor in the road of Pelebere, hard by Tahanue, in fifty fathoms water, so near the shore as to be within call;, having one point of land to the S.S.W. two miles off, another N.E. by N. one and a half mile off, and the island of Caia five leagues distant. This night some small quantities of cloves were brought to us, and a price fixed at sixty dollars the bahar of 200 cattees, each cattee being three pounds five ounces English.[427] I received a letter from Key Malladaia at Bachian, excusing his absence, promising to be with me shortly, and saying he had sent orders to his people to supply me with all the cloves they could procure.
[Footnote 426: In the test of the Pilgrims, Captain Sons calls sago a root, while Purchas, in a marginal note, informs us that some say it is the tops of certain trees. Sago is a granulated dried paste, prepared from the pith of certain trees that grow in various of the eastern islands of India, and of which a bland, mucilaginous, and nutritive jell; is made by maceration and boiling in water.--E.]
[Footnote 427: The bahar in this instance may be called 662 pounds, and the agreed price for the cloves rather below 5d the pound.--E.]
A Samaca came aboard on the 18th, who made great offers of kindness. He was accompanied by two Dutchmen, who were very inquisitive to know who had directed us into this road, saying it must have been one of the natives, and if they knew him, they would cut him in pieces before our faces. To this they added, that we did wrong in coming into these parts, as the country belonged to the Dutch by right of conquest. I ordered them back to their fort, desiring them to tell their captains, that I was ready to let them have any thing I could spare, at reasonable rates, before all others, because we acknowledged them as our neighbours and brethren in Christ; but that we could not acknowledge the country to be their property, and would therefore continue to ride there while we thought proper, and would trade with whoever was pleased to come to us. The two Dutchmen then departed, threatening the natives then aboard, that they would all be put to death if they brought us any cloves. The natives made light of this threat, saying they looked on us as friends, and would come aboard in spite of the Dutch; and this day we bought 300 cattees of cloves in exchange for Cambaya cloth, and some sold for ready money.
Next day the two Dutchmen came again on board, and immediately begun to write down in their table books the names of all the natives which came aboard our ship, on which I made our boatswain turn them out of the ship, with orders not to return. Several of our men were sent ashore, to see what entertainment the natives would give them; and on going to the towns of Tahanne and Pelebere, they were hospitably used. The natives told our men, that the Dutch had so wrought with Key Chillisadang, son to the king of Ternate, who was newly come to this island, that he had prohibited them from selling us any cloves on pain of death, otherwise we should have had them in preference to the Dutch, who greatly oppressed them. Towards night that prince passed by our ship in his curracurra, and I sent our pinnace to him, handsomely fitted with a fine Turkey carpet awning, and curtains of crimson silk and gold, requesting he would come aboard. He seemed to take this message kindly, but excused himself; saying he would visit me in the morning.
The 21st an Orankey came aboard, telling us that a curracurra belonging to the Dutch had searched three or four proas, or canoes, bringing cloves to us, which they had confiscated, and threatened to put the natives to death for the next offence. He told us likewise, that the Dutch, since our arrival, had dispersed the whole garrison of their forts round about the island, to prevent the natives from bringing us any more spice; and had sent a message to Tidore, for two large ships to come and anchor beside us, one a-head and the other a-stern, that they might force us away without trade or refreshments. The 22d, we saw one of these ships coming round the point, after which we had little trade, as the natives were afraid to come near us; and they waited to see what we might do, as the Dutch reported we would run away at the sight of their ship. This vessel was the Red Lion, carrying thirty guns, which came to anchor astern Of our ship. I this day received a present from Key Malladaia, who was not yet come to the island.
The 24th, Key Chillisadang, prince of Ternate, sent to tell me that he was coming to make me a visit, on which I made preparations to give him a handsome reception. He came attended by several great curracurras, and rowed thrice round the ship before coming aboard. On entering, we fired five guns, and immediately conducted him to the cabin, where I had prepared a banquet that might have been set before the king of Ternate, with a concert of music, with which he was much delighted. He promised to give the people leave to bring us cloves, but requested me to have patience for a day or two, till he had advice from his brother, who was then at Tidore. At parting, I gave him several presents, and saluted him with seven pieces of cannon.
In the morning of the 25th, a curracurra of the Dutch rowed past our ship, scoffing at our people, and singing a song which they had made to deride us, which they often repeated, to the great displeasure of our people, who were likewise much offended by their rowing several times over our can-bodies, endeavouring to sink them. Thereupon I ordered the pinnace to be well manned and armed, and directed, if the Dutch on their return continued their scoffs, to run aboard and sink their curracurra. They accordingly came back, singing and scoffing as before, on which the pinnace ran aboard them with such violence, that the water came through her sides. There were on board this curracurra two Dutch captains of their forts, and plenty of men armed with shot and darts; but our pinnace was well provided, and had two good fowlers[428] at her head. She lay a good space aboard the curracurra, desiring the Dutchmen to take this for a warning to leave off their impertinent scoffs, or we should teach them better manners in a worse way the next time. So they went away, promising to do so no more.
[Footnote 428: Probably some species of ordnance, as swivels or musquetoons.--E.]
Towards evening the Dutch sent one of their merchants to me, with a writing from their doctor-of-laws, who was their chief in the absence of De Bot, or Blocke, who had come from Holland as general over eleven ships. The purport of this writing was, that all the inhabitants of the Moluccas had entered into a perpetual contract with the Dutch for all their cloves, at fifty dollars the bahar, of 200 cattees, in reward for having freed them from the Spanish yoke, at great expence of blood and treasure; and required therefore, that I should not excite the people to disobedience, to their great disadvantage, as the country was certainly theirs by right of conquest. He added, that the islanders were indebted in large sums to the Dutch, advanced on promise of repayment in cloves. I answered, that I had no intention to interfere in any of the concerns of the Dutch, and had only come for the purpose of trading with whoever might be inclined to trade with us.