[Footnote 41: This personage must have been governor of one of the provinces, islands, or towns of Japan; but no place in that eastern empire bears a name in modern geography which in the smallest degree resembles Crats.--E]
The 25th, the purser and Mr Hownsell came ashore, and told me that Andrew Palmer, the steward, had died the night before, Thomas Warner, our surgeon, affirming that he owed his death to his own obstinacy, his wound being curable if he would have been ruled. I desired that he might be buried on an island as secretly as possible, as we were about to get some Japanese into our ship, who might be unwilling to embark if they heard of any one having died. On the 28th a Japanese was put to death, who some said was a thief, and others an incendiary. He was led by the executioner to the place of punishment, a person going before him carrying a board, on which the crime for which he was to be punished was written, and the same was exhibited on a paper flag carried over his head. Two pikemen followed the culprit, having the points of their pikes close to his back, ready to slay him instantly if he offered to resist.
The ship being ready to depart, several of the natives complained that the ship's company owed them money, and desired to be paid. To prevent greater inconvenience, I listened to these people, and wrote to the master to make enquiry aboard as to who were in debt, that I might satisfy their creditors, making deductions accordingly from their wages.
On the 26th I assembled my mercantile council to consult about leaving a factory here in Firando, upon these considerations. 1. The encouragement we had privately received at the Moluccas. 2. That the Dutch had already a factory here. 3. The large privileges now obtained from the emperor of Japan. 4. The certain advice of English factories established at Siam and Patane. 5. The commodities remaining on hand appointed for these parts, and the expected profit which farther experience might produce. It was therefore resolved to leave a factory here, consisting of eight Englishmen, three Japanese jurebassos or interpreters, and two servants. They were directed, against the coming of the next ships, to explore and discover the coasts of Corea, Tushmay, other parts of Japan, and of the adjoining countries, and to see what good might be done in any of them.
The 5th of December, 1613, Mr Richard Cockes, captain and Cape merchant of the English factory now settled at Firando in Japan, took his leave of me aboard the Clove, together with his company, being eight English and five others, as before mentioned. After their departure, we mustered the company remaining aboard, finding forty-six English, five swarts or blacks, fifteen Japanese, and three passengers, in all sixty-nine persons. We had lost since our arrival in Japan ten Englishmen; two by sickness, one slain in a duel, and seven who deserted to the Portuguese and Spaniards, while I was absent at the court of the emperor. The English whom we left in the factory were Mr Richard Cockes, William Adams, now entertained in the service of the company at a hundred pounds a year, Tempest Peacock, Richard Wickham, William Eaton, Walter Carwarden, Edward Saris, and William Nelson.
S.12. Voyage from Japan to Bantam, and thence Home to England.
That same day, being the 5th December, we set sail with a stiff northerly gale, steering S. by W. 1/2 a point westerly. By exact observation on shore, we found the island of Firando to be in lat. 33° 30' N. and the variation 2° 50' easterly.[42] We resolved to keep our course for Bantam along the coast of China, for which purpose we brought our starboard tacks aboard, and stood S.W. edging over for China, the wind at N.N.E. a stiff gale and fair weather. The 7th it blew very hard at N.W. and we steered S.S.W. encountering a great current which shoots out between the island of Corea[43] and the main land of China, occasioning a very heavy sea. The 8th, being in lat. 29° 40' N. we steered W.S.W, on purpose to make Cape Sumbor on the coast of China. The sea was very rough, and the wind so strong that it blew our main course out of the bolt ropes. The 9th, in lat. 28° 23', we sounded and had forty-nine to forty-five fathoms on an oozy bottom. The weather was clear, yet we could not see land. The 11th we had ground in forty-nine, forty-three, thirty-eight, thirty-seven, and thirty fathoms, the water being very green, and as yet no land to be seen.
[Footnote 42: The town of Firando is in lat. 33° 6' N. and even the most northern part of the island of that name only reaches to 33° 17'. The town is in long. 128° 42' E. from Greenwich.--E.]
[Footnote 43: Corea was long thought to be an island after the period of this voyage. Astl. I. 492. c.--It is now known to be an extensive peninsula, to the east of China, having the Yellow sea interposed.--E.]
The 12th, in thirty-five fathoms, and reckoning ourselves near the coast of China, we had sight of at least 300 sail of junks, of twenty and thirty tons each and upwards, two of which passed us close to windwards, and though we used all fair means to prevail upon them to come aboard we could not succeed, and seeing they were only fishing vessels we let them pass. Continuing our course we soon espied land, being two islands called the Fishers islands.[44] At noon our latitude was 25° 59' N. and we had ground at twenty to twenty-six fathoms. About seven p.m. while steering along the land, we came close by a rock, which by good providence we had sight of by moonlight, as it lay right in our course. When not above twice our ship's length from this rock, we had thirty fathoms water, on which we hauled off for one watch, to give the land a wide birth, and resumed our course S.W. after midnight. The wind was very strong at N.E. and continually followed as the land trended. The 13th, in lat. 24° 35' N. and variation 1° 30' easterly, having the wind strong at N.E. with fair weather, we steered S.W. keeping about five leagues off the islands along the coast of China. The 15th we came among many fisher boats, but had so much wind that we could not speak any of them, but they made signs to us, as we thought to keep to the westwards. At noon our lat. was 21° 40' N. and having the wind at N.N.E. a stiff gale, we steered W.N.W. northerly, to make the land, and about two hours afterwards had sight of it, although by our dead reckoning we ought still to have been fifty-six leagues from it. It is to be noted, that the islands along the coast of China are considerably more to the southward than as laid down in the charts. About three p.m. we were within about two leagues of an island called Sancha[45].