I received a letter from you by the hands of Captain Copendall of the Horiander, who arrived here on the 29th of August this year, by which I learnt your safe arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, homewards bound, and of the loss of some of your company; and I make no doubt that, long ere now, you are safe arrived in England, by the blessing of God. I sent you a letter, dated in November, 1614, by the Dutch ship called the Old Zealand, in which I informed you of the death of Mr Peacock and Walter Carwarden, both betrayed in Cochin-China, to our great grief, besides the loss of goods to the company.
The last year, Mr Wickham, Mr Adams, and I, when bound for Siam in a junk we had bought, and meeting with great storms, our vessel sprung a leak, and we were fain to bear up for the Leukes[60] islands, where we had to remain so long, before we could stop our leaks, that we lost the monsoon, and had to return here. We have fitted her out again this year, and are now ready to sail again for Siam. My greatest hope in these parts is, that we shall be able to establish trade with China, of which we seem to have a fair prospect through the efforts of the China captain and his brothers; and I make no doubt that we shall have a factory there ere long.
[Footnote 60: The Liqueo islands are here obviously meant, a group to the south of the south-western extremity of Japan, in 28° N. and long. 129° 30' W. from Greenwich; such being the latitude and longitude of the centre of the great Liqueo, the principal island of the group.--E.]
This last summer we have had great troubles, in consequence of war between the emperor and Fidaia Same, and we do not certainly know whether the latter be slain or fled; but the emperor gained the victory, with a vast loss of men on both sides.[61] Having no other news to write, I commit you to the protection of the Almighty, and am, &c. EDMOND SAYER.
[Footnote 61: In the text of the Pilgrims, this loss is estimated at 400,000, and in a marginal note at 40,000, both in words at length; for which reason the number is omitted in the text.--E.]
No. 4. Letter, with no address, from Edmond Sayer, dated Firando, 4th December, 1616.
Worshipful Sir,--My duty always remembered. Having a favourable opportunity, I could not omit to trouble you with a few lines. I am but newly arrived here in Firando from a difficult and tedious voyage to Siam, to which country we went in a junk belonging to the right honourable company, in which Mr Adams was master, and myself factor. Having bought there more goods than our own junk could carry, we freighted another junk for Japan, in which Mr Benjamin Fry, the chief in the factory at Siam, thought it proper for me to embark, for the safety of the goods. The year being far spent, we were from the 1st June to the 17th September in our voyage between Siam and Shachmar, during which we experienced many storms and much foul weather, and lost twenty of our men by sickness and want of fresh water. The great cause of our tedious and unfortunate voyage was in our not having a good pilot. The one we had was a Chinese, who knew nothing of navigation; for, when out of sight of land, he knew not where he was, nor what course to steer. Besides he fell sick, and was unable to creep out of his cabin, so that I was obliged to do my best to navigate our junk; which, with what small skill I possessed, and by the aid of God, I brought safe to Shachmar, where we arrived on the 17th of September, having then only five men able to stand on their legs. In consequence, I arrived so late at Firando that I could not go this year to Siam. But Mr William Eaton has gone there in the company's junk, having two English pilots, named. Robert and John Surges.--I am, &c. EDMOND SAYER.
No. 5. Letter from Richard Cocks to Captain John Saris, dated Firando, 15th February, 1617.[62]
[Footnote 62: Perhaps the date of this letter, according to modern computation, ought to have been 1618, as in those days the year did not begin till Lady-day, the 25th March.--E.]
My last letter to you was dated 5th January, 1616, and sent by way of Bantam in the ship Thomas, which went from hence that year along with another small ship called the Advice. In that letter I wrote you at large of all things that had then occurred, and mentioned having received two of your letters from London; one dated 4th November, 1614, and the other 15th August, 1615. The Advice has since returned to Japan, and arrived at Firando on the 2d of August last, and by her I had a letter from the honourable company, dated 30th January, 1616.