[289] A small piece of ordnance.
[290] One of the early appellations of the strait between the northwest point of Samar and the southeast point of Luzón, now known as San Bernardino Strait. As it was the regular outlet for the vessels plying between the Philippines and Nueva España, this strait was also called Paso de Acapulco ("the Acapulco passage"). By some authorities the meridian of San Bernardino was used as the standard, or "meridian of departure." See San Antonio's Chronicas, part i, 55 (cited by Retana in Zúñiga's Estadismo, ii, p. 156*; see also p. 409*).
[291] This is an error or misprint for "Morga."
[292] See Morga's account of this, where it appears that these were not English, but native Moro boats.
[293] The governor's letter is given by Argensola partly in synopsis, and partly in direct quotation. The latter we enclose in quotation marks. Sec in Vol. XIV (pp. 44-50) this letter, translated from the MS. preserved in the Sevilla archives; that is apparently at least a duplicate of the original letter to the Chinese official, and one of the despatches sent to Spain by Acuña.
[294] This Dutch commander, was Steven van der Hagen, and this his second voyage to East Indian waters. See Vol. XV, appendix B.
[295] A Portuguese pound, containing sixteen ounces.
[296] Anfión: a name given to opium in the East Indies.
[297] In the text, funcas; apparently a misprint for fustas or for juncos.
[298] A word derived from garra (of Old High German origin), signifying "the foot of a bird" or "the paw of a beast;" i.e., the anchor metaphorically "claws" the bottom of the water where it rests, struggling to retain its hold against the force of the wind. See Echegaray's Diccionario general etimológico (Madrid, 1887-89).