The Body of the Island Luconia is composed of many spacious plain Savannahs, and large Mountains. The North-end seems to be more plain and even, I mean freer from Hills, than the South-end: but the Land is all along of a good heighth. It does not appear so flourishing and green as some of the other Islands in this Range; especially that of St. John, Mindanao, Batt Island, &c. yet in some places it is very Woody. Some of the Mountains of this Island afford Gold, and the Savannahs are well stockt with herds of Cattle, especially Buaffaloes[sic]. These Cattle are in great plenty all over the East-Indies; and therefore ’tis very probable that there were many of these here even before the Spaniards come hither. But now there are now also plenty of other Cattle, as I have been told, as Bullocks, Horses, Sheep, Goats, Hogs, &c. brought hither by the Spaniards.
It is pretty well inhabited with Indians, most of them, if not all, under the Spaniards, who now are masters of it. The Native Indians do live together in Towns; and they have Priests among them to instruct them in the Spanish Religion.
Manila the chief, or perhaps the only City, lies at the foot of a ridge of high Hills, facing upon a spacious Harbour near the S.W. point of the Island, in about the Lat. of 14 d. North. It is environ’d with a high strong Wall, and very well fortify’d with Forts and Breast-works. The Houses are large, strongly built, and covered with Pan-tile. The Streets are large and pretty regular; with a Parade in the midst, after the Spanish fashion. There are a great many fair Buildings, beside Churches and other Religious Houses; of which there are not a few.
The Harbour is so large, that some hundreds of Ships may ride here: and is never without many, both of their own and strangers. I have already given you an account of the two Ships going and coming between this place and Acapulco. Besides them, they have some small Vessels of their own; and they do not allow the Portuguese to trade here, but the Chinese are the chiefest Merchants, and they drive the greatest Trade; for they have commonly 20 or 30, or 40 Jonks in the Harbour at a time, and a great many Merchants constantly residing in the City, beside Shop-keepers, and Handy-crafts-men in abundance. Small Vessels run up near the Town, but the Acapulco. Ships and others of greater burthen, lye a League short of it, where there is a strong Fort also, and Store-houses to put Goods in.
I had the major part of this relation 2 or 3 years after this time, from Mr. Coppinger our Surgeon, for he made a Voyage hither from Porto Nova, a Town on the Coast of Coromandel; in a Portuguese Ship, as I think. Here he found 10 or 12 of Captain Swan’s men; some of those that we left at Mindanao. For after we came from thence, they brought a Proe there, by the Instigation of an Irish man, who went by the name of John Fitz-Gerald, a person that spoke Spanish very well; and so in this their Proe they came hither. They had been here but 18 months when Mr. Coppinger arrived here, and Mr. Fitz-Gerald had in this time gotten a Spanish Mustesa Woman to Wife, and a good Dowry with her. He then professed Physick and Surgery, and was highly esteemed among the Spaniards for his supposed knowledge in those Arts: for being always troubled with sore Shins while he was with us, he kept some Plaisters and Salves by him; and with these he set up upon his bare natural stock of knowledge, and his experience in Kibes. But then he had a very great stock of Confidence withal, to help out the other, and being an Irish Roman Catholick, and having the Spanish Language he had a great advantage of all his Consorts; and he alone lived well there of them all. We were not within sight of this Town, but I was shewn the Hills that over-looked it, and drew a draft of them as we lay off at Sea; which I have caused to be engraven among a few others that I took my self:....
[The season for successful operations near Manila having passed, the mutineers decide to go to some islands near the Cambodian shore to wait until about May, the time for the Acapulco galleon, choosing those islands as they were somewhat retired. The prisoners are set ashore on the island of Luzon, and that island is left February 26. On March 14 anchor is cast on Pulo (or Island) Condore, the largest and only inhabited one of those islands which lie in north latitude 8° 40’. A short description of the islands, their products, fauna, and inhabitants (who are Cochinchinese) and some of their customs follows. At this island the ship is careened and refitted. There also “2 of our Men died, who were poison’d at Mindanao, they told us of it when they found themselves poison’d, and had linger’d ever since. They were opened by our Doctor, according to their own Request before they died, and their Livers were black, light and dry, like pieces of Cork.” After filling the water-butts anchor is weighed (April 21) and the course taken to Pulo Ubi near Siam, reaching that island April 23. From that date until May 13 they cruise about the bay of Siam where they are becalmed. May 24 they anchor again at Pulo Condore, together with a Chinese vessel laden with pepper from Sumatra; from its men they learn that the “English were settled in the Island Sumatra, at a place called Sillabar; and the first knowledge we had that the English had any settlement on Sumatra was from these.”[24] An attempt there to investigate a Malayan vessel ends fatally for a number of the English; for the Malays, thinking them to be pirates, set upon the boarding party, and kill a number of them. At that island also the surgeon, Herman Coppinger, attempts to escape, but is taken back to the ship. Dampier is only deterred from making the same attempt because he desires a more convenient opportunity. “For neither he nor I, when we were last on board at Mindanao, had any knowledge of the Plot that was laid to leave Captain Swan, and run away with the Ship; and being sufficiently weary of this mad Crew, we were willing to give them the slip at any place from whence we might hope to get a passage to an English Factory.”]
Chap. XV
They leave Pulo Condore, designing for Manila, but are driven off from thence, and from the Isle of Prata, by the Winds, and brought upon the Coast of China. Isle of St. John, on the Coast of the Province of Canton; its Soil and Productions, China Hogs, &c. The Inhabitants; and of the Tartars forcing the Chinese to cut off their Hair. Their Habits, and the little Feet of their Women. China-ware China-roots, Tea, &c. A Village at St. John’s Island, and of their Husbandry of their Rice. A Story of a Chinese Pagoda, or Idol-Temple, and Image. Of the China Jonks, and their Rigging. They leave St. John’s and the Coast of China. A most outragious Storm. Corpus Sant, a Light, or Meteor appearing in Storms. The Piscadores, or Fishers Islands near Formosa: A Tartarian Garrison, and Chinese Town on one of these Islands. They anchor in the Harbour near the Tartars Garrison, and treat with the Governour. Of Amoy in the Province of Fokieu, and Macao a Chinese and Portuguese Town near Canton in China. The Habits of a Tartarian Officer and his Retinue. Their Presents, excellent Beef. Samciu, a sort of Chinese Arack, and Hocciu a kind of Chinese Mum, and the Jars it is bottled in. Of the Isle of Formosa, and the five Islands; to which they give the Names of Orange, Monmouth, Grafton, Bashee, and Goat-Islands, in general, the Bashee-Islands. A Digression concerning the different depths of the Sea near high or low Lands. The Soil, &c. as before. The Soil, Fruits and Animals of these Islands. The Inhabitants and their Cloathing. Rings of a yellow Metal like Gold. Their Houses built on remarkable Precipices. Their Boats and Employments. Their Food, of Goat Skins, Entrails, &c. Parcht Locusts. Bashee, or Sugar-cane Drink. Of their Language and Original, Launces and Buffaloe Coats. No Idols, nor civil Form of Government. A young Man buried alive by them; supposed to be for Theft. Their Wives and Children, and Husbandry. Their Manners, Entertainments, and Traffick. Of the Ships first Entercourse with these People, and Bartering with them. Their Course among the Islands; their stay there, and provision to depart. They are driven off by a violent Storm, and return. The Natives Kindness to 6 of them left behind. The Crew discouraged by those Storms, quit their design of Cruising off Manila for the Acapulco Ship; and ’tis resolved to fetch a Compass to Cape Comorin, and so for the Red-Sea.
[The first part of this chapter, as is seen by the above list of contents, relates to China and islands near the Chinese coast. Most of the second half of the chapter relates to the Bashee or Batanes Islands and is as follows.]
We stayed here [i.e., at the Piscador Islands near China] till the 29th Day [of July, 1687], and then sailed from hence with the Wind at S.W. and pretty fair Weather. We now directed our course for some Islands we had chosen to go to, that lye between Formosa and Luconia. They are laid down in our Plots without any name, only with a figure of 5, denoting the number of them. It was supposed by us, that these Islands had no Inhabitants, because they had not any name by our Hydrographers. Therefore we thought to lye there secure, and be pretty near the Island Luconia, which we did still intend to visit.