A main part of their Religion consists in washing often, to keep themselves from being defiled; or after they are defiled to cleanse themselves again. They also take great care to keep themselves from being polluted, by tasting or touching any thing that is accounted Unclean; therefore Swines Flesh is very abominable to them; nay, any one that hath either tasted of Swines flesh, or touched those Creatures, is not permitted to come into their Houses in many Days after, and there is nothing will scare them more than a Swine. Yet there are wild Hogs in the Islands, and those so plentiful, that they will come in troops out of the Woods in the Night into the very City, and come under their Houses, to romage up and down the Filth that they find there. The Natives therefore would even desire to lie in wait for the Hogs, to destroy them, which we did frequently, by shooting them and carrying them presently on board, but were prohibited their Houses afterwards.
And now I am on this Subject, I cannot omit a Story concerning the General. He once desired to have a pair of Shoes made after the English Fashion, tho’ he did very seldom wear any: So one [of] our Men made him a Pair, which the General liked very well. Afterwards some Body told him, That the Thread wherewith the Shoes were sowed, were pointed with Hogs-bristles. This put him into a great Passion; so he sent the Shoes to the Man that made them, and sent him withal more Leather to make another Pair, with Threads pointed with some other Hair, which was immediately done, and then he was well pleased.
Chap. XIII
Their coasting along the Isle of Mindanao, from a Bay on the East-side to another, at the S.E. end. Tornadoes and boisterous Weather. The S.E. Coast, and its Savannah and plenty of Deer. They coast along the South-side to the River of Mindanao City, and anchor there. The Sultan’s Brother and Son come aboard them, and invite them to settle there. Of the Feasibleness and probable Advantage of such a Settlement, from the neighboring Gold and Spice Islands. Of the best way to Mindanao by the South Sea and Terra Australis; and of an accidental Discovery there by Captain Davis, and a probability of a greater. The Capacity they were in to settle here. The Mindanayans measure their Ship. Captain Swan’s Present to the Sultan: his Reception of it, and Audience given to Captain Swan, with Raja Laut, the Sultans Brother’s Entertainment of him. The Contents of two English Letters shewn them by the Sultan of Mindanao. Of the Commodities, and the Punishments there. The General’s Caution how to demean themselves: at his Persuasion they lay up their Ships in the River. The Mindanaians Caresses. The great Rains and Floods at the City. The Mindanaians have Chinese Accomptants. How their Women dance. A Story of one John Thacker. Their Bark eaten up, and their Ship endangered by the Worm. Of the Worms here and elsewhere. Of Captain Swan. Raja Laut, the General’s Deceitfulness. Hunting wild Kine. The Prodigality of some of the English. Captain Swan treats with a Young Indian of a Spice-Island. A Hunting Voyage with the General. His punishing a Servant of his. Of his Wives and Women. A sort of strong Rice-drink. The General’s foul Dealing and Exactions. Captain Swan’s Uneasiness and indiscreet Management. His Men Mutiny. Of a Snake twisting about on their Necks. The main part of the Crew go away with the Ship, leaving Captain Swan and some of his Men: Several others poisoned there.
Having in the two last Chapters given some Account of the Natural, Civil, and Religious State of Mindanao, I shall now go on with the prosecution of our Affairs during our stay there.
’Twas in a Bay on the N. East-side of the Island that we came to an Anchor, as hath been said. We lay in this Bay but one Night, and part of the next Day. Yet there we got Speech with some of the Natives, who by signs made us to understand, that the City Mindanao was on the West-side of the Island. We endeavored to persuade one of them, to go with us to be our Pilot, but he would not: Therefore in the Afternoon we loosed from hence, steering again to the South East, having the Wind at S.W. When we came to the S.E. end of the Island Mindanao, we saw two small Islands[7] about three Leagues distant from it. We might have passed between them and the main Island, as we learnt since, but not knowing them, nor what dangers we might encounter there, we chose rather to Sail to the Eastward of them. But meeting very strong Westerly Winds, we got nothing forward in many Days. In this time we first saw the Islands Meangis,[8] which are about 16 Leagues distant from the Mindanao, bearing S.E. I shall have occasion to speak more of them hereafter.
The 4th Day of July we got into a deep Bay, four Leagues N.W. from the two small Islands before mentioned. But the Night before, in a violent Tornado, our Bark being unable to beat any longer, bore away, which put us in some pain for fear she was overset, as we had like to have been our selves. We anchored on the South West side of the Bay, in fifteen fathom Water, about a Cables length from the shore. Here we were forced to shelter our selves from the violence of the Weather, which was so boisterous with Rains, and Tornadoes, and a strong Westerly Wind, that we were very glad to find this place to Anchor in, being the only shelter on this side from the West Winds.
This Bay is not above two Mile wide at the Mouth, but farther in it is three Leagues wide, and seven fathom deep, running in N.N.W. There is a good depth of Water about four or five Leagues in, but Rocky foul Ground for about two Leagues in, from the Mouth on both sides of the Bay, except only in that place where we lay. About three Leagues in from the mouth, on the Eastern side, there are fair sandy Bays, and very good anchoring in four, five, and six fathom. The Land on the East side is high, Mountainous, and Woody, yet very well watered with small Brooks, and there is one River large enough for Canoes to enter. On the West side of the Bay, the Land is of a mean height with a large Savannah, bordering on the Sea, and stretching from the mouth of the Bay, a great way to the Westward.
This Savannah abounds with long Grass, and it is plentifully stock’d with Deer. The adjacent Woods are a covert for them in the heat of the Day: but Mornings and Evenings they feed in the open Plains, as thick as in our Parks in England. I never saw any where such plenty of wild Deer, tho’ I have met with them in several parts of America, both in the North and South Seas.
The Deer live here pretty peaceably and unmolested, for there are no Inhabitants on that side of the Bay. We visited this Savannah every Morning, and killed as many Deer as we pleased, sometimes 16 or 18 in a Day; and we did eat nothing but Venison all the time we staid here.