456 AVOYAGETO 



1780. was preparing to march after us. He and his party had, 

 during our abfence, been profitably employed, in loading 

 the boat with the cabbage-palm, which abounds in this 

 bay. Our guides were made exceedingly happy, on our 

 prefenting them with a dollar each for their trouble, and 

 intruding to their care a bottle of rum for the Mandarin. 

 One of them chofe to accompany us on board. 



At two in the afternoon we joined the (hips, and feveral 

 of our mooting parties returned about the fame time from 

 the woods, having had little fuccefs, though they faw a 

 great variety of birds and animals, fome of which will be 

 hereafter noticed. 



At five, a proa, with fix men, rowed up to the fhip, from 

 the upper end of the harbour, and a decent looking pcrfon- 

 age introduced himfelf to Captain Gore with an eafe and 

 good breeding, which convinced us his time had been fpent 

 in other company than what this ifland afforded. He 

 brought with him the French paper above tranferibed, and 

 faid he was the Mandarin mentioned in it. He fpoke a few 

 Portugueze words, but as none of us were acq <ii ; \ c\l with 

 this language, we were obliged to have recourie 10 a black 

 man on board, who could fpeak the Malay, wh 1 is the 

 general language of thefe inlanders, and was underftood by 

 the Mandarin. After a little previ( us converfation, he de- 

 clared to us, that he was a Chriftian, and had been baptized 

 by the name of Luco ; that he had been fent hither in Au- 

 gufl laft, from Sai-gon, the capital of Cochin China, and 

 had fincc waited in expectation of fome French mips, which 

 he was to pilot to a fafe port, not more than a day's fail 

 hence, upon the coatt of Cochin China. We acquainted 

 Jlim, that we were not French, but F-nglifh, and afked him, 



whether 



