DAMPIER^S SOJOURN IN GREAT NICOBAR 273 



expression usual among English seamen when they are rowing. 

 And we wondered what he meant by it, till we saw him point 

 to his consorts ; and then we looking that way, saw land appear- 

 ing, like an island, and all our Malayan friends said it was 

 an island at the N.W. end of Sumatra, called Way, for Pulo 

 Way is the island Way. We who were dropping with wet, 

 cold, and hungry, were all overjoyed at the sight of the land, 

 and presently marked its bearing. It bore south, and the wind 

 was still at west, a strong gale, but the sea did not run so high 

 as in the night. Therefore we trimmed our small sail no bigger 

 than an apron, and steered with it. Now our outlayers did us 

 a great kindness again, for although we had but a small sail, 

 yet the wind was strong and pressed down our vessel's side 

 very much. But being supported by the outlayers, we could 

 brook it well enough, which otherwise we could not have 

 done. 



" About noon we saw more land beneath the supposed Pulo 

 Way, and steering towards it, before night we saw the coast of 

 Sumatra, and found the errors of our Achinese ; for the high 

 land that we first saw, which then appeared like an island, was 

 not Pulo Way, but a great high mountain on the island Sumatra, 

 called by the English the Golden Mountain. Our wind continued 

 till about seven o'clock at night, then it abated, and at ten o'clock 

 it died away ; and then we stuck to our oars again, though all 

 of us quite tired with our former fatigues and hardships. 



" The next morning, being the 20th day, we saw all the low 



land plain, and judged ourselves not above 8 leagues off. About 



eight o'clock in the morning we had the wind again at west, a 



fresh gale, and steering in still for the shore, at five o'clock in 



the afternoon we run to the mouth of a river on the island 



Sumatra, called Passange Jonca (Pasangan River).* It is 34 



leagues to the eastward of Achin and 6 leagues to the west of 



Diamond Point, which makes with three angles of a rhombus, 



and is low land. 



* The Pasangan River has two mouths, of which the western is named 

 Jangka. 



S 



