The Seamen being fcorbutick, we marked out a Place on 
the Shore for the Sick, and at the fame time a Butch Ship 
was forced into the fame Harbour by Strefs of Weather, 
which had not one fick Hand on Board. The Natives 
gave us Cattle, Fowls, Honey, and Fruit, in Exchange for 
Knives, Sciffers, and Trinkets of little Value ; but the 
Place was fo unhealthy, that many of our Men died, partly 
by the Scurvy, and partly by a Phrenetick Fever. We lay 
directly under the Tropick of Capricorn , and the Sun-beams 
darted upon us almoft in a perpendicular Line ; fome had 
their Legs fcorched, and ulcerated through their Stockings ; 
nay, the extream Heat would have incommoded us more, 
if it had not been for the Conveniency of a fine River to 
bathe in, and the Shades of a large Wood. We were 
polled at the Foot of a great Mountain, which was covered 
with Infinity of large Lizards that offered no Hurt to any 
body. The Wood was replenifhed with an. innumerable 
Quantity of little Monkies and Apes, which entertained us 
with a continual Shew of dancing about, and flapping 
from Tree to Tree. Parrots are there very numerous, and 
make an agreeable Harmony, with their various and warb- 
ling Notes. Not to mention the Indifcretion of our Men in 
over-feeding in fo hot a Climate, and the pernicious Con- 
fequences that attended it : I lhail only take nptice farther 
of the unlpeakable Uneafinefs from the Flies by Day, and 
the Gnats that pellered us by Night, in piercing the Flelft 
till the Blood came, and an Inflammation Blued; This 
Inconvenience was fo cutting, that fome crept into Sacks 
and Bags, leaving only a fmall Hole to breath through, 
and all of us were forced to make Fires, and lie down in 
the midft of the Smoak. 
The Bland of St. Laurence has feven hundred Leagues 
in Circumference. It lies between 26 and 14 0 South La- 
titude. It abounds in Cattle, efpecially Sheep, which 
bring forth three or four Lambs at a time 5 the Cattle are 
siot impropriated, but common to all that catch them ; for 
the Inhabitants, and indeed molt of the other Indians , 
chofe rather to feed on Fifh, Fowl, and Milk. ’Tis com- 
mon there to fee two or three hundred Bulls and Cows in 
one Herd, and when they come to crofs a broad deep Ri- 
ver, the Cows raife their Heads upon the Bulls Rumps, 
and fo get over. We anchored at the Mouth of a River 
that afforded great Plenty of Fifh and Crocodiles, and 
when we killed a Crocodile, and took out its Entrails, we 
obferved, that like Mu fit they made a very agreeable Per- 
fume in the Air. The Natives are of a tawny olive Co- 
lour, inclining to red * they are tall, ftrait, well made, and 
not only of a ready Apprehenfion, but wife ; their Hair is 
long, and wreathed into Treffes. They are naked all over, 
excepting that their Privities are covered with Cotton Cloth! 
The Women wear one Piece of Cloth, that covers them 
from under their Break to their Girdle, and another that 
reaches from thence to the Knees, their Heads being bare, 
and fhaved. 1 heir Arms are Darts and Javelins, called 
Azagayes, for the ISoife of a Gun frights them exceedingly. 
Tis faid that this Ifland was formerly peopled by the 
Cbinefe , upon the Occafion of a Ship’s being call away upon 
that Coaft ; and indeed they refemble the Chinefe very 
much, bating that their Complexion is not near fo white, 
which perhaps may proceed from their going naked, and 
living in the Torrid Zone . At prefent the Ifland is very 
populous, and governed by feveral Kings that wage War 
with one another : Some of the Inhabitants are Mohamme- 
dans, and circumcifed, and the reft are Pagans. The in- 
land Parts of the Ifland are in great Want of Water. 
5 * On the 15th of May, having refitted our Ships as 
well a? we could, and provided ourfelves with Water, 
Wood, and Flefh, which after all would not take Salt fo 
well as what we naye in Europe , wefet fail, and fleered for 
tne Comorro Iflands, from the Con federation that our Com- 
plement of Men was very Abort and fickly. The 23d made 
thefe Iflands, which lie in 12 9 30' South Latitude between 
St. Laurence and the Continent of Africa , at the Diftance 
fo ^venty Leagues from Mozambique. There are five of them, 
eaen of which has a peculiar King, and one of them called 
Malailf being furrounded by the other four. We chofe to 
anchor m its Road j we faw feveral Villages afhore the 
Inhabitants of which tiled us kindly, and gave us Fruits in 
^change for Trinkets mad? of Iron., The Inhabitants of 
thefe Iflands are Mohammedans , being a Meddly of few rat 
Nations, viz. Ethiopians , Caffres , Arabians , and Perjii 
ans. They are true Friends to the Portuguese , and a cun- 
ning, (harp fort of People, that are not fit to be con- 
fided in. 
When our Men offered to land at .a little Village to take 
in Water, the Inhabitants rofe up in Arms, and oppofed 
their Landing, till they fent them five or fix Crowns'; after 
which they allowed them to take as much Water as they 
pleafed. All thefe Iflands are extream fertile in Oranges, Ci- 
trons, Cocoas, Honey, Betel, and Rice, which we bought 
up at the eafy Purchafe of a few Iron-Trinkets and Flan- 
ders Vv arc : Flefh, indeed, is as dear there as here, though 
they have Plenty of Oxen, Cows, and Sheep, They have 
Barks made altogether out of the Body of one Tree, in 
which they fend their Fruit to Mozambick to be exchanged 
foi Cottop, Cloth, Gold, Ivory, Esc. One Day we faw 
a monftrous Fifh rife above the Water, which had the 
Form and Figure of a Man, with a fort of Beard towards 
the Chin that feemed to be its Fins, and a long fcaly Head, 
terminating in a Point: When we offered to come near 
hup he plunged his Head under vVater, and fo difcoverecl 
Part of his Back, which was fcaly. We ftaid a Fort- 
night m this Road, and the Goodnefs of the b ruit and the 
Air cured our Men of the Scurvy to a Miracle ; and in- 
deed I have always obferved that Citrons, and Gramms* 
and their Juices* are of fovereign Ufies in fcorbutick 
6 ^ June the 17th we fet fail, and the 24th repealed the 
Equmodlial Line, Handing to the Northward in the Lat 
of 50 We perceived fome great Shelves furrounding 
little Hands, which were the Maldives, though moftof our 
Makers and Pilots miftook them for the Iflands called de 
Biegc ’ desRoes, which we had left eighty Leagues a-ftern to 
the N01 th- Weft. Our Admiral defigned to pais to the 
Loren of the Maldives , between them and the Coaft of 
India ; but, on the contrary, we run directly upon them 
wheieas we ought to have flood an hundred Leagues off 
them if we had a Mind to be faff. J n fine, finch was 
our Misfortune, that the Corbin which failed a head, flruck 
.tin ice upon a Rock, at the Diftance of five or fix Leagues 
from the Coaft of the Maldives. In this Difafter we faw a 
Bark belonging to the Hands, which would not come near 
us on account of a ftrift Prohibition in that Country to 
approach any Ship in Diftrefs without the King’s Leave 
In the mean time the Sailors eat and drank heartily, and 
tieated their Commanders with Infolence, infulting all 
thofe who ffiewed any Regard for Religion, and loudly 
proclaiming that, fince Death was fo certain, they were 
rejolved to render its Approaches eafy and foft This 
filled me with Horror, and convinced me that moft Sailors 
leave their Souls and Confidences afhore, - In fine after 
continuing two Days in this deplorable and defperate Con- 
dition, w,e made a fihift to refit our Galleon, and haul it 
over the Flats, and, with infinite Labour and Difficulty 
arri ved on board of it at one of the Iflands called Pouladol 
which js not a League in Circumference* We had car’ 
tied fome Arms along with us, but ,the Inhabitants difput- 
ed our Landing till we had given up our Arms, and fur- 
rendered ourfelves at Difctetion. There were not above 
twenty or twenty-five Inhabitants in the Hand, but they 
concerted their Meafures fo wifely^ that they fent off our 
Boat and aH them own, to Qe other Hands : To prevent 
u j* the 7 carried us to a LocKe in 
the Middle of the Hand, where they entertained us°witli 
iome I luit, Cocoas, and Lemons, and rifled us of all 
we had alledging that it belonged to theft King, as being 
a Wreck. We had a Piece of Scarlet mo g with u f 
which we pretended was defigned for a Prefent to the 
King of the Hands, affirming at the fame time, that the: 
whole Cargoe.of our Ship was for a Complement to him 
Upon this no body dared fo much as touch the Scarlet • 
but, after all, we cut oft a Piece of two or three Ells of W 
and prefented it to the Governor of this little Ifland in 
order to oblige him, and he, who was a. very old Min' 
took « very kindly, conjuring u s no f to fp° k rfT 
Soon after the Governor fent the Maker and two Sailor, 
r f r p ed f the Capital Hand called Male, \ 
and the Maker prefented him with the Piece of .Scarlet* 
