728 The E 'XP E DITIO N of Commodore. Beau lieu Book L 
kilted for two Hours, and foon after had another, which 
broke our Fore-maft, being then in i° zo ! S. Lat. The 
1 2th being in i° io /: S. Lat we faw a few Land-Fowls, 
which made us hope to fee the Land in a fhort Time •, 
and moil of my Ship's Crew, as well as that of the Ad- 
vice Boat, being then fick, 'November the nth we came in 
Sight of Land in i° 40' N. Lat. but the Frequentnefs of 
the Calms, and the Sicknefs of my Men, retarded me 
mightily, for the Pinnace had not above two or three 
Hands fit for Bufinefs ; and, in our Ship, there were not 
eighteen that were able to work ; befides, both our Sur- 
geons were dead. I defcried feveral Ships of that Coun- 
try under Sail, and put out a white Antient to make them 
fteer towards us ; at laft, finding they would not come, 
I fent out my Skiff to fpeak with one that flood between 
11s and the Shore, and tho s they endeavoured to run afhore , 
yet the Skiff” came up with them, and agreed to give 
thirty-five Pieces of Eight for a Pilot to conduct us to 
f ticow. 
They were of Prioman, a Town about eight or ten 
Leagues to the Southward of ticow , and told our Men 
that Ticow lay about feven or eight Leagues off, beyond 
home Hands a-head of us. Our Pilot carried us nearer 
the T e rra Firma than we were ; and when we came to be 
off of the above-mentioned Iflands, made us put back to 
Sea. Having paffed thefe Hands, we came in Sight of a 
high Promontory of the Terra Firma , which had two 
Banks, one about half a League before its outmoft Point, 
and another about two Leagues to the S. E. of it ; and we 
had certainly run foul of the laft, if one of our Men had 
not given us Notice of it from the Main-Top-Maft, for 
we could not fpy it upon Deck, and our Pilot had told 
us nothing of the matter.. Having weathered this dange- 
rous Place,, and ftanding S. S. E. we faw another a-head 
of us, about the fame Diftance from the lafL We fteered 
between thefe tvro, which lie S. E. and N. W. founding 
all the Way, and had all along: fixteen Fathom Water, 
the Ground muddy, with a little Sand. 
The Night overtaking us, we were obliged to drop an 
Anchor between them. This Shoal lies off of a Place 
called Pageman , juft under the Equinodtial, which affords 
a great deal of Pepper, making a large Creek, the Bottom 
of which is a low Country,,, covered with Woods, but in 
the inland Parts there Hands an high Mountain, pointed 
like a Pike, which is feen above twenty Leagues off, and 
runs S. E. a Quarter E. Having weathered the Point of 
this Creek, we defcried the three Hands of Ticow,- and, at 
kit, having fpent two Months upon a Voyage that is 
commonly performed in eight Days, landed at Ticow the 
iff of December Between that Time and the 2d of Of- 
tober I had loft twenty-five Men, and if the Calm had 
continued but fifteen Days longer, I believe I had loft all 
the Men in my Ship. 
21. We caft Anchor at Ticow between the greateft of 
the Elands and the Terra Firma , at four Fathom Water, 
and the Ground muddy, and fent our Skiff afhore, which 
brought us one Pedro , who had been Interpreter to the 
Englijh Fatftory in that Place. This Interpreter told me, 
that the Englijh and Dutch had been expelled by the King 
of Achen two Months before, and that there was a great 
deal of Pepper, but we could not buy it without a Licence 
from the King of Achen , who was Lord of all that Coaft. 
He likewife acquainted me that the Hope , our fecond 
Ship, had touched upon the Coaft about twenty Leagues 
off, in the latter End of July , and had fent their Long- 
Boat with fifteen Men to this Place, to take in frefh Pro- 
vifions, which they wanted mightily. That upon the 
Boat’s. Arrival, a Dutch Ship in the Road fired upon them, 
but, upon Complaint, excufed themfelves, pleading that 
they took them to be Englijh . That the fifteen Men hav- 
ing met with a kind Reception, and taken in what Pro- 
viiions they wanted, fet out in fearch of their own Ship, 
but could not meet with it •, upon which they returned to 
this Place, where feven of them died in Oblober ; four went 
for Achen in a Dutch Ship, three for Bantam in another 
Dutch Ship, and one continued in the Country, and earn- 
ed his Bread by gathering of Pepper. 
I was infinitely grieved to hear that Captain Grave had 
been fo kiconfiderate as to fend his Long-Boat fo far from 
him, efpecially when X was informed that, among the fif- 
teen Men he had loft, there were two principal Commif- 
faries and* a Pilot. Upon farther Enquiry, Pedro in- 
formed me that the Place where the Hope had caft An- 
chor was a great Hand, about twenty Leagues to the 
Weftward of that Place y that he was affured they had not 
buffered Shipwreck, either upon that Eland or along the 
Coaft, fince the Praws (fo the Ships of that Country are 
called) going to and fro had never difcovered any Wreck. 
That the two Commiffaries, before they died, were of 
Opinion that the Ship had been drove from her Anchors 
by Storm, and not being able to make her former Station,, 
made the beft of her Way to Bant am , expediting that I 
would touch at this Place,, according to my Promife, and 
take up her Men. As to the Affront offered them by the 
Dutch , he told me, that the Dutch knew them to be 
French , having fpoken with them before they fired : That 
the News of the Peace between the Dutch and the En- 
glijh was arrived before this happened : That the Dutch 
had reprefented to the Governor and the Inhabitants of 
that Place,, that the French were Robbers, and meaned 
only to obferve the Landing-place, in order to fack them i 
That they would not affift our two Commiffaries any mari- 
ner of way, whether in Health or Sicknefs, nor give the 
leaft Relief to any of our Men, bating fome few Sailors 
that they flood in Need of-, and that the Englijh had 
ferved our Men to the utmoft of their Power. He ad- 
ded, that the Governor was very fenfible of the Malice of 
the Dutch , who meant only to engrofs the Indies to thern- 
felves, and had but lately abufed the King of Jacatra,, 
and ufurped his Territories, for which Reafon the King of 
Achen thought fit to diflodge them from Ticow. 
As to the Death of our Men, he faid, it had been. a 
very fickly Year in that Place as ever was feen ; but, after 
all, the Dutch were fufpefted to have fhortened their Days,, 
confidering thofe who died were the Perfons they hated 
rnoft, and were not the firft who had received Poifon from 
their Hands, witnefs the Death of feveral Englijhmen , o'c- 
cafioned by that. Means. I queftioned him about the In- 
jury done by the Dutch to the King of Jacatra , and whe- 
ther they had laid Siege to Bantam ; he affured me that it 
was flill befieged, infomuch that there was no Commerce 
nor Traffick with that City ; that the Dutch had poffeffed 
themfelves of Jacatra, and expelled the King ; that they 
had razed the ancient City, and built a ftrong Fort and 
City after the Fafhion of their own Country, which they 
had peopled with all forts of Nations ; and, in fine, that 
they were at that Time Mafters of the Straight of Sunda, 
where no body could fail without their Paiport. Having 
maturely weighed all the Particulars of this Advice, I re- 
folved to fend both to Achen and to Bantam , at any rate* 
to have fome Account of Captain Grave and his Ship, for 
whofe Condition I was greatly concerned.. 
22. December the 2d the King and Governor allowing 
me to come afhore, I carried fome Prefents along with 
me, without which one will fcarce be made welcome in 
that Country. Upon my landing, the Governor and 
principal Officers gave me an honourable Reception, un- 
der a Roof, or, as they call it, Baly. Having told them 
'my Country and Bufinefs, they informed me that I was 
free to buy up what Provifions I wanted, provided I paid 
for them in Rials and Knives,, and no other Commodity, 
But, as for Pepper, and the other Commodities of the 
Country,, they could not difpofe of any without a Licence 
from the King ; but if I would go to Achen and obtain Leave 
of the King to eredl a Factory with them, they would be 
glad to deal with us. . I afked Leave to hire a Houfe in 
the City, to accommodate my fick. Men, and to remain 
afhore to buy up Provifions ; but they replied, they 
could not anlwer for the Safety of my Men afhore, there 
being fo many Rogues about the Town ; but, if I pleafed* 
I might leave two Men to buy up Provifions, and that 
only for the Space of a few Days. 
The next Day I fent a Letter to Achen , directed for 
Monfi Grave , Captain of the Hope , if he was there, hav® 
ing obliged the* Mailer of a Praw bound thither, by fome 
Prefents and Promifes of a Reward, to carry it to the Cap- 
tain. I agreed with the Mafter of a Praw that lived at 
Ticow , to give him a hundred Rials to carry one of my 
Men 
