I Sent You
A Letter, Dated In November, 1614, By The Dutch Ship Called The Old
Zealand, In Which I Informed You Of The Death Of Mr Peacock And Walter
Carwarden, Both Betrayed In Cochin-China, To Our Great Grief, Besides
The Loss Of Goods To The Company.
The last year, Mr Wickham, Mr Adams, and I, when bound for Siam in a
junk we had bought,
And meeting with great storms, our vessel sprung a
leak, and we were fain to bear up for the Leukes[60] islands, where we
had to remain so long, before we could stop our leaks, that we lost the
monsoon, and had to return here. We have fitted her out again this year,
and are now ready to sail again for Siam. My greatest hope in these
parts is, that we shall be able to establish trade with China, of which
we seem to have a fair prospect through the efforts of the China captain
and his brothers; and I make no doubt that we shall have a factory there
ere long.
[Footnote 60: The Liqueo islands are here obviously meant, a group to
the south of the south-western extremity of Japan, in 28 deg. N. and long.
129 deg. 30' W. from Greenwich; such being the latitude and longitude of the
centre of the great Liqueo, the principal island of the group. - E.]
This last summer we have had great troubles, in consequence of war
between the emperor and Fidaia Same, and we do not certainly know
whether the latter be slain or fled; but the emperor gained the victory,
with a vast loss of men on both sides.[61] Having no other news to
write, I commit you to the protection of the Almighty, and am, &c.
EDMOND SAYER.
[Footnote 61: In the text of the Pilgrims, this loss is estimated at
400,000, and in a marginal note at 40,000, both in words at length; for
which reason the number is omitted in the text. - E.]
No. 4. Letter, with no address, from Edmond Sayer, dated Firando, 4th
December, 1616.
Worshipful Sir, - My duty always remembered. Having a favourable
opportunity, I could not omit to trouble you with a few lines. I am but
newly arrived here in Firando from a difficult and tedious voyage to
Siam, to which country we went in a junk belonging to the right
honourable company, in which Mr Adams was master, and myself factor.
Having bought there more goods than our own junk could carry, we
freighted another junk for Japan, in which Mr Benjamin Fry, the chief in
the factory at Siam, thought it proper for me to embark, for the safety
of the goods. The year being far spent, we were from the 1st June to the
17th September in our voyage between Siam and Shachmar, during which
we experienced many storms and much foul weather, and lost twenty of our
men by sickness and want of fresh water. The great cause of our tedious
and unfortunate voyage was in our not having a good pilot.
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