7 Deg. N. And Long.

124 deg.

35' E. from Greenwich.[192] We here anchored in fifteen fathoms on clean hard sand, two miles from the shore. Soon afterwards Rajah Laut came on board, accompanied by one of the sultan's sons, and asked in Spanish, Who we were? Being told we were English, he asked if we came to settle among them, of which they had formerly some promise, and were now in hopes of its being effected, to serve to protect them against the Dutch, whom they greatly dreaded. Had we properly considered the matter, it might have been much for our advantage, Mindanao being conveniently situated between the Spice islands and the Philippines, and besides the three islands of Meangis,[193] only about twenty leagues from hence, abound with spice and cloves. We were also well filled for such a settlement, having among our company all manner of artificers, as carpenters, bricklayers, shoemakers, tailors, and the like, as also abundance of tools, arms, cannon, and sufficient ammunition to begin with; and, notwithstanding the great distance from England, we might easily have had supplies from thence, providing ships set out the latter end of August, proceeding round Cape Horn, and so directly across the Pacific for Mindanao, or else coasting along the western shore of America as far as was necessary, and then stretching across to have the advantage of the trade-wind. By this way the voyage might be accomplished in six or seven months, which would at least require eight or nine by the Cape of Good Hope.

[Footnote 192: In Harris, this longitude is made 23 deg. 12' W. from the Lizard by some strange error, being 235 deg. 25' W. from Greenwich. - E.]

[Footnote 193: It does not appear what islands these were, unless perhaps the Silibabo islands, about half way between Mindanao and the northern end of Gilolo, but considerably farther distant than is stated in the text. - E.]

Rajah Laut invited Captain Swan ashore, and promised to furnish what provisions we wanted, and desired him in the mean time to secure our ship within the river, for fear of the approaching westerly monsoon, which Captain Swan agreed to after some deliberation. The river being narrow, and having not above eleven feet water on the bar in spring-tides, we had much ado to get our ship a quarter of a mile above its mouth, where we moored head and stern in a hole, so that she lay always afloat. The city of Mindanao is a mile in length, but not very broad, stretching along the right bank of the river as you go up, though there are some houses also on the opposite side. The inhabitants frequently came aboard of our ship, and invited our men to their houses, where they were kindly entertained after their manner with tobacco and betel, and such of them as had money, or other articles of value, did not want their pagalies, or female friends. Captain Swan was entertained daily by Rajah Laut, and those of our men who had no money had boiled rice, with scraps of fowl and buffalo beef given them. Yet, after all these outward shews of friendship, we soon after began to discover that Rajah Laut had sinister intentions.

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