India, opposite the northern end of Ceylon, laden with rice for Malacca, and took her that night. Captain Lancaster ordered her captain and master on board our ship, and sent me, Edmund Barker, his lieutenant, with seven men, to take charge of the prize. We came to anchor in thirty fathoms, as in all that channel there is good anchorage three or four leagues from shore.

While thus at anchor, and keeping out a light for the Edward, another Portuguese ship of 400 tons, belonging to San Thome, came to anchor hard by us. The Edward had fallen to leeward, for want of a sufficient number of men to handle her sails, and was not able next morning to fetch up to this other ship, until we who were in the prize went in our boat to help her. We then made sail towards the ship of San Thome: but our ship was so foul that she escaped us. We then took out of our prize what we thought might be useful to us, after which we liberated her with all her men, except a pilot and four Moors, whom we detained to assist in navigating the Edward. We continued to cruize here till the 6th of October, at which time we met the galeon of the captain of Malacca, a ship of 700 tons, coming from Goa. After shooting at her many times, we at length shot through her main-yard, on which she came to anchor and surrendered. We then commanded the captain, master, pilot, and purser to come on board our ship; but only the captain came, accompanied by one soldier, saying that the others would not come, unless sent for; but having got to some distance from us in the evening, all the people of the ship, to the number of about 300, men, women, and children, got on shore in two great boats, and we saw no more of them.

When we came on board, we found she was armed with sixteen brass cannon. She had 300 butts of wine, Canary, Nipar wine, which is made of the palm-trees, and raisin-wine, which is very strong. She had likewise an assortment of all kind of haberdashery wares; as hats, red caps, knit of Spanish wool, knit worsted stockings, shoes, velvets, camblets, and silks; abundance of surkets, (sweet-meats,) rice, Venice glasses, papers full of false and counterfeit stones, brought from Venice by an Italian, wherewith to deceive the rude Indians, abundance of playing cards, two or three bales of French paper, and sundry other things. What became of the treasure usually brought in this vessel, in ryals of plate, we could not learn. After the mariners had pillaged this rich ship in a disorderly manner, as they refused to unlade the excellent wines into the Edward, Captain Lancaster abandoned the prize, letting her drive at sea, after taking out of her the choicest of her goods.

Being afraid that we might be attacked by a greatly superior force from Malacca, we now departed from the neighbourhood of the Sambilam islands, and went to a bay in the kingdom of Junkseylon, between Malacca and Pegu, in the lat. of 8° N. We here sent on shore the soldier who had been left on board our ship by the captain of the galeon, because he could speak the Malay language, to deal with the people for pitch, of which we were in much need, which he did very faithfully, procuring two or three quintals, with promise of more, and several of the natives came off along with him to our ship. We sent commodities to their king, to barter for ambergris and the horns of the abath, the trade in both of which articles is monopolized by the king of this country. This abath is a beast having only one horn in her forehead, thought to be the female unicorn, and the horn is highly prized by all the Moors in those parts, as a most sovereign remedy against poison.[20] We got two or three of these horns, and a reasonable quantity of ambergris. At length the king was disposed to detain the Portuguese soldier and our merchandise treacherously; but he told the king that we had gilt armour, shirts of mail, and halberts, which things they prize greatly, and in hope of procuring some of these he was allowed to return on board.[21]

[Footnote 20: This Abath, or Abadia, is the Rhinoceros Monoceros, or One-horned Rhinoceros. The virtue of the horn, mentioned in the text, is altogether imaginary.--E.]

[Footnote 21: At this place Hakluyt makes the following remark on the margin:--"Some small quantity of these things might be carried out to pleasure those kings."]

Leaving this coast, we returned in sight of Sumatra, and went thence to the islands of Nicobar, which we found inhabited by Moors. After we came to anchor, the people came daily on board in their canoes, bringing fowls, cocoas, plantains, and other fruits; and within two days they brought ryals of plate, which they gave us in exchange for calicut cloth. They find these ryals by diving for them in the sea, having been there lost in two Portuguese ships not long before, that were cast away when bound for China. In their language the cocoa-nut is called calambo; the plantain, pison; a hen, jam; a fish, iccan; and a hog, babee. Departing from the Nicobar Islands on the 21st November, we made sail for the island of Ceylon, where we arrived about the 3d December, 1592, and anchored on its south side, in six fathoms water, but lost our anchor, as the ground was foul and rocky. We then ran along the south-west side of the island, and anchored at a place called Punta del Galle, meaning to remain there in waiting for the Bengal fleet of seven or eight ships, the Pegu fleet of two or three, and the ships from Tanaserim, a great bay to the south of Martaban, in the kingdom of Siam, which ships, according to different informations we had got, were expected to come this way within fourteen days, with commodities for the caraks, which usually depart from Cochin, on the homeward voyage, about the middle of January.

The commodities of the ships which come from Bengal are, fine pavilions for beds, wrought quilts, fine cotton cloth, pintados, (painted chintz,) and other fine goods, together with rice; and they usually make this voyage twice a year. The ships from Pegu bring the most precious jewels, as rubies and diamonds; but their principal lading is rice and certain cloths. Those from Tanaserim are chiefly freighted with rice and Nipar wine, which is very strong, and as colourless as rock water, with a somewhat whitish tinge, and very hot in taste, like aqua vitae.[22] We came to anchor at Punta Galle, in foul ground, so that we lay all that night a-drift, having only two anchors left, which were in the hold, and had no stocks. Upon this our men took occasion to insist upon going home, our captain at that time being very sick, and more likely to die than recover. In the morning we set our foresail, meaning to bear up to the northward, standing off and on to keep away from the current, which otherwise would have set us to the south, away from, all known land. When the foresail was set, and we were about to hand our other sails, to accomplish our before-mentioned purpose, our men unanimously declared that they would stay no longer in this country, and insisted upon directing our course for England; and as they would listen to no persuasions, the captain was under the necessity of giving way to their demand, leaving all hope of the great possibility we had of making some rich prizes.

[Footnote 22: Most probably what we now call arrack is here meant.--E.]