seen. voyage, with the course steered, the direction of the wind, and the observations made; the result being, by his computation, a total westing of 7323 miles, or 125° 11′ of longitude, "allowing fifty-eight or fifty-nine Italian miles to a degree in these latitudes.' And upon the ground of this calculation he disputes the ordinary reckoning of hydrographers, who make the breadth of the South Sea have often taken notice of it, especially if it is high land, for you shall then have the clouds hang about it without any visible motion. The 20th day of May our bark, being about three leagues ahead of our ship, sailed over a rocky shoal on which there was but four fathom water, and abundance of fish swimming about the rocks. They imagined by this that the land was not far off; so they clapped on a wind with the bark's head to the north, and being past the shoal, lay by for us. When we came up with them, Captain Tait came aboard us and related what he had We were then in Lat. 12° 55', steering W. The Island of Guam is laid down in Lat. 13° N. by the Spaniards, who are masters of it, keeping it as a baiting-place1 as they go to the Philippine Islands. Therefore we clapped on a wind and stood to the N., being somewhat troubled and doubtful whether we were right, because there is no shoal laid down in the Spanish draughts about the Island of Guam. At four o'clock, to our great joy, we saw the Island Guam at about eight leagues' distance. It was well for Captain Swan that we got sight of it before our provision was spent, of which we had but enough for three days more; for, as I was afterwards informed, the men had contrived first to kill Captain Swan and eat him when the victuals were gone, and after him, all of us who were accessory in promoting the undertaking this voyage. This made Captain Swan say to me after our arrival at Guam, "Ah! Dampier, you would have made them but a poor meal," for I was as lean as the Captain was lusty and fleshy. The wind was at ENE. and the land bore NNE.; therefore we stood to the northward till we brought the island to bear east, and then we turned to get in to an anchor. [Dampier here occupies several pages with a detailed table, showing every day's run during the 1 A place of provisioning or refresh ment. 2 Plotted, arranged. only about 100 degrees, more or less." The tables and argument are omitted, being purely technical and practically obsolete.] The Island of Guam, or Guahan (as the native Indians pronounce it), is one of the Ladrone Islands, and belongs to the Spaniards, who have a small fort with six guns in it, with a Governor and twenty or thirty soldiers. They keep it for the relief and refreshment of their Philippine ships that touch here in their way from Acapulco to Manilla, but the winds will not so easily let them take this way back again. The Spaniards of late have named Guam the Island Maria; it is about twelve leagues long and four broad, lying N. and S. It is a pretty high champaign land. The 21st of May 1686, at eleven o'clock in the evening, we anchored near the middle of the Island of Guam, on the west side, a mile from the shore. At a distance it appears flat and even, but coming near it you will find it stands shelving; and the east side, which is much the highest, is fenced with steep rocks that oppose the violence of the sea which continually rages against it, being driven with the constant trade-wind, and on that side there is no anchoring. The west side is pretty low and full of small sandy bays, divided with as many rocky points. The soil of the island is reddish, dry, and indifferent fruitful. The fruits are chiefly rice, pineapples, water-melons, musk-melons, oranges and limes, cocoa-nuts, and a sort of fruit called by us bread-fruit. The cocoa-nut trees grow by the sea on the western side in great groves, three or four miles in length, and a mile or two broad. This tree 1686.] BOAT-MAKING AT GUAM. is in shape like the cabbage tree, and at a distance they are not to be known each from other, only the cocoa-nut tree is fuller of branches; but the cabbage tree generally is much higher, though the cocoa-nut trees in some places are very high. The natives of this island are strongbodied, large-limbed, and well-shaped. They are copper-coloured like other Indians; their hair is black and long, their eyes meanly proportioned; they have pretty high noses; their lips are pretty full, and their teeth indifferent white. They are long-visaged, and stern of countenance; yet we found them to be affable and courteous. They are many of them troubled with a kind of leprosy. 225 of the sail there is another small yard, to keep the sail out square, and to roll up the sail on when it blows hard; for it serves instead of a reef to take up the sail to what degree they please, according to the strength of the wind. Along the belly-side of the boat, parallel with it, at about six or seven feet distance, lies another small boat or canoe, being a log of very light wood, almost as long as the great boat, but not so wide, being not above a foot and a half wide at the upper part, and very sharp like a wedge at each end. And there are two bamboos of about eight or ten feet long, and as big as one's leg, placed over the great boat's side, one near each end of it, and reaching The natives are very ingenious be- about six or seven feet from the side yond any people in making boats, or of the boat; by the help of which the proas as they are called in the East little boat is made firm and contigu Indies, and therein they take great ous to the other. . . . I have been delight. These are built sharp at the more particular in describing these both ends. The bottom is of one boats, because I believe they sail the piece, made like the bottom of a little best of any boats in the world. I did canoe, very neatly dug, and left of a here for my own satisfaction try the good substance. This bottom part is swiftness of one of them; sailing by instead of a keel; it is about twenty- our log, we had twelve knots on our six or twenty-eight feet long; the reel, and she ran it all out before the under part of this keel is made round, half-minute glass was half out, which, but inclining to a wedge, and smooth; if it had been no more, is after the and the upper part is almost flat, hav-rate of twelve miles an hour; but I do ing a very gentle hollow, and is about believe she would have run twentya foot broad. From hence both sides four miles an hour. of the boat are carried up to about five feet high with narrow plank, not above four or five inches broad, and each end of the boat turns up round very prettily. But, what is very singular, one side of the boat is made perpendicular, like a wall, while the other side is rounding, made as other vessels are, with a pretty full belly. Just in the middle it is about four or five feet broad aloft, or more, according to the length of the boat. The mast stands exactly in the middle, with a long yard that peaks up and down like a mizzen-yard. One end of it reaches down to the end or head of the boat, where it is placed in a notch that is made there purposely to receive it and keep it fast; the other end hangs over the stern. To this yard the sail is fastened. At the foot The Indians of Guam have neat little houses, very handsomely thatched with palmetto thatch. They inhabit together in villages built by the sea on the west side, and have Spanish priests to instruct them in the Christian religion. The Spaniards have a small fort on the west side, near the south end, with six guns in it. There is a Governor, and twenty or thirty Spanish soldiers. There are no more Spaniards on the island, besides two or three priests. Not long before we arrived here, the natives rose on the Spaniards to destroy them, and did kill many; but the Governor with his soldiers at length prevailed, and drove them out of the fort. So, when they found themselves disappointed of their intent, they destroyed the plantations P and stock, and then went away to other islands. There were then 300 or 400 Indians on this island; but now there are not above 100, for all that were in this conspiracy went away. As for those who yet remain, if they were not actually concerned in that broil, yet their hearts also are bent against the Spaniards; for they offered to carry us to the fort, and assist us in the conquest of the island; but Captain Swan was not for molesting the Spaniards here. Before we came to an anchor here, one of the priests came aboard in the night with three Indians. They first hailed us to know from whence we came and what we were; to whom answer was made in Spanish that we were Spaniards, and that we came from Acapulco. It being dark, they could not see the make of our ship, nor very well discern what we were. Therefore they came aboard; but perceiving the mistake they were in in taking us for a Spanish ship, they endeavoured to get from us again; but we held their boat fast, and made them come in. Captain Swan received the priest with much civility, and, conducting him into the great cabin, declared that the reason of our coming to this island was want of provision, and that he came not in any hostile manner, but as a friend, to purchase with his money what he wanted; and therefore desired the priest to write a letter to the Governor to inform him what we were and on what account we came. For having him now aboard, the Captain was willing to detain him as a hostage till we had provision. The Padre told Captain Swan_that_provision was now scarce on the island, but he would engage that the Gover nor would do his utmost to furnish us. In the morning, the Indians, in whose boat or proa the Friar came aboard, were sent to the Governor with two letters, one from the Friar, and another very obliging one from Captain Swan, and a present of four yards of scarlet cloth, and a piece of broad silver and gold lace. The Governor lives near the south end of the island, on the west side, which was about five leagues from the place where we were; therefore we did not expect an answer till the evening, not knowing then how nimble they were. Therefore, when the Indian canoe was despatched away to the Governor, we hoisted out two of our canoes, and sent one a-fishing and the other ashore for cocoa-nuts. Our fishing canoe got nothing, but the men that went ashore for cocoa-nuts came off laden. About 11 o'clock that same morning, the Governor of the island sent a letter to Captain Swan, complimenting him for his present, and promising to support us with as much provision as he could possibly spare; and as a token of his gratitude he sent a present of six hogs of a small sort, most excellent meat, the best, I think, that ever I ate; they are fed with cocoa-nuts, and their flesh is hard as brisket beef. They were doubtless of that breed in America which came originally from Spain. He sent also twelve musk-melons, larger than ours in England, and as many watermelons, both sorts here being a very excellent fruit; and sent an order to the Indians that lived in a village not far from our ship to bake every day as much of the bread-fruit as we desired, and to assist us in getting as many dry cocoa-nuts as we would have, which they accordingly did, and brought of the bread-fruit every day hot, as much as we could eat. After this the Governor sent every day a canoe or two with hogs and fruit, and desired for the same powder, shot, and arms, which were sent according to his request. We had a delicate large English dog, which the Governor did desire, and had it given him very freely by the Captain, though much against the grain of many of his men, who had a great value for that dog. Captain Swan endeavoured to get this Governor's letter of recommendation to some merchants at Manilla, for he had then a design to go to Fort St George, 1 Handsome, or favourite. 1686.] FRIENDLINESS OF THE GOVERNOR OF GUAM. and from thence intended to trade at Manilla but this his design was concealed from the company. While we lay here, the Acapulco ship arrived in sight of the island, but did not come in sight of us; for the Governor sent an Indian proa with advice of our being here. Therefore she stood off to the southward of the island, and coming foul of the same shoal that our bark had run over before, was in great danger of being lost there; for she struck off her rudder, and with much ado got clear, but not till after three days' labour. This we heard afterwards, when we were on the coast of Manilla; but these Indians of Guam did speak of her being in sight of the island while we lay there, which put our men in a great heat to go out after her; but Captain Swan persuaded them out of that humour, for he was now wholly averse to any hostile action. The 30th of May the Governor sent his last present, which was some hogs, a jar of pickled mangoes, a jar of excellent pickled fish, and a jar of fine rusk, or bread of fine wheat flour, baked like biscuit, but not so hard. He sent besides six or seven packs of rice, desiring to be excused from sending any more provision to us, saying he had no more on the island that he could spare. He sent word also that the west monsoon was at hand; that therefore it behoved us to be jogging from hence, unless we were resolved to return back to America again. Captain Swan returned him thanks for his kindness and advice, and took his leave; and the same day sent the Friar ashore that was seized on at our first arrival, and gave him a large brass clock, an astralobe, and a large telescope; for which present the Friar sent us aboard six hogs and a roasting pig, three or four bushels of potatoes, and fifty pounds of Manilla tobacco. Then we prepared to be gone, being pretty well furnished with provision to carry us to Mindanao, where we designed next to touch. We took aboard as many cocoa-nuts as we could well stow; and we had a 227 good stock of rice, and about fifty hogs in salt. CHAPTER XI. WHILE we lay at Guam, we took up a As The 21st of June, we arrived at the Island St John,' which is one of the 1 It would seem that Dampier was misled by the deep indentation of the coast on the south of Mindanao to fancy two islands when there was place of much strength in all these islands that I could ever hear of, besides Manilla itself. Yet they have villages and towns on several of the islands, and Padres or priests to instruct the native Indians, from whom they get their gold. The Spanish inhabitants, of the smaller islands especially, would willingly trade with us if the government was not so severe against it; for they have no goods but what are brought from Manilla at an extraordinary dear rate. I am of the opinion that if any of our nations would seek a trade with them they would not lose their labour, for the Spaniards can and will smuggle as well as any nation that I know; and our Jamaicans are to their profit sensible enough of it. And I have been informed that Captain Goodlud of London, in a voyage which he made from Mindanao to China, touched at some of these islands, and was civilly treated by the Spaniards, who bought some of his commodities, giving him a very good price for the same. There are about twelve or fourteen more large islands lying to the southwards of Luconia, most of which, as I said before, are inhabited by the Spaniards. Besides these there are an infinite number of small islands of no account; and even the great islands, many of them, are without names, or at least so variously set down, that I find the same islands named by divers names. Philippine Islands. The Philippines | in gold; and the Spaniards have no are a great company of large islands, taking up about 13° of Lat. in length, reaching near upon from 5° N. Lat. to 19°, and in breadth about 6° of Longitude. They derive this name from Philip the second king of Spain; and even now they do most of them belong to that crown. The chief island in this range is Luconia, which lies on the north of them all. At this island Magellan died in the voyage that he was making round the world. For after he had passed those straits between the south end of America and Tierra del Fuego which now bear his name, and had ranged down in the South Seas on the back of America, from thence stretching over to the East Indies he fell in with the Ladrone Islands, and from thence steering east still he fell in with these Philippine Islands, and anchored at Luconia, where he warred with the native Indians, to bring them in obedience to his master the King of Spain, and was by them killed with a poisoned arrow. It is now wholly under the Spaniards, who have several towns there. The chief is Manilla, which is a large seaport town near the SE. end, opposite to the Island Mindoro. It is a place of great strength and trade; the two great Acapulco ships before mentioned fetching from hence all sorts of East Indian commodities, which are brought hither by foreigners, especially by the Chinese and Portuguese. Sometimes the English merchants of Fort St George send their ships thither as it were by stealth, under the charge of Portuguese pilots and mariners; for as yet we cannot get the Spaniards there to a commerce with us or the Dutch, although they have but few ships of their own. This seems to arise from a jealousy or fear of discovering the riches of these islands; for most if not all the Philippine Islands are rich only one; unless, indeed, he really The Islands of St John and Mindanao are the southernmost of all these islands, and are the only islands in all this range that are not subject to the Spaniards. St John's Island is on the east side of Mindanao, and distant from it three or four leagues, in Lat. about 7° or 8° N. This island is in length about thirtyeight leagues, stretching NNW. and SSE., and in breadth about twentyfour leagues in the middle of the island; the northernmost end is broader, and the southernmost is narrower. This island is of a good 2 This answers fairly enough the description of the eastern part of |