Hamilton’s account op the east indies.

482

were in there,, made the old zealot half mad to get thither, to receive the honour ofmartyrdom, and had he been honeft in his promifes to me (which was only not to protectany of my fugitive feaman at Siam), 1 would have favoured him with a paiTage to Cam-bodia , from whence he might have eafily gone to get that glorious crown.

Couchin-China has a large fea-coaft of about 700 miles in extent, from the river ofCambodia , to that of Ouambin, and it has the conveniency of many good harbours onit, though they are not frequented by ftrangers ; and along the eaft coaft it is verydeep, for in feveral places I founded the depth, and found between 60 and 80 fathomswithin half a league of the Ihore.

There are feveral iflands on this coaft. Thofe neareft the Ihore are not dangerous.Pullo-fecca de Terra, lies moft foutherly, and neareft the Ihore. It is uninhabited, andlooks only like a parcel of fcorched rocks, without either tree, bulh, or grafs to befeen on it. I paft within a mile of it, and it lies about a mile from the Ihore. Pullo-fecca de Mare, and all the chain of iflands that ftretch from the dangerous fhallows ofParacel , are rather to be accounted rocks than iflands. Pullo-cambir lies about 15leagues off the Ihore, near the Paracels . It is uninhabited though pretty large. Pullo-canton lies near the Ihore, and fo do the iflands of Champello, but there are no dangerslie off from them. There are ftrong currents that run to the fouthward in the north-eaft monfoons, which makes pilots take care to keep near the Couchin-China coaft, forfear of being driven among the Paracels , which are a dangerous chain of rocks, about130 leagues long, and about 15 broad, and have only fome iflands at each end. Thereare feveral inter-currents among thofe rocks, but no known marks to keep clear ofdangers by, yet I knew an Englilh Ihip from Surat , that drove accidentally throughthem, and neither knew nor faw their danger till it was over, when they unexpectedlylaw the coaft of Couchin-China .

In anno 1690, a Portugueze fliip was loft on one of the northernmoft iflands of theParacels , and all were loft but three or four perfons who fwimmed alhore. There weremany pieces of the wreck followed them, and fome cannifters of flour were accidentallythrown alhore, whereby they were fupported. They built an hut of what timbers andboards they could ufe for that purpofe, and they found fome frelh water in the cavernsof the rocks, and in one place they built a ciftern to fave the rain water for the dryfeafon. They took fea weeds and mixed with mud that they found about the coaft ofthe ifland, and placing that mixture in a convenient part to retain the rain water, theyfubftfted by that means a dry feafon. Their food was fea fowls, and tortoifes whichfrequented that ifland in great numbers. In three years they all died but one, and inanno 1701, a Ihip bound to Maccao, coming near the ifland againft their will, feeingthe figure of a man waving his hands over his head, they had companion and fent theirboat to the ifland, and were aftonilhed to find the perfon to be one of their own coun-trymen, and much more when he told them his misfortunes, and how long he had beenalone on that ifland. They clothed him and fed him, and carried him to Maccao,where I faw him in anno 1703, and had the account from his own mouth.

But it is time to return back to Couchin-China , which about three or four centuriesago was but a province of Tonquin, at leaft they were both under the dominion of oneKing, who dying without iffue, divided the government of his dominions between abrother and a filter of his, whom he very much efteemed for their good qualities. **ordered his brother to refide in Couchin-China , and take care of affairs there, while thefilter took care of the government of Tonquin, but to have a meeting once a year toconfider and confult of matters for the good of the ftate, ,