DAMPIEr’s ACCOUNT OF THE PHILIPPINES. 53

were forced to feud with our bare poles till three o’clock in the morning; then thewind flackened and we brought our lhip to under a mizen, and lay with our head toto the weftward. The 27th day the wind abated much, but it rained very hard all dayand the night enfuing. The 28th day the wind came about to the north-eaft, and itcleared up and blew a hard gale, but it flood not there, for it fhifted about to the eaft-ward, thence to the fouth-eaft, then to the fouth, and at Iafl fettled at fouth-weft, andthen we had a moderate gale and fair weather.

It was the 29th day when the wind came to the fouth-weft; then we made all thefail we could for the ifland again. The 30th day we had the wind at weft and faw theiflands, but could not get in before night; therefore we flood off to the fouthward tilltwo o’clock in the morning, then we tacked and flood in all the morning, and abouttwelve o’clock the ill day of October we anchored again at the place from whence wewere driven.

Then our fix men were brought aboard by the natives, to whom we gave'three wholebars of iron for their kindnefs and civility, which was an extraordinary prefent to them.Mr. Robert Hall was one of the men that was left afhore : I fhall fpeak more of himhereafter. He and the reft of them told me, that after the fhip was out of fight thenatives began to be more kind to them than they had been before, and perfuaded themto cut their hair fhort as theirs was, offering to each of them if they would do it a youngwoman to wife, and a fmall hatchet and other iron utenfils fit for a planter in dowry ;and withal fhewed them a piece of land for them to manage. They were courted thusby feveral of the town where they then w’ere; but they took up their head quarters atthe houfe of him with whom they firft went afhore. When the fhip appeared in fightagain they then importuned them for fome iron, which is the chief thing that they covet,even above their ear-rings. We might have bought all their ear-rings, or other goldthey had, with our iron-bars, had we been affured of its goodnefs •, and yet when itwas touched and compared with other gold we could not difeern any difference,though it looked fo pale in the lump ; but the feeing them polifh it fo often was a newdifeouragement.

This laft ftorm put our men quite out of heart: for although it was not altogetherfo fierce as that which we were in on the coaft of China , which was ftill- frefh in rae-mory, yet it wrought more powerfully, and frighted them from their defign of cruizingbefore Manila , fearing another ftorm there. Now every man wifhed himfelf at home,as t ley had done a hundred times before : but Captain Read, and Captain Teat thema er, perfuaded them to go towards Cape Comorin , and then they would tell themmore of their minds, intending doubtlefs to cruize in the Red-Sea ; and they eafily pre-vailed with the crew.

, p a A- ern monfoon was now at hand, and the beft way had been to go through-n e rights of Malacca: but Captain Teat faid it was dangerous, by reafon of many.1 an s . a . moals there, with which none of us were acquainted. Therefore he

oug t it beft to go round on the eaft fide of all the Philippine Iflands, and fo keep-ifland T' t0Wa1 '^ ®P* ce Wands, to pafs out into the Eaft Indian Ocean about the

bn^n' S *5 emet ^ a . very tedious way about, and as dangerous altogether for fhoals;well p 1 or , n l ee . tl ' n § Englifh or Dutch fhips, which was their greateft fear. I wasriencp^lh . ^ Wed, knowing that the farther we went the more knowledge and expe-the mn ° U - w ^ich was We main thing that I regarded ; and fhould alfo have

thp firft 2 vanet y P^ aces to attempt an efcape from them, being fully refolved to take

the firft opportunity of giving them the flip.

CHAP.