A VOYAGE TO BORNEO.
149
After dinner two of our gentlemen rode out on horfeback a little way into thewoods ; which abound with deer, wild peacocks, and feveral other kinds of fowls.Their horfes are fmall, but very beautiful and fiery ; a remarkable inftance of whichI was eye witnefs to : for the King knowing that they were gone out on horfeback,faid he would (hew me fome fport, by which I might know which of thefe two Englilhgentlemen was the bell horfeman. I wondered what his project was ; when he ledme out by the hand, feveral of his men following us to the wood-fide : he had placedtwo of his foldiers unknown to me behind a buffi ; who, as foon as the horfemencame by, fired their match-locks acrofs the horfes nofes, which made them ftart,kick, caper, and bound in a ft range manner; fo that they were not to be governed.One of the riders was thrown off, the other with much difficulty kept his faddle. TheKing feemed much delighted with his projed, and laughed very heartily ; but youmay imagine how the gentlemen were frightened, efpecially at firft.
We ftaid here fix days, in which time we had victualled, watered, and cut woodenough, they being all the while very civil to us. He told us, that he tamed thereonly for our fake, left there ffiould happen any quarrel between his fubjedts and us,or left they fhould fteal any thing from us, &c. However, about noon he went upinto the country; neither was he long gone, when fome of us had reafon to be forryfor his departure : for the purfer having fome little bufmefs to fettle with the ffiaban-der, as he was paffing through a narrow lane towards the boat, being accompanied bythe King’s brother and another man, the former having afked him what it was o’clock ;the purfuer pulled out his watch, and upon his defiring to fee it himfelf, he gave itinto his hand, which he no fooner got hold of, but he took to his heels, the otherman holding a fpear to the purfer’s breaft whilft the King’s brother ran away, whomhe afterwards followed, and left the poor puffer to purfue his way to the boat byhimfelf, being glad to come off fo. You may guefs what a princely fpirit thebrother had.
Few or none of the natives ever faw any white men before, this coaft being hardlyever navigated by any Europeans : however, this place is mighty convenient for allfhips that make their paffage this way home through the {freights of Bally, to preventtheir being forced to lie during the wefterly monfoon, and lofing fo much time ondemorage, which would be a great charge to the Company. If you ride well in thebay in about five or fix fathoms water, you will have good anchoring.
I made great inquiry of the product of their country, but found them in many differ-ent ftories, yet generally they acknowledge that they have gold, pepper and cottonin great plenty ; however I believe they are not willing to let any foreigners, muchlefs Europeans, know the riches or trade of their country, left they ffiould force afettlement, which is no difficult matter to accompliffi.
On Sunday the 23d of January 1714-15, about eight in the morning, I failed fromthence towards the Cape of Good Hope . We flood away to the fouthward with thewind at weft-north-weft and weft-fouth-weft, moftlyin hopes of meeting the fouth-eafttrading-wind in the latitude of twelve or thirteen degrees fouth, as in other parts of thatfea, but found the contrary; for the monfoon blows between this place and NewHolland fix months one way and fix another, viz. from October to April between theweft-north-weft and weft-fouth-weft, and from April to October again at eaft-fouth-eaftneareft. We got into the latitude of twenty degrees fouth, but faw no land;therefore do find the coaft of New Holland to be laid down in all our cards near twentyleagues more northward than it really is. I was almoft out of hopes of getting into thefouth-eaft trade-wind time enough to fave my paffage round the Cape , having fpent fo
much.