328 picafetta’s voyage round the world.
The people in his fuite wore bracelets of gold on their arms, and handkerchiefs roundtheir heads.
We laid eight days off this ifland, and the captain every day went on fhore to vifitthe fick, taking with him the wine of the cocoa-tree, which was highly ferviceable tothem.
The inhabitants of the iflands contiguous to that at which we were, had fuch largeholes in their ears, and the ends of them were drawn down fo much, that one mightthruft an arm through the orifice*.
Thefe people are Caffres, that is to fay Gentiles f. They go naked, merely wearinga piece of the bark of a tree to hide their privities, which fome of their chiefs coverwith a girdle of cotton cloth, embroidered with filk at the two extremities. They areof an olive colour, and generally pretty plump. They tatoo themfelves, and greafethe body all over with the oil of the cocoa-tree and gengeli, in order, they fay, to pre-ferve themfelves from the fun and wind. They have black hair, of fuch length itreaches to their waift. Their arms are cutlaffes, bucklers, clubs, and lances, adornedwith gold. The fifhing inftruments they ufe are darts, harpoons, and nets made nearlyin the fame manner as ours. Their boats likewife refemble thofe in ufe with us.
On Holy Monday, 25th March, I was in the mod imminent danger. We wereabout to fet fail, and I was intent on fifhing: being about to place myfelf for greaterconvenience on a yard wetted by the rain, my foot flipped, and I fell into the fea with-out being perceived. Fortunately a rope, belonging to one of the fails, which washanging in the water, prefented itfelf within my grafp; I feized it and holloed withall my might, till I was heard, and the fkiff was fent round to relieve me from peril?My falvation was certainly not to be attributed to my individual merit, but to the mer-ciful protection of the Holy Virgin.
We left the ifland the fame day, and fleered wefl-fouth-wefl between four iflandscalled Cenalo, Huinangan, Ibuffon, and Abarien.
On Thurfday, 28th March, having diftinguifhed fire during the night on an iflandnear us, we fleered for it in the morning, and when but little diflant faw a fmallbark, called a boloto, with eight men in it, making for our veffel. The captain had aHave on board, a native of Sumatra , anciently called Tapobrana J : we endeavouredto conyerfe with the inhabitants by his means, and found they comprehended hislanguage §, They came to within a fhort diftance of us, but would not come onboard, and feemed even to be fearful of approaching us too clofely. The captain,feeing their miflrufl, threw into the fea a red cap and fome other trifles, attached toa plank. They took it, and feemed greatly pleafed, but immediately after departed %we afterwards learnt that they haftened to make their King acquainted with our arrival.
* All navigators {peak of the large ears of newly difcovered people. In other parts the author relateson this fubjedt matters which are fabulous.
+ After the Mongols had made themfelves matters of India thefe countries were inhabited by twodifferent nations, that is to fay, Moors and the indigenous race, which latter our author denominatesfometimes Caffres and fometimes Gentiles. The Moors obtained this name from their being Mahometanslike the Moors of Spain . The two nations continue mingled in moil of the iflands, in many inffancesfubjedt to Europeans; but the Gentiles daily decreafe in population and power, and now inhabit littleelfe than the mountains. (Sonnerat, Voyage aux Indes, tome i. p. 35.) The Moors have equally over-powered and leffened the number of the natiyes in the centre of Africa. (Mungo Park , Travels inAfrica .)
J The Taprobana of the ancients js the ifland of Ceylon, and not Sumatra .
§ From the Philippines to Malacca the Malay tongue is univerfally fpoken. It is therefpre by nomeans aftonilhing an inhabitant of Sumatra Ihouldbe underftood in the Philippine Iflands.
9 Two