Captain Singleton

by Daniel Defoe

uncertain what to do; but William the Quaker put this Matter into a Way of

  Barter. He came to me, and told me he really thought the Merchants look'd like

  fair Men, that meant honestly; and besides, says William, it is their Interest

  to be honest now; for as they know upon what Terms we got the Goods we are to

  truck with them, so they know we can afford good Pennyworths; and in the next

  Place, it saves them going the whole Voyage: So that the Southerly Monsoons yet

  holding, if they traded with us, they could immediately return with their Cargo

  to China, tho' by the Way we afterwards found they intended for Japan. But that

  was all one, for by this Means they sav'd at least eight Months Voyage. Upon

  these Foundations William said he was satisfied we might turst them: For, says

  William, I would as soon trust a Man whose Interest binds him to be just to me,

  as a Man whose Principle binds himself. Upon the whole, William proposed that

  two of the Merchants should be left on board our Ship as Hostages, and that Part

  of our Goods should be loaded in their Vessel, and let the third go with it into

  the Port where their Ship lay; and when he had delivered the Spices, he should

  bring back such things as it was agreed should be exchanged. This was concluded

  on, and William the Quaker ventured to go along with them, which upon my World I

  should not have cared to have done, nor was I willing that he should; but he

  went still upon the Notion, that it was their Interest to treat him friendly.

  In the mean time we came to an Anchor under a little Island, in the Latitude of

  23 Degrees, 28 Minutes, being just under the Northern Tropick, and about twenty

  Leagues from the Island. Here we lay thirteen Days, and I began to be very

  uneasy for my Friend William, for they had promised to be back again in four

  Days, which they might very easily have done. However, at the End of thirteen

  Days we saw three Sail coming directly to us, which a little surprized us all at

  first, not knowing what might be the Case, and we began to put our selves in a

  Posture of Defence; but as they came nearer us, we were soon satisfy'd: For the

  first Vessel was that which William went in, who carried a Flag of Truce, and in

  a few Hours they all came to an Anchor, and William came on board us with a

  little Boat, with the Chinese Merchant in his Company, and two other Merchants,

  which seem'd to be a kind of Brokers for the rest.

  Here he gave us an Account, how civilly he had been used, how they had treated

  him with all imaginable Frankness and Opennes, that they had not only given him

  the full Value of his Spices and other Goods which he carry'd, in Gold, by good

  Weight, but had loaded the Vessel again with such Goods as he knew we were

  willing to trade for; and that afterwards they had resolved to bring the great

  Ship out of the Harbour, to lye where we were, that so we might make what

  Bargain we thought fit; only William said he had promised in our Name, that we

  should use no Violence with them, nor detain any of the Vessels after we had

  done trading with them. I told him, we would strive to outdo them in Civility,

  and that we would make good every Part of his Agreement. In Token whereof I

  caused a white Flag likewise to be spread at the Poop of our great Ship, which

  was the Signal agreed on.

  As to the third Vessel which came with them, it was a kind of Bark of the

  Country, who having Intelligence of our Design to traffick, came off to deal

  with us, bringing a great deal of Gold, and some Provisions, which at that time

  we were very glad of.

  In short, we traded upon the high Seas with these Men, and indeed we made a very

  good Market, and yet sold Thieves Pennyworths too. We sold here above sixty Ton

  of Spice, chiefly Cloves and Nutmegs, and above two Hundred Bales of European

  Goods; such as Linnen and Wollen Manufactures. We considered we should have

  Occasion for some, such things our selves, and so we kept a good Quantity of

  English Stuffs, Cloaths, Bays, &c. for our selves. I shall not take up any of

  the little Room I have left here, with the further Particulars of our Trade;

  'tis enough to mention, that except a Parcel of Tea, and twelve Bales of fine

  China wrought Silks, we took nothing in Exchange for our Goods but Gold: So that

  the Sum we took here in that glittering Commodity, amounted to above Fifty

  Thousand Ounces good Weight.

  When we had finished our Barter, we restored the Hostages, and gave the three

  Merchants about the Quantity of Twelve Hundred Weight of Nutmegs, and as many of

  Cloves, with a handsom Present of European Linnen and Stuff for themselves, as a

  Recompence for what we had taken from them; and so we sent them away exceedingly

  well satisfy'd.

  Here it was that William gave me an Account, that while he was on board the

  Japonese Vessel, he met with a kind of Religious, or Japan Priest, who spoke

  some Words of English to him; and being very inquisitive to know how he came to

  learn any of those Words, he told him, that there was in his Country thirteen

  Englishmen; he called them Englishmen very articulately and distinctly, for he

  had conversed with them very frequently and freely: He said they were all that

  were left of two and thirty Men, who came on Shore on the North Side of Japan,

  being driven upon a great Rock in a stormy Night, where they lost their Ship,

  and the rest of their Men were drowned: That he had perswaded the King of his

  Country to send Boats off to the Rock or Island, where the Ship was lost, to

  save the rest of the Men, and to bring them on Shore; which was done, and they

  were used very kindly; and had Houses built for them, and Land given them to

  plant for Provision, and that they lived by themselves.

  He said he went frequently among them, to perswade them to worship their God, an

  Idol, I suppose, of their own making, which he said they ungratefully refused;

  and that therefore the King had once or twice ordered them to be all put to

  Death; but that, as he said, he had prevailed upon the King to spare them, and

  let them live their own Way, as long as they were quiet and peaceable, and did

  not go about to withdraw others from the Worship of the Coutry.

  I ask'd William, why he did not enquire from whence they came? I did, said

  William, for how could I but think it strange, said he, to hear him talk of

  English Men on the North Side of Japan. Well, said I, what Account did he give

  of it? An Account, said William, that will surprize thee, and all the World

  after thee, that shall hear of it, and which makes me wish thou wouldst go up to

  Japan, and find them out. What do ye mean, said I? Whence could they come? Why,

  says William, he pull'd out a little Book, and in it a Piece of Paper, where it

  was written in an English Man's Hand, and in plain English Words, thus; and says

  William, I read it my self: We came from Greenland, and from the North Pole.

  This indeed was amazing to us all, and more to those Seamen among us who knew

  any thing of the infinite Attempts which had been made from Europe, as well by

  the English as the Dutch, to discover a Passage that Way into those Parts of the

  World; and as William pre
ss'd us earnestly to go on to the North, to rescue

  those poor Men, so the Ship's Company began to incline to it; and in a Word, we

  all came to this, that we would stand in to the Shore of Formosa, to find this

  Priest again, and have a farther Account of it all from him. Accordingly the

  Sloop went over, but when they came there, the Vessels were very unhappily

  fail'd, and this put an End to our Enquiry after them, and perhaps may have

  disappointed Mankind of one of the most noble Discoveries that ever was made, or

  will again be made in the World, for the Good of Mankind in general: But so much

  for that.

  William was so uneasy at losing this Opportunity, that he press'd us earnestly

  to go up to Japan, to find out these Men. He told us, that if it was nothing but

  to recover Thirteen honest poor Men from a kind of Captivity, which they would

  otherwise never be redeemed from, and where perhaps they might some time or

  other be murdered by the barbarous People, in Defence of their Idolatry; it were

  very well worth our while, and it would be in some Measure making amends for the

  Mischiefs we had done in the World: But we that had no Concern upon us for the

  Mischiefs we had done, had much less about any Satisfaction to be made for it;

  so he found that kind of Discourse would weigh very little with us. Then he

  press'd us very earnestly to let him have the Sloop to go by himself, and I told

  him I would not oppose it; but when he came to the Sloop, none of the Men would

  go with him; for the Case was plain, they had all a Share in the Cargo of the

  great Ship, as well as in that of the Sloop, and the Richness of the Cargo was

  such, that they would not leave it by any means: So poor William, much to his

  Mortification, was obliged to give it over. What became of those thirteen Men,

  or whether they are not there still, I can give no Account of.

  We were now at the End of our Cruise; what we had taken was indeed so

  considerable, that it was not only enough to satisfy the most covetous and the

  most ambitious Minds in the World, but it did indeed satisfy us; and our Men

  declared they did not desire any more. The next Motion therefore was about going

  back, and the Way by which we should perform the Voyage, so as not to be

  attack'd by the Dutch in the Straits of Sundy.

  We had pretty well stored our selves here with Provisions, and it being now near

  the Return of the Monsoons, we resolved to stand away to the Southward; and not

  only to keep without the Philippine Islands, that is to say, to the Eastward of

  them, but to keep on to the Southward, and see if we could not leave, not only

  the Molucco's, or Spice Islands, behind us, but even Nova Guinea and Nova

  Hollandia also; and so getting into the variable Winds, to the South of the

  Tropick of Capricorn, steer away to the West, over the great Indian Ocean.

  This was indeed at first a monstrous Voyage in its Appearance, and the Want of

  Provisions threaten'd us. William told us in so many Words, that it was

  impossible we could carry Provisions enough to subsist us for such a Voyage, and

  especially fresh Water; and that as there would be no Land for us to touch at,

  where we could get any Supply, it was a Madness to undertake it.

  But I undertook to remedy this Evil, and therefore desired them not to be uneasy

  at that, for I knew we might supply our selves at Mindanao, the most Southerly

  Island of the Philippines. Accordingly, we set Sail, having taken all the

  Provisions here that we could get, the 28th of September, the Wind veering a

  little at first from the N. N. W. to the N. E. by E. but afterwards settled

  about the N. E. and the E. N. E. We were nine Weeks in this Voyage, having met

  with several Interruptions by the Weather, and put in under the Lee of a small

  Island in the Latitude of 16 Degrees, 12 Minutes, of which we never knew the

  Name, none of our Charts having given any Account of it: I say, we put in here,

  by reason of a strange Tornado or Hurricane, which brought us into a great deal

  of Danger. Here we rode about sixteen Days, the Winds being very tempestuous,

  and the Weather uncertain. However, we got some Provisions on Shore, such as

  Plants and Roots, and a few Hoggs. We believe there were Inhabitants on the

  Island, but we saw none of them.

  From hence, the Weather settling again, we went on, and came to the Southmost

  Part of Mindanao, where we took in fresh Water, and some Cows; but the Climate

  was so hot, that we did not attempt to salt up any more, than so as to keep a

  Fortnight or three Weeks, and away we stood South ward crossing the Line, and

  leaving Gillolo on the Starboard Side, we coasted the Country they call New

  Guiney, where, in the Latitude of eight Degrees South, we put in again for

  Provisions and Water, and where we found Inhabitants, but they fled from us, and

  were altogether inconversable. From thence, sailing still Southward, we left all

  behind us that any of our Charts or Maps take any Notice of, and went on till we

  came to the Latitude of 17 Degrees, the Wind continuing still N. E.

  Here we made Land to the Westward, which when we had kept in Sight for three

  Days, coasting along the Shore, for the Distance of about four Leagues, we began

  to fear we should find no Outlet West, and so should be obliged to go back

  again, and put in among the Molucco's at last; but at length we found the Land

  break off, and go trending away to the West Sea, seeming to be all open to the

  South and S. W. and a great Sea came rowling out of the South, which gave us to

  understand, that there was no Land that Way for a great Way.

  In a Word, we kept on our Course to the South, a little Westerly, till we pass'd

  the South Tropick, where we found the Winds variable; and now we stood away fair

  West, and held it out for about twenty Days, when we discovered Land right

  a-head, and on our Larboard Bow, we made directly to the Shore, being willing to

  take all Advantages now for supplying our selves with fresh Provisions and

  Water, knowing we were now entring on that vast unknown Indian Ocean, perhaps

  the greatest Sea on the Globe, having with very little Interruption of Islands,

  a continued Sea quite round the Globe.

  We found a good Road here, and some People on Shore; but when we landed, they

  fled up the Country, nor would they hold any Correspondence with us, or come

  near us, but shot at us several Times with Arrows as long as Launces. We set up

  white Flags for a Truce, but they either did not, or would not, understand it:

  On the contrary, they shot our Flag of Truce thro' several times with their

  Arrows; so that, in a Word, we never came near any of them.

  We found good Water here, tho' it was something difficult to get at it, but for

  living Creatures we could see none; for the People, if they had any Cattle,

  drove them all away, and shew'd us nothing but themselves, and that sometimes in

  a threatning Posture, and in Number so great, that made us suppose the Island to

  be greater than we at first imagined. It is true, they would not come near

  enough for us to engage with them, at least, not openly; but they came near

  enough for us to see them, and by the Help of our G
lasses, to see that they were

  clothed and arm'd, but their Clothes were only about their lower and middle

  Parts; that they had long Launces, like Half Pikes, in their Hands, besides Bows

  and Arrows; that they had great high Things on their Heads, made, as we

  believed, of Feathers, and which look'd something like our Grenadiers Caps in

  England.

  When we saw them so shye, that they would not come near us, our Men began to

  range over the Island, if it was such, for we never surrounded it, to search for

  Cattel, and for any of the Indians Plantations, for Fruits or Plants; but they

  soon found, to their Cost, that they were to use more Caution than that came to,

  and that they were to discover perfectly every Bush and every Tree, before they

  ventured abroad in the Country; for, about fourteen of our Men going further

  than the rest, into a Part of the Country which seemed to be planted, as they

  thought, for it did but seem so, only I think it was overgrown with Canes, such

  as we make our Cane Chairs with: I say, venturing too far, they were suddenly

  attack'd with a Shower of Arrows from almost every Side of them, as they

  thought, out of the Tops of the Trees.

  They had nothing to do, but to fly for it, which however they could not resolve

  on, till five of them were wounded; nor had they escaped so, if one of them had

  not been so much wiser, or thoughtfuller than the rest, as to consider, that

  tho' they could not see the Enemy, so as to shoot at them, yet perhaps the Noise

  of their Shot might terrify them, and that they should rather fire at a Venture.

  Accordingly Ten of them faced about, and fired at random any where among the

  Canes.

  The Noise and the Fire not only terrify'd the Enemy, but, as they believed,

  their Shot had luckily hit some of them; for they found not only that the Arrows

  which came thick among them before, ceased, but they heard the Indians halloo,

  after their Way, to one another, and make a strange Noise more uncouth and

  inimitably strange, than any they had ever heard, more like the Howling and

  Barking of wild Creatures in the Woods, than like the Voice of Men, only that

  sometimes they seemed to speak Words.

  They observ'd also, that this Noise of the Indians went farther and farther off,

  so that they were satisfied the Indians fled away, except on one Side, where

  they heard a doleful Groaning and Howling, and where it continued a good while,

  which they supposed was from some or other of them being wounded, and howling by

  reason of their Wounds; or kill'd, and others howling over them: But our Men had

  enough of making Discoveries; so they did not trouble themselves to look

  farther, but resolved to take this Opportunity to retreat. But the worst of

  their Adventure was to come; for as they came back, they pass'd by a prodigious

  great Trunk of an old Tree, what Tree it was they said they did not know, but it

  stood like an old decay'd Oak in a Park, where the Keepers in England take a

  Stand, as they call it, to shoot a Deer, and it stood just under the steep Side

  of a great Rock or Hill, that our People could not see what was beyond it.

  As they came by this Tree, they were of a sudden shot at from the Top of the

  Tree, with seven Arrows and three Launces, which, to our great Grief, kill'd two

  of our Men, and wounded three more. This was the more surprizing, because being

  without any Defence, and so near the Trees, they expected more Launces and

  Arrows every Moment; nor would flying do them any Service, the Indians being, as

  appeared, very good Marksmen. In this Extremity they had happily this Presence

  of Mind, viz. to run close to the Tree, and stand, as it were under it; so that

  those above could not come at, or see them, to throw their Launces at them. This

  succeeded, and gave them Time to consider what to do: They knew their Enemies