and weeds with great greenish Rushes ten or twelve foot long which they call Trunks because their stalk which grows and tapers insensibly to the top where it ends in leaves of the same colour represents pretty well the shape of an Elephants Trunk The Sea-weeds are a kind of herb inclining to green not unlike to Hay whereof the sprigs are very long and interwoven one within another Some think that these weeds come from the bottom of the Sea being by the Waves forced from thence and raised to the surface of the water Others will have them to grow in the water because they see them far out at Sea and they cannot believe that the Sea can be so agitated as to carry its waves to the bottom and so beat off the weeds from thence Besides that they are found in so great plenty upon the surface of the Sea that it looks like a great Meadow Lastly others maintain and that is the Opinion which seems to me most plausible and consonant to truth that these weeds come from the neighbouring Coasts from whence the waves force them so that they are carried put into the open Sea but not very far from Land either by the Tydes Currents or the prevailing winds Upon that perswasion it was that Christopher Columbus so famous for his Discoveries in America seeing one night the Sea about his Ship all covered over with these weeds encouraged his Men who thought themselves lost taking those weeds for Flats and promised to make them suddenly see Land which accordingly he did two days after These extraordinary Birds Marks to know the nearness of the Cape of good hope Trunks and Weeds are the surest signs of ones approaching the Cape This shows that Men have intimations of it at a pretty good distance seeing the first time that we saw of them we were in the ninteenth degree of Longitude and the thirty third of South Latitude that is to say that we were near three hundred Leagues from the Cape of Good Hope They said that if instead of keeping along the Coast of Africa as we did we had stood out to Sea to the West-ward we had met with those Signs farther off at Sea. This made me judge that the Currents that carry them along with them run stronger towards the West than North. We found the same things two days after we set out from the Cape of Good Hope steering away East South-East but in far greater quantity That continued all the third day though we had a good wind and made a great deal of way The days following we saw the same Birds in a greater number Divers Birds to be seen at Sea in approaching to the Cape of Good Hope which forsook us not till we were got a great way beyond the Cape Some of them were black on the back and white on the belly the back of their wings being speckled with those two colours much like to a chequer and therefore the French call them Damiers they are somewhat bigger than a Pigeon There are others bigger than these blackish above and all white below except the tip of their wings which appears to be of a Velveted-black and therefore the Portuguese call them Mangas de veludo Velvet sleeves After these we saw Flocks of others somewhat less than the former The Portuguese call them Boralhos because they are of an Ash-coloured-grey I shall not speak of certain big Fowls which because of their whiteness may be called Sea-Swans nor of the Ravens and Rooks which are to be found in these places nor yet of a kind of Birds which they call Boobies because they are so little upon their guards that they suffer themselves to be taken with the hand The North-wind blowing much stronger on the twenty eighth we were obliged to lye under a Main Course for fear of running ashore which we did not think to be far off Indeed next day about noon a Sea-man that was aloft to look out with all his force cried Land Land and presently came down to ask of my Lord Ambassador the reward which he had promised to him who should first make Land. He confidently affirmed that he had made it before in the Morning not daring to say so because he was not very sure of it but that at present it was past all doubt Nevertheless hardly any body could discern the Mountain which he show'd and it was a long while before they would believe him But at length three or four hours after we easily saw the Mountains of the Cape of Good Hope which might be fifteen or twenty Leagues a head of us Next day the one and twentieth the day of our Lords Ascension after we had said our usual Prayers and sung Mass to thank God for the good success of our Voyage we viewed the Land with our Glasses and saw it distinctly not being above three Leagues off How Barbarous and Barren soever it seemed to be to us it was nevertheless a delightful sight for Men who had seen no Land from the Canary Islands which we sailed by the thirteenth of March. A VOYAGE TO SIAM The Second BOOK The Voyage from the Cape of Good-Hope to the Isle of Java THE Cape of Good-Hope as those that come from Europe make it is a long Ridge of Mountains reaching from North to South and ending in a Point in the Sea. The first two which we made at ten Leagues distance from that Point are the Mountains of the Table and of the Lyon. We made the Table Land first and it is called by that Name because the Top of it is very flat and much resembles a Table The Lyon-Land or Mountain is so called because it hath a great deal of the Shape of a Lyon couchant upon the Belly Though it run farther out into the Sea than the other yet we did not see it till after at a distance it would seem that they were but one single Mountain and indeed they are not very remote At the Foot of these Mountains a great Bay of an Oval Figure runs up towards the East two or three Leagues within Land it is almost two Leagues over at the Mouth and about nine in compass On the South side towards the Mountains it is all a safe Coast every where else it is dangerous near Shoar The Commissary General of the East India Company of whom we have much to say in the Sequel told us one day that he was many times afraid seeing us stand in so near to Shoar upon the Tacks we made insomuch that he was thinking to fire a Gun with a Bullet to give us warning by that Signal that we should keep off and wait for a fairer Wind. Towards the Middle of this Bay the Dutch have built a Pentagone Fort below the Table-land which covers it to the South and behind the Lyon-Mountain that secures it to the West a League from Land or thereabouts In entering the Bay you leave a pretty low Island on the
the South and South-East Wind that reigns there constantly in that Season But we came to know afterward that it was Mony when we saw exacter Charts at Batavia which placed that Isle just in ten Degrees eleven Minutes South Latitude The Treasurer General show'd us that the first Day we went ashoar when we acquainted him with the Danger we had been in he called an old Pilot who shew'd us in a great Chart that Isle placed exactly as we found it The Signs of being near the Land of Mony are three sorts of Birds which the Sea-men call Boobies Frigats and Tropick Birds or Straw in Tails according to the French. The first suffer themselves to be catcht with the Hand when in the Fore-part of the Night they come and perch upon the Yards of the Ship and the Last have Feathers in the Tail about twenty inches long which one would take for Straws seeing them at a distance and that 's the reason the French call them by that Name In all that long Passage we saw nothing remarkable unless it were some Porposes pretty different from those we formerly spoke of as to Bigness Shape and Colour for they are bigger and whiter by one half and have the Snout shorter and almost round as you may see by the Figure of them in the following Map of the Road of Bantam Seeing they are fairer than the others and that many took them at first for the Dorado's we thought they were the Fish known to the Antients by the Name of Dolphins We caught no Fish from the Time we put out from the Cape the Seas being too rough for Fishing We saw Grampusses which are like little Whales and some others bigger that spouted the Water up in the Air above fifteen or sixteen foot high by what we could judge at the distance we saw them at A VOYAGE TO SIAM The Third BOOK The Voyage from the Isle of Java to the Kingdom of Siam AVgust 5. We Discovered a great Coast of Land and standing in with it Arrival at the Isle of Java found it to be the Isle of Java when we thought our selves to be far from it This made us observe that that Island lies much more to the West A considerable mistake in the Hydrographical and Geographical Charts and by consequent is nearer by threescore Leagues to the Cape of Good-hope than it is marked in the Geographical Maps Therefore it was that we came in with the Land above threescore Leagues farther up than the most Western point of that Isle which we lookt for An error to be imputed to the Charts and not to the inability of the Pilots who all along Sailed very exactly and always kept reckoning that we should make the Land the same day that we saw it both at the Isle of Java and the Cape of Good-hope as we have already observed The sight of these Lands seemed somewhat rare to us they are covered with Trees of a most lovely verdure which yield a pleasant smell to the Ships that Sail along the Coast at two or three Leagues distance We Coasted along that Isle with so good a wind that in a day and a halfs time we made the sixty Leagues which we had run too far to the East and Monday evening the sixth of August were got to the entry into the Streight of the Sound which is made by the Isles of Java and Sumatra But what surprised us more and was a sign of Gods particular Providence upon our Voyage the same evening that we saw the entry into the Streight of the Sound we made the Maligne which was separated from us by the bad weather I mentioned June 24. in the night time and which we had never seen since Though my Lord Ambassador and several others took it to be the Frigat yet we could not be sure of that because it was already late and the weather dark We were not certain it was she till eight days after in the Road of Bantam where we joyned her again The Pilots who were aboard of her having made the Streight in good time put into it and having a fair wind came to the place of Anchoring But it being usual to shoot the Streight of the Sound betwixt the Princes Isle and Sumatra keeping as near as may be to the Princes Isle which we could not make plainly because of the night we were forced to tack and stand off to Sea all the night long So that since we could not make the best of the fair weather which then we had which would have easily carried us beyond the Princes Isle we fell too low and spent the rest of the week in the Streight which is not above thirty Leagues in length strugling and beating against the Currents and contrary winds One of our Pilots assured us that the Sun of the East of which he was aboard in an East-India Voyage was three full weeks stopped there and could not get to Bantam but as she was towed with Boats. We entred then the Streight of the Sound three days after we made the Land of Java but the Princes Island lying at the mouth of the streight betwixt Java and Sumatra and dividing it into two we entred by the more Northern Passage which is the larger and safer betwixt the Princes Isle and Sumatra We made many Tacks to double the Isle of Cacatoua so called because of the white Parrots that are upon that Isle which incessantly repeat that name we did I say all that lay in our power to double the Isle or Cacatoüa which lyes pretty near to Sumatra that so we might stand in with the Land of Java but all our attempts were unsuccessful because the wind was too weak and Currents too strong in the middle of the Channel That which causes the Currents is because the water that for several Months has been forced into the Streights by the South and South-west-winds which reign commonly from the Month of March to September set our again impetuously during the other six Months of the year being bent back by the East and North East winds We had the wind so cross and the Currents so contrary that it was thought best to keep as close in as we could by the Shore of the Princes Isle Breezes rise on Sumatra at certain hours of the day by the help of some Breezes that came from Sumatra and which for some hours interrupted the great heats and dead calms that are common in that season in the Streights of the Sound By the help of those little Breezes we were in hopes by little and little to come up with the Land of Java but it behoved us first to double the Princes Isle which is pretty big and lies in the mouth of the Streight After all the view which we had of the Land and of several small Islands all decked in verdure comforted us a little for the time which we lost in that Streight The danger the Ship was in in the
Streight Nay we were like to have been stranded one night upon the Princes Isle as we endeavoured to bear close in with it We had not observed that the Tide which was not perceived in the middle of the Streight was pretty strong near Land and seeing we resolved to rake along very near the Shore because the Coast is safe and that within a Pistol-shot of Land there is no ground to be found that night we fetcht aboard into the Island that we might recover what the Currents and Tide had made us lose the day before Hardly were we got out of the strength of the Currents when the Officer that was upon the Watch and the Seamen who were upon the Deck took notice that the Ship ran apace towards Land. They had only time to tack about and stand off which was done so much in the nick that when the Ship was about and the Sails trimmed one might easily have thrown a stone on Shore from the Poup of our Ship. If Ships could come to an Anchor in the Streight they would not be exposed to that danger but no ground being to be found in it at least off of the Princes Isle we were forced to keep continually under Sail and when it was a Calm to keep at large amongst the Currents which made us lose sometimes in less than three hours what with small Breezes we had got in four before Thus we spent several days in passing that Island where we had leizure enough to make tryal of the extraordinary heats of that Climate and to consider Sumatra which appeared to us always covered with a black thick mist and in the evening with continual flashes of Lightning Extraordinary Thunder and Lightning at Java and Sumatra Thunder is very common there and amongst others we had one Clap so hard and smart that many took it for a Canon-shot and some dabb'd down their heads as if it had been to avoid the Bullet At length a good Breeze did our work for us made us double the Isle and carried us upon the Coast of Java When we were got in with that Land we advanced by little and little dropping an Anchor so soon as the wind left us In the mean time vast numbers of the Javaners Canoes which they call Praux came on Board of us every minute The Javaners came on Board in their little Boats. These Boats are made of one entire piece of Timber hollowed and some of them are so little that with much ado can they hold their Man sitting We were altogether astonished to see these poor People venture out so many Leagues at Sea in such brittle Boats wherewith they danced upon the Waves and advanced with incredible swiftness to bring us fresh Provisions And because these Praux Sail in a quite different manner from other Canoes I thought fit to give you the figure of one under Sail in the Road of Bantam The Javaners are well shaped and strong they seem to be sprightly and resolute but the extraordinary heat of the Climate obliges them to go almost naked They who live in the middle of the Isle are Idolaters and the rest who inhabit the Coasts are Mahometans all Superstitious to excess When they came on Board we offered them Bread Wine and Brandy but there was not one of them that would take any thing saying that it was their fasting time and that their Law prohibited the drinking of Wine Notwithstanding all this they are bold Robbers and Thieves I saw one of them openly in the day time carry off a Seamans shirt which he had fastned to a line and held it by one end It was to no purpose for him to cry out and make a noise For the Javaner who held it only in one hand and row'd with the other was too strong for him and carried it clearly away The whole Nation are not subject to this Vice and there are some of them very faithful One of them coming on Board of us to sell some small refreshments he seemed to be so honest that some Gentlemen of the Ambassadors retinue who could not go ashore to buy some things they stood in need of trusted him with their Money He promised to bring them what they desired against the time they had prefixt This Javaner was so true to his word that the Ambassador having ordered to set Sail before the appointed hour he nevertheless got into his Praux with his Provisions and made so much hast that he came up with the Ship and gave an account of his Commission and brokeage even to the last farthing We did not come to sight of the Road of Bantam before the fifteenth of August The Road of Bantam the Assumption day of our Lady as we had arrived at the Cape on the Ascention day of our Lord. This is one of the fairest and most commodious Roads in the World. It is about eight or nine Leagues in circumference The Land on all sides is but low and yet there is always very smooth water in it The Town of Bantam which is pretty big lyes at the middle of the Bâ—y and the houses of it are all of Wood. Towards the middle of the Road there is a small Fort â—here the King lives and where the Dutch since they became Masters of it keep a good Garrison till they have time to build a strong Fort which is already pretty well advanced Bantam was heretofore a Town of Trade especially for Pepper where all the Europeans entertained great Commerce But for these two or three years that it is fallen into the hands of the Dutch in the manner we shall hereafter relate none are suffered to come to it and all the Trade is removed to Batavia Hear you have the view of it as it appeared to us after we came to an Anchor At first we designed to go to Batavia to take in fresh Provisions but the season being already far spent we were afraid we might lose the Mousson that is to say the proper time tor Sayling to Siam Besides the passage from Bantam to Batavia tho not above fourteen or fifteen Leagues in length being very difficult because of Islands Banks â—nd Rocks on all hands it was thought convenient to stop in the Road of Bantam that we might lose no time and get more speedy relief for our sick Men who for most part were in a sad condition And therefore my Lord Ambassador resolved next Morning to send to Bantam to him who commanded in the Fort for the Dutch and to demand permission of him to take in fresh Provisions and put our sick Men on Shore That is the Sovereign remedy for that distemper which the French call the Land-Evil and which to speak properly is nothing else but a corruption of the Blood caused by bad Food and salt Victuals This evil begins commonly in the Gums which at first grow very red then black and at last entirely rot so that to prevent the Corruption from spreading farther
come up with us sooner several others were to have embarked with us but the Season already far spent suffered us not to stay for them so that we put under Sail. Departure from the Bar of Siam And parted from the Bar of Siam with a good Wind the two and twentieth of December The Lord Constance had sent us on board all sorts of fresh Provisions in so great abundance that we were fain to pray him to send no more and even to leave some of them We came to Bantam the Tenth of January after we had run aground in the Streight of Banca through the Fault of the Dutch Pilot whom we took in at Batavia No Body can well tell what whimsy made him cast Anchor which put us in danger of being cast away for had not the Ground been so owzy as it was the Anchor we dropt would have bulged the Ship that ran foul of it and it was some trouble to get her off A Dutch Ship that came after had more Wit than to follow us and so was not stranded as we were So soon as we came to an Anchor before Bantam the Ambassador sent M. de Cibois Lieutenant of the Ship to make a Complement to the Governor not doubting but that he would come off with better Grace than he did the time before and the rather that he was not ignorant of the Civilities that the General of Batavia had shewn the Ambassador but we were mistaken Monsieur Cibois could not speak to the Governor who they said was sick and bid the Governor of the Fort tell him that they would send on board fresh Provisions This Promise amounted to no more but the sending of two or three Bullocks with an Excuse that there was no more to be had In the Evening came a Man who pretended to be sent from the Governor and demanded Money for the Bullocks which it was thought the Governor had presented to my Lord Ambassador That Messenger was used as he deserved and had an Answer given him to carry to the Governor sutable to such a clownish and uncivil Behaviour So next day we made Sail towards the Cape of Good-hope We had the best Luck imaginable in passing the Streight of the Sound which is a very difficult Passage to shoot because of contrary Winds that commonly reign there in that Season But God was graciously pleased to send us most excellent Weather which in a few Hours put us out of all Danger We had a more particular Instance of his Divine Providence three days after Our Pilots had a mind to keep thirty or forty Leagues to the Southward of the Isle Mony and thought they had steered their Course accordingly when about break of day Monsieur de Vaudâ—â—court made Land at three or four Leagues distance from us we had certainly run foul of it had it blown a little fresher in the Night-time This Land is so low that it is not to be known but by the Breaks We were obliged to bear away to the Leeward and leave it to the South contrary to our first Design During the whole Voyage we had as fair Weather as Heart could wish untill we were off of the Isle of Bourbon February the Thirteenth where we met with one of the most violent Gusts of Wind that the old Officers as they said had ever seen It lasted three days and having carried away the Frigats main Sail separated her from us much about the same place that we lost her when we were outward bound and we had no more sight of her till that Day we came to an Anchor at the Cape of Good-Hope whither she had got two Days before us News from an English Ship outward bound March the Tenth we made a Sail bound towards the Indies As we drew nearer we knew her to be an English Ship by her Colours My Lord Ambassador being willing to hear News from Europe sent Monsieur Cibois and his Secretary who spoke very good English to the Captain They brought back word that that Ship had been five Months out of England and that she was bound streight for Tunquin without touching any where that all was quiet in Europe that the King of England had defeated the Rebels and made the Duke of Monmouth who commanded them Prisoner who was shortly after beheaded that many of his Followers had suffered Death and other tasted of his Britannick Majesties Mercy These were very acceptable News to us and especially when they told us that the English Ship had made the Cape the Day before about seven Leagues off We then found that we were much nearer it than we imagined and next day casting out the Lead we found our selves about seven a Clock in the Morning upon the Bank of the Needles in ninety Fadom Water and about Noon we made the Cape of the Needles The Wind was then fair and we made the best use of it all Night long so that next day we made the Cape of Good-Hope about eight Leagues off About three in the Afternoon we came to the Mouth of the Bay but the Wind blowing too high for putting in we came to an Anchor betwixt Isle Robin and the main Land near the Frigat The Day following March the Thirteenth the Wind being abated we came to an Anchor in the Bay amongst seven great Dutch Ships that made up the East-India Fleet that was to return to Europe so soon as three or four Ships more which they daily expected were come to the Cape The Ambassador sent a Compliment to the Governour of the Fort who received it as kindly as the time before when we past that way We saluted the Fort with seven Guns and they returned us Gun for Gun. Whilst we were taking in Water and providing other necessary Provisions I went to pay a Visit to the Governour who had asked News of the six Jesuits whom he had seen the Year before He made me many Offers of Services offering me a Friends House if I would stay ashoar because the Observatory which was pulled down to be built again with greater Magnificence was not yet finished Being informed that I was to return to the Indies with several other Jesuits he added very obligingly that all should be ready against our Arrival and invited me and all my Companions before hand to come and refresh our selves there After all these Civilities he made me a Present of four lovely Tygers Skins and of a little tame Beast which he had taken in his last Expedition by the Hair and Size of it it resembles a Squirril and had much the Shape of one when he gave it me he told me it was the implacable Enemy of Serpents and was at cruel Wars with them It was then Vintage time which was very far advanced we eat of the Grapes of Africa that are plentiful and have a rare good Taste The White-wine is very delicate and if the Dutch knew as well how to cultivate Vines as to make Colonies and
Month in the Night-time we re-passed the Tropick of Capricorn and from that day forward we sailed as near as we could upon a Wind until we came in sight of the Isle of Java For we were afraid of falling too much to the Northward A Caution not to be neglected in that course and by consequence to the Leeward of the Streight of the Sound which would have mightily perplexed us because the Trade-winds and Currents that are in those Parts not suffering us to enter it we would have been obliged to put into the Isle of Ceilon or Sumatra Therefore we desired Winds that might suffer us to bear away more to the East to the end we might come up with the Land of Java However perceiving that the contrary Winds still continued on Wednesday the five and twentieth of July we held Counsel to determine whether or not we should bear away still North-east that we might pass betwixt the Isles of Cocos and the Trial or if we should go and make New-Holland Two of our Pilots were of this last Opinion trusting to particular Instructions that set off the Course so and they alledged that the Winds changed not and that if we went and made these Lands they would be fair for us for entering into the Streight of the Sound The other three were against it because of the Dangers that are to be met with along that Coast and the many Shipwracks that happen there besides they made it appear that it was very difficult to pass betwixt the Trial and the Land The Trial are three pretty low Islands and that so it was better to make up to the Isle of Java They said that in a short time the Winds would change or that at worst we might put in to Sumatra that this Course though irksome enough was nevertheless safe and that it was better to resolve upon it than to run the risk of being cast away This last advice was followed and it proved to be the best as may be seen in the Sequel The truth is the Winds became no fairer afterwards than they had been before but seeing the Isles of Java was not so far from us as our Pilots relying upon their Carts imagined in a short time we found our selves a good deal higher than the Streight of the Sound and we entered it as you shall hear We would not trust to the Experience and good advice of Monsieur de St. Martin who assured us that the Isle of Java was ill placed in the common Maps and that it was about an hundred Leagues nearer the Cape and much more to the Leeward than was believed We hold on that course then steering North East in hopes of a fairer Wind The Wâ—â—â—ing contrâ—â— we be took our selves to Prayers again but seeing after long Sailing the wind changed not we vowed another Novenary which we began with fresh Zeal and Devotion About me half of the Shiâ— Company were dangerously dark and 〈◊〉 were so feeble and spent that they cold â—â—t work the Ship. The Sea-men of St. Malo show a particular Devotion The Seamen who beâ—â—ed â—o St. Malo resolved to give sâ—ne Token of their Devotion towards St. Saviour â—heir Patâ—â—n They sent two or three of their Number to one of our Fathers to pray him that he would assist them in their good Desires and prescribe to them what was to be done for rendring their Vow acceptable to their Holy Patron This Custom they have amongst them which they inviolably observe that when they are in any Danger at Sea they promise to St. Saviour to go and visit his Church in Linnen that 's to say in their Shirt to communicate there and to have a solemn Mass sung They had already agreed among themselves to make this Vow many of their Townsmen who were sick of the Scurvey put that Thought into their Minds and egg'd on to the Performance of it When they had proposed their Design they were told that they must begin by Confession and Communicating that so they might be in a Condition to have their Prayers heard They prepared themselves accordingly during the rest of the Week and on Sunday all of them confessed and communicated When they had done so the Father to whom they had applied themselves went up upon-the Fore-castle and having made them to kneel published aloud the Promise which they made to God if by the Intercession of St. Saviour they obtained a fair Wind and a happy Return into their own Country Providence without doubt is in all places wonderful but I dare be bold to say and I have often found it by Experience that it shows it self in a particular manner at Sea. We had never begged fair Weather with greater Confidence and we never thought we stood more in need of it during all our Voyage Nevertheless God would not hear our Prayers and we were astoâ—â—â—d to find our selves already at the end of our Mâ—â—enary without any the least sign of the change of Weather Gods special Protection of our Ship. But we were soon happily undeceived and we found that after all our Vowâ— and Prayers we must resign our selves to the Providence of God. For had our Prayers been heard and had God granted us the Wind which we so earnestly begged on the Twelfth of August in the Night-time we had infallibly run foul of a little low Island and been in great danger of being cast away We did not make that Isle before next Morning at break of Day when we had already past almost one half of it being no more but about two Leagues off on 't So that if that Night we had had a fair Wind to carry us streight North-East as our Pilots thought best for us we could not have avoided being lost because that Isle lies almost in the tenth Degree of Latitude for some time we took it to be the Isle of Cocos which we thought we had already past and the rather because it is marked in the Sea-charts to lye in the twelfth Degree of South Latitude We could not imagine that it should be the Isle of Mony the most Southern The Perplexity we were in before we came to the Isle of Java and most Eastern of the two Isles which lye near the Coast of Java either because Mony is set down in the common Charts to be in eight Degrees of Latitude or else because we did not all that Day nor next see the other little Isle which is very near to it And so our sick Men who were in very great number having turned out to see Land were much dejected when they found it was not that which they expected but they had far sadder Hearts when they came to understand that we did not know where we were In this Doubt we took the surest Course and steered away East for fear of falling to the Leeward of the Streight of the Sound into which it would have been difficult to enter by reason of
any Seamans appearing on Board That adventure occasioned various reasoning Those of most sense were of the opinion of the Ambassador and Monsieur de Vaudricourt who attributed it to a careless working of the Ship. The truth is if she had had any bad design she would not have failed to fire her Guns when she laid us on board and to have poured in a volley of small-shot amonst us We were informed at Siam by Hollanders that came from Batavia after us that it was one of their Ships coming from Palimbam and that all the Men on Board were drunk or asleep The wind was good The Streight of Banka difficult to be passed because of the want of Water and so that accident did not at all hinder us to pursue our Voyage It was not long before we got to the entry of the Streight of Banka which is made by an Isle so called and the Isle of Sumatra The Banks and Shelves that are at the entry of this Streight make it a difficult passage for those that are not acquainted with it We had a Dutch Pilot on Board and a very able Man who had several times before past that Streight and for all that tho we continually also heaved the Head our Ship stuck aground and so did the Frigat too But the Ground being owzy we were in no danger and having put out an Anchor at a distance in deeper water we weighed our selves off again without any prejudice The wind continuing fair in a short time we repassed the Line We felt it a great deal better in this place encompassed with Land then when we passed it the first time out at Sea before we came to the Cape Calms are not so much to be dreaded here because of winds that reign there and blow sometime from the Land and sometime from the Sea. The safest way of Sailing in those Calm Seas that are as smooth as a Mill-pond is to keep always along the Shoar in twelve fifteen or twenty Fathom water and never go out of sight of Land as we did observing this circumspection you have always the advantage of coming to an Anchor when you please which you will be forced to do very often because of the Currents that set in to Land and of certain strong gusts and flurries which commonly blow from the Isle of Sumatra Some days after we set out from Batavia we were all of a sudden surprised with one of those Flurries which put us into great fear because all our Sails were then abroad but the diligence that was used in taking of them in cleared us of the danger October 5. we began to make the Land of Asia and the first we made was the point of Malaca We all felt a secret Joy to see those places that had been watered with the sweat of St. Francis Xavier and to find our selves in these Seas so famous for his Voyages and Miracles We publicly and daily invoked the assistance of that great Saint after the Litanies of the Virgin on Board We then ranged along the Coasts of Johor Patane and Pahan whose Kings are Tributary to the King of Siam but the Dutch have all the Trade of these Kingdoms September 6. Monsieur de Vanderets D' Hebouville one of the Gentlemen of the Ambassadors Retinue died on Board the Frigat in the Flower of his Age. He was handsome Discreet and the eldest Son of a very Ancient and Rich Family in Normandy His Distemper was a Bloody-Flux common enough in the Indies especially to those who eat too much Fruit as this young Gentleman did during the five or six days that he was at Batavia We had notice of his Death by the Frigats handling their Colours at eight of the Clock in the Morning and in the Evening we came to know the time of his obsequies by means of five Guns slowly fired one after another Funerals at Sea are performed with like Ceremonie Having sung some Prayers they wrap up the Body in a Linnen Cloath tye a great shot to the Feet and upon a Plank to which it is made fast let it gently drop into the Sea. Next day all we that were Priests said a Mass on Board of our Ship for the rest of his Soul. At length September 22. we came in sight of the River of Siam and next day to an Anchor three Leagues from the Bar which is at the entry of it The sight of that Kingdom raised an incredible Joy in all of us after the dangers and fatigues of so tedious a Voyage There had been but little talk till then of the Conversion of the King of Siam which was the cause of the Embassie but at that time it was almost the subject of every discourse It was known to all that the King had publickly said to my Lord Ambassador that he was in hopes that by his prudent Conduct he would accompâ—ish that great work which was so far advanced We earne â—â—y begg'd it of God in our prayers and from our first coming on Board our Father Superiour had ordered every one of us to say a Mass weekly for that intention So soon as we were come to an Anchor the Ambassador dispatched the Chevalier de Fourbin and Monsieur Vachet with the news of his arrival to the King of Siam and his Ministers The first was to go no higher than Bancok which is the first place of the Kingdom upon the River ten Leaguâ—s from the mouth of it and the other was to take a Balon which is a Boat of that Countrey very light and make all hast to Siam The Governor of Bancok by Nation a Turk and of the Mahometan Religion being informed that the Ambassador of the King of France was in the Road prayed Monsieur Vachet to take his repose for the rest of that night and suffer him to send an express that he might give the Court speedy notice thereof The Governor of Bancoks Messenger arrived at Siam next day about noon The Lord Constance Minister of State was acquainted by a Letter which he had received that Morning from Coromandel that the most Christian King had named the Chevalier de Chaumont to be his Ambassador extraordinary at the Court of Siam and that he had set out from France ever since the Month of March with two Men of War. Seeing we are often to mention this Minister in the sequel of this relation and that he alone was deputed by the King his Master to treat about the Affairs of this Embassie it is proper we should make it known who he is The Lord Constance is properly called Constantin Phaulkon and so he writes his name He is a Grecian by Nation born in Cephalonia his Father being a noble Venetian the Son of the Governor of the Island and his Mother a Daughter of one of the Ancientest Families of the Country About the year 1660. when as yet he was but about twelve years of Age he had discretion enough to reflect upon the bad condition
of the Bishop of Metellopolis stayed for him Seeing the Countrey about within a days Journey of Siam is very low Land it is all overflowed for one half of the year The Rains which fall for several Months together swelling the River cause these great Inundations and that 's the thing which makes the Countrey so fertil were it not for that the Rice that grows only in Water and wherewith all the Fields are covered could not supply as it does all the Siamese and neighbouring Countries with Food This is another Convenience of these Inundations that one may go all about in a Balon even into the Fields which makes so great a number of Boats to be in all places that in the greatest part of the Kingdom there are more Balons than Men. There are some of them very big covered with Houses which serve to lodge whole Families and several of these being joyned together make a kind of floating Villages in those places where they chance to meet We continued going up the River all night long during which we saw a very pleasant sight and that was an infinite number of Fire-flies wherewith all the Trees upon the sides of the River were so covered over that they appeared like so many great Branches set thick with innumerable Lights which the reflection of the Water at that time as smooth as a Looking-glass infinitely multiplied Whilst we were taken up in viewing of them all of a sudden we were beset with a prodigious quantity of Musketo's or Maringoiiins These are a kind of very troublesom Gnats that sting through Peoples Cloaths and leave the Marks of it a long time behind them The Siamese who row'd our Balon though they were naked and tugg'd at the Oar made a better shift against them than we they gave themselves a flap with the hand every time they felt a Musketoe and struck so pat that they never missed them without losing one single stroak of their Oar for all that We found a great many Monkeys and Sapajous upon the River side which clambered up the Trees and went together in Troops But no pleaseanter sight can be seen than the vast numbers of Criel Herons that swarm upon the Trees at a distance one would take them for their Blossoms The White of the Birds mingling with the Green of the Trees makes the most lovely Land-skip imaginable The Criel Heron is a Fowl shaped like a common Heron but far less it is of a neat proportion of Body and has fair Feathers whiter than Snow It hath Tops or Tufts upon the Head Back and Belly wherein its chief Beauty consists and which render it extraordinary All the wild Birds have most lovely Feathers there are of them of several colours all yellow all red all blew all green and that in great numbers For the Siamese believing the Transmigration of Souls into other Bodies kill no Animals for fear as they say of driving out from thence the Souls of their Relations which may very well be lodged there We did not make a League of way without meeting with some Pagod that is to say a Temple of Idols It hath always by it a little Monastery of Talapoins who are the Priests and the Religious of the Countrey These Talapoins live in common and their Houses are so many Seminaries where the Children of Quality are bred So long as Children continue there they wear the habit of Telapoins which consists in two pieces of a kind of yellow Cotton Cloth whereof the one serves to cover them from the Girdle down to the Knees and the other they use sometimes as a Scarf putting it about their Shoulders like a Shoulder-Belt and sometimes they wrap it about them like a little Cloak They have their Heads and Eye-brows shaved as well as their Masters who are perswaded that it would be immodest and sinful to let them grow Their Blindness made us heartily pity them Having row'd on all night long about Ten of the Clock in the Morning we arrived at Bancok This is the most important Place of the Kingdom because it defends the Passage of the River with a Fort that is on the other side Both are well furnished with Brass Guns but ill fortified Monsieur de la Mare a French Engineer whom my Lord Ambassador left at Siam hath received Orders from the King to fortifie it regularly and to make a good place of it We saw the Governor of it in passing he is a tall very handsom man who received us with a great deal of Civility We went afterwards to dine with a French Artisan for there are no Inns in that Countrey That day we began to use Rice instead of Bread and to drink nothing but River-water The Rice being only boiled with Water is but an insipid kind of Food and we could hardly accustom our selve to it at first but within a Fortnights time we came to like it as well as Bread which is very scarce and dear there because the Wheat must be brought from Surrat or Japan Betwixt Bancock and Siam you meet with a great many Aldees or Villages that almost every where border the River These Villages are no more than a great many Huts or Hovels raised upon high Pillars because of the Inundation They are made of Bambous which is a Tree whose Timber is much used in that Countrey The Trunk and great Branches serve for making of Pillars and Joysts and the small Branches to makes the Walls and Roof Near the Villages are the Bazars or floating Market-places where the Siamese who go up or down the River find their Victuals ready drest that 's to say Fruit boyl'd Rice Rack which is a kind of Strong Water made of Rice and Lime and some Ragousts after the Siamese Mode which a French-man could not taste Next day the Third of October we came to Siam We thought the Bishop of Metellopolis had got before us and therefore went streight to the Seminary to pay him our dutiful Respects at home but he was not as yet arrived Whilst we stayed for him we said Mass to give God thanks for his Protection during all our Voyage which had been exactly seven Months long for we set out from Brest the Third of March and arrived at Siam the Third of October From thence we went to the House of Father Suarez the only Jesuit that was then at Siam Father Maldonat being gone for some time before to Macao from whence he was to return towards March following We passed by the French Factory and there saluted the Officers of the Company Then we were conducted to the Palace which was preparing for my Lord Ambassador where we met with the Lord Constance the first The Lord Constance receives the Jesuits with extraordinary goodness or to say better the only Minister of the Kingdom We knew before that he was a man of Merit and had a kindness for us but we had the experience of both far beyond our expectation In that first
pursue Trade they might have excellent Wines there of the other Colour The Governour told me that he was just returned from a great Journey he had made up into the Country Northward where he had discovered many Nations who have some Form of Government and well ordered Oeconomy as may be seen in the Description of the Cape of Good-hope Putting out from the Bay of the Cape Having taken on board Provisions and our sick Men who were recovered by the Land-air we put out of the Bay the twenty sixth of March. We steered our Course towards the Ascension Island This Isle lies in eight Degrees South Latiâ—ude and seven Degrees fifteen Minutes Longitude There is so great plenty of Tortoises or Turtle to be had there that in a Night or two as many may be caught as will satisfie to feed a whole Ships Company consisting of four hundred Men for a Fortnights time These Tortoises are of an extraordinary bigness and in the Evening after Sun-set when they come ashoar to lay their Eggs Men turn as many of them as they intend to take upon their Backs for the Sea-shoar is full of them and in that condition they leave them till next day when they come and carry them on Board in Boats. We made that Isle which appears at a great distance by a high Hill the nineteenth of April about four of the Clock in the Afternoon we had a good Wind and we should have lost time if we had put into the Road and therefore the Ambassador would not stop there We past the Line at the first Meridian We past the Line at the first Meridiaâ— the seven and twentieth of April and from that time forward till the last of May we had very easie Winds but then met with a strong contrary Wind. Next day towards the Evening we were much surprised to make the Isle of Corvo on head of us which is the most Northern Isle of the Azores Our Pilots thought we had been near an hundred Leagues beyond those Islands I have read in many Journals and learnt from several able Sea-men that Men are many times out in that Course and that they never sail to make the Aâ— res when they think they have past them That is a sign that in those Places the Currents set Westward with great Rapidity So that Men should sail with much Circumspection upon their Return from Africa that they may not fall into so considerable a Mistake which may prove to be of fatal Consequence June the eleventh it blew so fierce a Storm that we were forced to furl all our Sails and to lay a-try under one Course That Gust lasted not long and we stood away Eastward One day as we were sailing with all Sails drawing and were in hopes soon to make the Land of Vshan because we were already got into the Soundings a Sea-man upon the Watch cried out that we were about to run upon a Rock It was late and the Darkness of the Night encreased our Fear occasioned by so present a Danger but it was over in a trice when instead of that pretended Rock we found a great Fisher Boat at an Anchor Had not we tackt in the very nick of time we had been foul of her The poor Men on board were so allarmed that they still kept crying with all their force that we would take pity of them though we were already at a pretty good distance from them Next day we met a Boat that assured us we were but eight Leagues from Vshan This News rejoyced all the Ships Company which was encreased next day by the sight of that Island When we made it we clapt on all the Sail we could that we might stand in to the Iroise but it being again Tide and the Wind failing us we were forced to come to an Anchor betwixt the black Stones and the main Land in five and twenty Fadom Water on sandy Ground Next day the eighteenth of June we came to an Anchor in the Road of Brest There we sang Te Deum to thank God for so prosperous a Voyage with a Noise of all the Guns of both Ships and afterwards we went ashoar A VOYAGE TO SIAM The Sixth BOOK The Manners and Religion of the Siamese I will say nothing but what I have seen my self or what I have learned from the Lord Constance and some other very intelligent Persons that I may not impose upon the public by false or uncertain Reports This wise advice I had from that Minister all the while I had the honour to be with him who gave me to understand that some men had given abroad memoirs of a great many things that are not much to be trusted So I shall speak nothing of Tunquin and Cochincine because of three persons who lived there many years and whom in any thing else I should readily believe with much ado two could agree together about a great many questions that were put to them in relation to those places For as to the Orientals all know that they tell things not really as they are but as they fancy you could wish they were wherefore they little care to contradict one another as to matter of Fact they have declared provided they comply with the inclinations of him that puts the question to them so that if they be taken in any contradiction it does not at all trouble them to be told of it What pleased you yesterday will they say unconcernedly displeases you to day and that makes us speak to day in another manner than we spake yesterday I shall not so much enlarge upon the Customs and Government of the Siamese as upon their Religion which I have taken great care to be informed of and have learnt many particulars relating thereunto which as I think will be very acceptable to the curious I owe almost all of them to a Siamese Church-man who came to France with the Ambassadors of the King of Siam The Scituation of the Kingdom of Siam The Kingdom of Siam reaches from the point of Malaca to the Kingdoms of Pegu and Laos which bound it on the North side It hath the Indian Sea to the West and the Chinese to the East so that it would seem to make only a Peninsula The Provinces that lie up in the Countrey towards the North are but little known and our Geographical Maps mark not their Scituation and Limits well We have found already by two Observations of an Ecclipse of the Moon that the Longitude thereof is very ill determined The King of Siam intimated to our Fathers that he wished he had an exact Map of his own Dominions and the Kingdoms about having bid the Lord Constance tell us that he would give us Letters of Recommendation to the Princes his Neighbours to the end we might have the liberty to Travel over their Countries and make an exact Description of them I do not think that since my departure our Fathers have had time to obey