A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 10 | Page 8

imposed by Magellan or his associates. Cipangue is the
name given to Japan by Marco Polo, and is of course a singular blunder.
The other is unintelligible, and the voyage is so vaguely expressed, as
even to defy conjecture.--E.]
[Footnote 5: This cape Cottigare in the South Sea, in lat. 12° or 13° N.
is utterly unintelligible, unless it refer to the southern part of Guam,
Guaham, or Goad, one of the Ladronea, which they soon discovered,
and which is actually in 13° N.--E.]
On the 6th March, 1521, they fell in with a cluster of islands, being
then in lat. 12° N. and 146° of west longitude from the place of their
first setting out.[6] These islands were called by Magellan Islas de los
Ladrones, or the islands of robbers, and are called in modern geography
the Ladrones or Marian islands. They here went on shore to refresh
themselves, after all the fatigues and privations of their tedious voyage
through the Pacific Ocean; but the thievish disposition of the islanders
would not allow them any quiet repose, as they were continually
stealing things from the ships, while the sick and worn-out mariners
were endeavouring to refresh themselves on shore. Resolving therefore
to deliver themselves from the disturbance of these pilferers, they
marched a small party of armed men into the interior of one of these
islands, where they burnt some houses, and slew some of the natives.
But, though this correction awed them a little for the present, it did not
mend their thievish disposition; for which reason they resolved to seek
out some other place, where they might enjoy some repose in safety.
[Footnote 6: By the reckoning in the text, the longitude of the Ladrone
islands, which they now discovered, would be 151° 25' W. from
Greenwich. But their true longitude is 216° 30' W. Their latitude is
between 13° and 20° 50' N.--E.]
No order or form of government was observed to subsist among these

natives of the Ladrones, but every one seemed to live according to his
own humour or inclination. The men were entirely naked, the hair both
of their heads and beards being black, that on their heads so long as to
reach down to their waists. Their natural complexion is olive, and they
anoint themselves all over with cocoa-nut oil. Their teeth seemed
coloured artificially black or red, and some of them wore a kind of
bonnet made of palm leaves. The women are better favoured and more
modest than the men, and all of them wore some decent coverings
made of palm leaves. Their hair was black, thick, and so very long as
nearly to trail on the ground. They seemed careful industrious
housewives, spending their time at home in fabricating mats and nets of
palm leaves, while the men were occupied abroad in stealing. Their
houses are of timber, covered with boards and great leaves, and divided
within into several apartments. Their beds are of mats laid above each
other, and they use palm leaves by way of sheets. Their only weapons
are clubs, and long poles headed with bone. Their food consists of
cocoa-nuts, bananas, figs, sugar-canes, fowls, and flying-fishes. Their
canoes are oddly contrived and patched up, yet sail with wonderful
rapidity, the sails being made of broad leaves sewed together. Instead
of a rudder they use a large board, with a staff or pole at one end, and in
sailing, either end of their canoes is indifferently used as head or stern.
They paint their canoes all over, either red, white, or black, as hits their
fancy. These people are so taken with any thing that is new, that when
the Spaniards wounded several of them with their arrows, and even
pierced some quite through, they would pluck out the arrows from their
wounds, and stare at them till they died. Yet would they still continue
to follow after the ships, to gaze upon them as they were going away,
so that at one time they were closely surrounded by at least two
hundred canoes filled with natives, admiring those wonderful
contrivances.
The 10th of March, the Spaniards landed on the island of Zamul, about
30 leagues from the Ladrones.[7] Next day they landed on Humuna, an
island not inhabited, yet well deserving of being so, where they found
springs of excellent water, with abundance of fruit-trees, gold, and
white coral. Magellan named this the island of good signs. The natives
from some of the neighbouring islands, a people of much humanity,

came here to them shortly after, very fair and of friendly dispositions,
who seemed well pleased at the arrival of the Spaniards among them,
and came loaded with presents of fish, and wine made from the
cocoa-tree, promising speedily to bring other provisions. This tree
somewhat resembles