A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 9 | Page 6

1st June, passed the tropic of Cancer. The 2d, being in lat 25° 44' N. we laid our account with seeing the islands of _Dos Reys Magos._[4] Accordingly, about four p.m. we had sight of a very low island, and soon afterwards of the high land over the low, there being many little islands, to the number of ten or eleven, connected by broken grounds and ledges, so that we could not discern any passage to the westward. At night we stood off and took in our top-sails, and lay close by in our courses till morning. The islands stretch from S.W. to N.E. The 3d, we stood in for the land, which appeared to us a most pleasant and fertile soil, as much so as any we had seen from leaving England, well peopled, and having great store of cattle. We proposed to have come to anchor about its north-east point, and on sounding, had sixty fathoms. We saw two boats coming off to us, and used every means to get speech of them, wishing for a pilot, and desiring to know the name of the island, but the wind was so strong that we could not get in, wherefore we stood away N.W. and had sight of another island bearing N.N.W. for which we steered, and thence descried another, N.E. half E. about seven or eight leagues off. Coming under the western island, we observed certain rocks about two miles offshore, one of which was above water, and the other, to the north, under water, a great way without the other, and the sea breaking on it.
[Footnote 2: The latitude in the text, which we have reason to believe accurate, as Captain Saris was so long at this place, indicates the northern end of the island of Morty, east and a little northerly of the northern peninsula or leg of Gilolo.--E.]
[Footnote 3: We have omitted in the text the naked journal of daily winds, courses, and distances, as tending to no useful information whatever.--E.]
[Footnote 4: The indicated latitude, considering the direction of the voyage between Morty and Japan, nearly coincides with the small islands of Kumi and Matchi, west from the south end of the great Liqueo.--E.]
On the 7th, we supposed ourselves about twenty-eight or thirty leagues from Tonan.[5] In the morning of the 8th, we had sight of a high round island, bearing E. six leagues off, with various other islands, in six or seven directions westwards, five or six leagues off.[6] In the morning of the 8th we had sight of land bearing N.N.E. and of six great islands in a row N.E. from the island we descried the preceding evening; and at the northern end of all were many small rocks and hummocks. In a bay to the eastwards of these, we saw a high land bearing E. and E. by S. and E.S.E. which is the island called Xima in the charts, but named Maihma by the natives, while the former island is called Segue, or Amaxay.[7] The 10th, four great fishing-boats came aboard, about five tons burden each, having one large sail, like that of a skiff. They had each four oars of a side, resting on pins fastened to the gunwales, the heads of the pins being let into the middle of the oars, so that they hung in just equipoise, saving much labour to the rowers. These people make much more speed in rowing than our men, and perform their work standing, by which they take up less room. They told us we were just before the entrance to Nangasaki, which bore N.N.E.; the straits of Arima being N.E. by N. and that the high hill we saw yesterday was upon the island called Uszideke,[8] making the straits of Arima, at the north end of which is good anchorage, and at the south end is the entrance to Cahinoch.[9] We agreed with two of the masters of these fishing-boats for thirty dollars each, and rice for their food, to pilot us to Firando, on which agreement their people came aboard our ship, and voluntarily performed its duty as readily as any of our own mariners. We steered N. by W. the pilots reckoning that we were thirty leagues from Firando. One of the boats which came to us at this time belonged to the Portuguese who dwelt at Nangasaki, being Christian converts, and thought our ship had been the Portuguese ship from Makao; but, on finding we were not, made all haste back again to advise them, refusing every entreaty to remain with us.
[Footnote 5: The island of Tanao-sima is probably here meant, being the most southerly of the Japanese islands. It may be proper to remark, that the termination sima, in the names of islands belonging to Japan, obviously means