A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels | Page 8

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 the date palm, and supplies the natives with bread, oil, wine, vinegar, and even physic. The wine being drawn from the tree itself, and all the rest from the fruit or nut. To procure the wine, they eat off part of a branch, and fasten to the remaining part a large reed or hollow cane, into which the liquor drops, being like white-wine in colour, and of a grateful tartish taste. When a good quantity of this is drawn off, it is put into a vessel, and is their cocoa-wine without farther preparation.
[Footnote 7: In this voyage the term Ladrones seems confined to the most southern islands of this group, as there are no other islands for a very considerable distance in any direction. The entire group stretches about 6�� 10'