Richard Henry Major

“ Diminishing our latitude from hence half a degree we saw a low island, with a point to the full of palms: it is in 131⁄2° S. We arrived at it. It had no anchorage. We saw people on the beach: the boats went to the shore, and when they reached it, they could not land on account of the great surf and rocks. The Indians called to them from the land: two Spaniards swam ashore: these they received well, throwing their arms upon the ground, and embraced them and kissed them in the face. On this friendship, a chief among them came on board the Capitana to converse, and an old woman ”

“ They give much notice of other people, although as yet they do not make themselves well understood.
We went upon this bank for two months, at the end of which time we found ourselves in 25 fathoms and in 5° S. latitude and ten leagues from the coast. And having gone 480 leagues, here the coast goes to the N.E. I did not reach it, for the bank became very shallow. So we stood to the north, and in twenty-five fathoms to 4° latitude, where we fell in with a coast, which likewise lay in a direction east and west. ”

“ From this place in 161⁄2° S., we stood N.W. by N. to 103⁄4° S. In this situation we saw an island, which was supposed to be that of San Bernardo, because it was in pieces: but it was not San Bernardo, from what we afterwards saw. We did not find anchoring ground at it, though the boats went on shore to search for water, which we were in want of, but could not find any: they only found some cocoa-nut trees though small. ”

“ At the termination of this land we found Mahometans, who were cloathed and had firearms and swords. They sold us fowls, goats, fruit and some pepper, and biscuit which they called sagoe, which will keep more than twenty years. ”

“ For hence to the Malucas it is all islands, and on the south side are many uniting with those of Banda and Amboyna, where the Dutch carry on a trade. We came to the islands of Bachian, which are the first Malucas, where we found a Theatine, with about one hundred Christians in the country of a Mahometan king friendly to us, who begged me to subdue one of the Ternate islands inhabited by revolted Mahometans, to whom Don pedro de Acunha had given pardon in Your Majesty's name, which I had maintained ”