as big as a hennes egge, and have no shell about them
but a tender skinne, everie day wee sodde a kettle full
of them egges, with an handfull of ryce in the broth
thereof : it pleased God that at the ende of nine dayes,
wee discovered certaine fishermen, a fishing with small
barkes, and wee rowed towards them, with a good
cheere, for I thinke there were never men more glad
than we were, for we were so sore afflicted with penurie
that we could skarce stand on our legs. The first
village that we came too, was in the Gulfe of Tavay,
under the King of Pegu.”
For the subsequent experiences of the travellers,
and the fortune of the ship left behind without a boat
to help her, the reader is referred to the original o f
M esser Frederick.
THÈ PORTUGUESE TRACE
His adventures occurred about the year 1567, and
it is certain that at that time the islands were well known
to the Portuguese. For it is on record r B O that a fleet of
Portuguese ships sent by the Viceroy of Goa about the
year 1545, to search for an island of gold in the Bay
of Bengal, found it in a manner, by taking to piracy
and preying on passing vessels from the shelter offered
by the archipelago. “ For eight months and more,”
says Ferdinand Mendez Pinto, “ our hundred Portugals
had scoured up and down this coast in four well-rigged
Foists, wherewith they had taken three and twenty rich
ships, and many other lesser vessels, so that they which
516
used to sail in those parts were so terrified with the
sole name of the Portugals, as they quitted their
Commerce, without use of their shipping; By this
increase of trade the Custom houses of the Ports of
Tanancarim, Juncalan, Merguim, Vagarun, and Tavay
fell much in their Revenue, in so much that those people
were constrained to give notice of it to the Emperor
of Sornan, King of Siam, and Sovereign Lord of all
that Country, beseeching him to give a remedy to this
mischief, whereof every one complained.”
The king despatched against the pirates a fleet of
“ five Foists, four Galliots, and one Gaily Royal, under
the command of a Turkish adventurer, named Heredrin
Mahomet; and “ Within these vessels he inbarqued
eight hundred Mahometans, men of combat (besides
the Mariners) amongst the which were three hundred
Janizaries, as for the rest they were Turks, Greeks,
Malabarsv Achems, and Mogores, all choyce men, and
so disciplined that their captain held the victory already
for most assured.”
The Portuguese were nevertheless victorious. “ The
dog Heredrin Mahomet was slain amongst the rest,
and in this great action God was so gracious to our
men, and gave them their victory at so cheap a rate
that they had but one young man killed, and nine
Portugals hurt.”
Piracy has in fact ever found the archipelago a
happy resort.
In later days llha Grande, now known as Kings
Island, was bestowed on the French by the King of