About two o'clock next day we saw a canoe, in which were about sixteen
naked Indians, who came near us, but would not come on board; yet, going
afterwards on shore, we had some friendly converse with them, and they
promised to bring us victuals. Next morning we espied three ships, all
of them about sixty or seventy tons burden, one of which surrendered
even to our boat; and understanding that they were of the city of
Martaban, a chief sea-port of the great city of Pegu, and that the goods
belonged to some Portuguese jesuits, and a biscuit-baker of that nation,
we took that ship; but as the other two were laden on account of
merchants of Pegu, we let them go. Having this other along with us, we
came to anchor together at night; and in the night time all her men,
being mostly natives of Pegu, fled away in their boat, except twelve,
whom we had taken on board our ship. Next day we weighed anchor, and
went to leeward of an island hard by, where we took out her lading of
pepper, which they had taken on board at Pera, a place on the main-land,
thirty leagues to the south. We likewise stopt another ship of Pegu,
laden with pepper; but finding her cargo to belong to native merchants
of Pegu, we dismissed her untouched.

Having employed about ten days in removing the goods from the prize into
our own ship, and our sick men being greatly refreshed, and strengthened
by the relief we had found in the prize, we weighed anchor about the
beginning of September, determining to run into the straits of Malacca,
to the islands called Pulo Sambilam, about forty-five leagues north from
the city of Molucca, past which islands the Portuguese ships must
necessarily pass on their voyages from Goa, or San Thome, for the
Moluccas, China, or Japan. After cruizing off and on here for about
five-days, we one Sunday espied a Portuguese ship of 250 tons, from
Negapatnam, a town on the main-land of India, opposite the northern end