[Footnote 163:  Ningin, or Ginseng, is mentioned afterwards.  The quicksilver rock has not been found.—­E.]

[Footnote 164:  This height is probably an exaggeration, or was measured up its slope or talus, not ascertained perpendicularly.—­E.]

On the 16th of June, after a consultation, we set ashore ten of our condemned persons to remain at the Cape.  These were John Crosse, Henry Cocket, Clerke, Brand, Booth, Hunyard, Brigs, Pets, Metcalf, and Skilligall.  These men agreed that Crosse should be their chief, and we gave them weapons for their defence against men and wild beasts, together with provisions and clothes.  The natives at this place are especially desirous of brass, and care not much for copper, chiefly wishing to have pieces of a foot square.  They care little for iron hoops.  We caught seven or eight hundred fishes in the river, at one haul of our seyne.  The country people brought us for sale a root called Ningin,[165] of which we bought a handful for a small piece of copper an inch and half long.  Our men got some of this, but not so good, this not being the season when it is ripe; for, when in full perfection, it is as tender and sweet as anise-seeds.

[Footnote 165:  A medicinal root, much prized at Japan, somewhat like a skerrit.—­Purch. Probably that named Ginseng, in high repute in China and Japan for its fancied restorative and provocative powers, like the mandrake of holy writ, but deservedly despised in the Materia Medica of Europe.  Its whole virtues lay in some supposed resemblance to the human figure, founded on the childish doctrine of signatures; whence, at one time, every thing yellow was considered specific against jaundice, with many other and similar absurd notions.—­E.]

We sailed from Saldanha on the 20th June, and on the the 21st we had sight of land in 34 deg. 28’ S. being the land to the west of cape de Arecife, laid down 28’ more northwardly than it ought in the charts of Daniel.  On the 6th July we ought to have seen the coast of Madagascar, by most of our computations, and according to Daniel’s charts, upon Mercator’s projection, which proved false by seventy leagues in distance of longitude between the coast of Ethiopia at cape Bona Speranza and the isle of St Lawrence, as is evident from the charts projected in plano by Tottens.  The 22d all the four ships anchored at Mohelia, where we had water from wells dug a little above high-water mark, eight or nine feet deep, close by the roots of trees. Doman is the chief town of this island, where the sultan resides, to whom we gave a double-locked piece and a sword.  For very little money we were plentifully supplied with provisions, as poultry, goats, bullocks, lemons, oranges, limes, tamarinds, cocoa-nuts, pines, sugar-canes, and other fruits.  Among the inhabitants of this island there are Arabs, Turks, and Moors, many of whom speak tolerable Portuguese.  From them I had a curious account of the current at this place, which they said ran alternately fifteen days westerly, fifteen days easterly, and fifteen days not at all; and which I partly observed to be true:  For, at our first coming, the current set westerly, and on the 28th it set easterly, and so continued during our stay, which was six days, but we went away before trial could be perfectly made of this report.