[Footnote 272:  This may designate the road of Narsipore; but petah usually signifies in India the suburb or town connected with a fortress.—­E.]

[Footnote 273:  Paddy is rice in its natural state as it comes from the plant on which it grows; rice is paddy deprived by art of its coarse husk.—­E.]

Next morning, very early, we descried the land of Sumatra, the hill of Passaman bearing E.N.E 1/2 N. twelve leagues distant,[274] and the high land of Priaman E. 1/2 S. fourteen leagues off.  We here met with two shoals, within a mile of each other, E. and W. The Gift came over the eastermost, and had not less than four and a half fathoms.  I sent the Claw over the other, on which were four fathoms where she first crossed, but only two fathoms in returning, a little more to the northward.  About nine this morning the wind came to the S.E. and so continued till three in the afternoon, by which time we had got to the southward of all the shoals; and so, with little wind, we spent the night between these shoals and the island of Battoo, [Batoa.] In this situation, a sagging current bore us to the northwards near the shoals, which, if it had set S.E. as formerly experienced, it ought to have carried us near to Tecoo.

[Footnote 274:  Purchas must here have omitted a part of the text, particularly the series of dates between Masulipatam and Passaman in Sumatra.  As the text now stands, it would seem as if they had gone from Masulipatam to the coast of Sumatra, a run of about 1600 miles, in one night, an utter impossibility.  But from the context, instead of the 11th December, 1619, the day after leaving Masulipatam, it would appear they reached the coast of Sumatra on the 23d January, 1620, giving forty-four days for the run across the bay of Bengal.—­E.]

The 24th, in the evening, we had sight of the isles of Tecoo, and came to anchor about eight o’clock, in forty-four fathoms, these isles bearing E. by N. seven leagues off.  The 25th, with the first of the tide, we again weighed and steered for Tecoo; and, as we drew near, we espied three sail standing to the northwards, which came to anchor near the coast that night, while we anchored with our whole fleet about a league without them.  Next morning they weighed anchor and joined us, when we found them to be the Palsgrave, Elizabeth, and Hope.  From them we had the doleful news of the Dragon, Bear, Expedition, and Rose, having been taken by six Dutch ships, while at anchor, within the isles of Tecoo; as also that the Star had been taken by the Dutch in the straits of Sunda.  They also said that the Hollanders had sent four great ships, doubly manned, in quest of the Samson and Hound, and that they were exceedingly doubtful as to the safety of these ships.  Thus the English ships now taken by the Hollanders were almost equal in number to our three fleets now joined in one under my command.