Having dispatched all his affairs at Ternate, the admiral left the place, and sailed to a small island to the southwards of Celebes, where he remained twenty-six days.  This island is all covered with wood, the trees being of large size, tall, straight, and without boughs, except at the top, the leaves resembling our English broom.  There were here vast numbers of shining flies, no bigger than our common flies in England, which, skimming at night among the trees and bushes, made them appear as if all on fire.  The bats in this island were as large as our ordinary poultry, and there was a sort of land cray-fish, which burrowed in the ground like rabbits, being so large that one of them was a sufficient meal for four persons.

Setting sail from thence, and being unable to proceed westwards on account of the wind, the course was altered to the southwards, yet with much danger, by reason of the shoals which lie thick among these islands.  Of this they had most dangerous and almost fatal experience on the 9th January, 1580, by running upon a rock, on which they stuck fast from eight at night till four in the afternoon of next day.  In this distress, the ship was lightened by landing three tons of cloves, eight pieces of ordnance, and some provisions on the rock; soon after which, by the wind chopping round, they happily got off.

On the 18th of February, they fell in with the fruitful island of Baratene,[37] having in the mean time suffered much from cross winds and dangerous shoals.  They met with a friendly reception from the people of this island, who were handsomely proportioned, and just in all their dealings.  The men wore no cloathing, except a slight covering round their middles, but the women were covered from the waist to the feet, having likewise many large heavy bracelets of bone, horn, or brass, on their arms, the smallest weighing two ounces, and having eight or ten of these on at once.  This island affords gold, silver, copper, sulphur, nutmegs, ginger, long-pepper, lemons, cocoas, frigo, sago, and other commodities, and linen was found to be in much request by the natives, as of it they make girdles and rolls for wearing on their heads.  Among the productions of this island, there was a particular sort of fruit, resembling barberries in size, form, and husk, very hard, yet of a pleasant taste, and becoming soft and easy of digestion when boiled.  In short, they met with no place in the whole voyage that yielded greater abundance of every comfort than this island, excepting Ternate.

[Footnote 37:  No circumstance in the text serves to indicate what island is here meant, except that it appears to have been to the eastward of Java.—­E.]

Leaving Baratene, they sailed to Java Major, where also they were courteously and honourably entertained.  This island was ruled over by six kings, who lived in entire peace and amity with each other, and they once had four of them on board at one time, and very often two or three together.[38]