Having finished our business of laying in a stock of water, and somewhat relieved those of our men who were sick and weak, with what fresh provisions we could procure, which indeed consisted principally of muscles, we prepared to set sail, which we did at four in the morning of the 13th of August.  We descried the island of Madagascar on the 6th September, in lat. 23 deg. 38’ S. and anchored that evening in the bay of St Augustine in twelve fathoms.  We here found the Union of London, vice-admiral of the fourth voyage, her people being much distressed for provisions to carry them home.  They related to our general their having unfortunately lost company of their admiral and pinnace, between Saldanha and the Cape of Good Hope, of which they had never heard since, and various other unfortunate circumstances of their outward-bound voyage.[349] Our general supplied them plentifully with provisions, and also restored union among the ship’s company, Mr Samuel Bradshaw being much disliked by the factious master and his adherents, for his sober, discreet, and provident management of the company’s business.

[Footnote 349:  It is unnecessary to repeat these circumstances, having been already related; and need only be mentioned, that the bay in Madagascar, where the captain and others were betrayed, is here called Jungomar, or Vinganora, and is said to have been at the north-west corner of Madagascar.  In modern maps, the bay of Vingora is placed on the west side of Madagascar, its mouth being in lat. 13 deg. 41’ S. and E. long. 49 deg. 28’.—­E.]

At this place I particularly remarked two singular kinds of trees.  One of these yields from its leaves and boughs a yellow sap of so fat a nature, that when fire is put to it standing quite green, the fire blazes up immediately over all the leaves and branches.  Its wood is white and soft.  The other kind has white wood with a small brown heart, but nearly as hard as lignum vitae.  The trees which we of the Pepper-corn cut for fire-wood, hung all full of green fruit called Tamerim, [tamarinds,] as large as an English bean-cod, having a very sour taste, and reckoned good against the scurvy.  The men of our admiral, having more leisure than ours, gathered some of this fruit for their own use.  We saw likewise here abundance of a plant, hardly to be distinguished from the sempervivum of Socotora, whence the Socotrine aloes is made; but I know not if the savage natives of this island have any knowledge of its use.  The natives, for what reason I know not, came not near us, so that we got not here any beef or mutton, though oxen used to be had here for a dollar a-piece.  But we were told the disorderly fellows of the Union had improvidently given whatever the savages asked, so that scarcely any are now to be had even for ten shillings each.  Though savage, the people of this island are not ignorant in ordering their men in battle array, as was experienced by the Union at Jungomar:  But in all parts of the island, it is necessary for the Christians to be very much on their guard, for the natives are very treacherous.