and that the chief person here was a lieutenant, who desired me, as soon as the ship was at anchor, to send ashore one of my officers to go to the governor and certify him of our arrival.  I presently made sail towards the anchoring-place, and at 5 o’clock anchored in Laphao Bay in 20 fathom, soft oaze, over against the town.  A description of which, and of the Portuguese settlement there, shall be given in the following chapter.

As soon as I came to anchor I sent my boat ashore with my second mate, to go to the governor.  The lieutenant that lived here had provided horses and guides for him, and sent 4 soldiers with him for his guard, and, while he was absent, treated my men with arack at his own house, where he and some others of the townsmen showed them many broad thin pieces of gold; telling them that they had plenty of that metal and would willingly traffic with them for any sort of European commodities.  About 11 o’clock my mate returned on board and told me he had been in the country, and was kindly received by the gentleman he went to wait upon; who said we were welcome, and should have anything the island afforded; and that he was not himself the governor, but only a deputy.  He asked why we did not salute their fort when we anchored; my mate answered that we saw no colours flying, and therefore did not know there was any fort till he came ashore and saw the guns; and if we had known that there was a fort yet that we could not have given any salute till we knew that they would answer it with the like number of guns.  The deputy said it was very well; and that he had but little powder; and therefore would gladly buy some of us, if we had any to spare; which my mate told him we had not.

The 13th the deputy sent me aboard a present of 2 young buffaloes, 6 goats, 4 kids, 140 coconuts, 300 ripe mangoes, and 6 ripe jacks.  This was all very acceptable; and all the time we lay here we had fresh provision, and plenty of fruits; so that those of my men that were sick of the scurvy soon recovered and grew lusty.  I stayed here till the 22nd, went ashore several times, and once purposely to see the deputy, who came out of the country also on purpose to see and talk with me.  And then indeed there were guns fired for salutes, both aboard my ship and at the fort.  Our interview was in a small church which was filled with the better sort of people; her poorer sort thronging on the outside, and looking in upon us:  for the church had no wall but at the east end; the sides and the west end being open, saving only that it had boards about 3 or 4 foot high from the ground.  I saw but 2 white men among them all; one was a padre that came along with the lieutenant; the other was an inhabitant of the town.  The rest were all copper-coloured, with black lank hair.  I stayed there about 2 hours, and we spoke to each other by an interpreter.  I asked particularly about the seasons of the year, and when they expected the north-north-west monsoon.  The deputy told me that they expected the wind to shift every moment; and that some years the north-north-west monsoon set in in September, but never failed to come in October; and for that reason desired me to make what haste I could from hence; for it was impossible to ride here when those winds came.