them; and away they came down upon our Men, as if it had been in a Line of Battle.

Our Men, seeing fo many of them, began to be frighted; for we lay but in an ill Pofture to fight, and cry'd out to us to know what they should do: I immediately call'd to the Men who work'd upon the Stages, to flip them down, and get up the Side into the Ship; and bad those in the Boat to row round and come on Board;and thofe few of us, who were on Board, work'd with all the Strength and Hands we had, to bring the Ship to Rights; but however, neither the Men upon the Stages or thofe in the Boats, could do as they were o-, der'd, before the Cochinchineffes were upon them; and two of their Boats boarded our Long-Boat, and began to lay hold of the Men as their Prifoners.

The firft Man they laid hold of was an English Seaman, a ftout ftrong Fellow, who having a Musket in his Hand, never offer'd to fire it, but laid it down in the Boat, like a Fool, as I thought: But he understood his Bufinefs better than I could teach him; for he grappled the Pagan, and dragg'd him by main Force, out of their own Boat into ours; where, taking him by the two Ears, he beat his Head fo against the Boat's Gunnel, that the Fellow dy'd inftantly in his Hands; and in the mean time, a Dutch Man, who ftood next, took up the Musket, and with the But-end of it, so laid about him, that he knock'd down five of them, who attempted to enter the Boat: But this was doing little towards refifting thirty or fourty Men, who fearlefs, becaufe ignorant of their Danger, began to throw themselves into the LongBoat, where we had but five Men in all to defend it:

But

But one Accident gave our Men a compleat Viaory, which deferv'd our Laughter rather than any Thing else, and that was this:

Our Carpenter being preparing to grave the Out-fide of the Ship, as well as to pay the Seams, where he had caulk'd her to ftop the Leakes, had got two Kettles just let down into the Boat; one fill'd with boiling Pitch, and the other with Rofin, Tallow, and Oil, and fuck Stuff, as the ShipWrights ufe for that Work; and the Man that tended the Carpenter, had a great Iron Laddle in his Hand, with which he fupply'd the Men that were at Work with that hot Stuff; two of the Enemies Men entred the Boat juft where this Fellow ftood, being in the Fore-fheets; he immediately faluted them with a Laddle full of the Stuff, boiling hot, which fo burnt and fcalded them, being half naked, that they roar'd out like two Bulls, and, enrag'd with the Fire, leap'd both into the Sea: The Carpenter faw it, and cry'd out, Well done, Jack, give them fome more of it; and ftepping foreward himself, takes one of their Mops, and dipping it in the Pitch-Pot, he and his Man threw it among them fo plentifully, that, in fhort, of all the Men in three Boats, there was not one that was not fcalded, and burnt with it in a moft frightful pitiful Manner, and made fuch a Howling and Crying, that I never heard a worfe Noife, and indeed nothing like it; for it is worth obferving, That tho' Pain naturally makes all People cry out, yet every Nation has a particular Way of Exclamation, and make Noifes as different from one another, as their Speech; I cannot give the Noife, these Creatures made, a better Name than Howling, nor a Name more proper to the Tone of it; for I never heard any

Thing more like the Noife of the Wolves, which as I have faid, I heard howl in the Foreft on the Frontiers of Languedoc.

I was never pleas'd with a Victory better in my Life; not only as it was a perfe&t Surprize to me, and that our Danger was imminent before: But as we got this Victory without any Blood fhed, except of that Man the Fellow kill'd with his naked Hands, and which I was very much concern'd at; for I was fick of killing fuch poor Sa vage Wretches, even tho' it was in my own Defence, knowing they came on Errands which they thought juft, and knew no better; and that tho' it may be a juft Thing, becaufe neceffary, for there is no neceffary Wickedness in Nature, yet I thought it was a fad Life, which we must be always oblig'd to be killing our Fellow-Creatures to preferve, and indeed I think fo ftill; and I would even now fuffer a great deal, rather than I would take away the Life, even of that Person injuring me: And I believe, all confidering People, who know the Value of Life, would be of my Opinion, at least, they would, if they entred seriously into the Confideration of it.

But to return to my Story, all the while this was doing, my Partner and I, who manag'd the reft of the Men on Board, had with great Dexterity brought the Ship almoft to Rights; and having gotten the Guns into their Places again, the Gunner call'd to me to bid our Boat get out of the Way, for he would let fly among them. I call'd back again to him, and bid him not offer to fire, for the Carpenter would do the Work without him, but bad him heat another Pitch-Kettle, which our Cook, who was on Board, took Care of: But

the

the Enemy were so terrify'd with what they had met with in their first Attack, that they would not come on again; and fome of them that were fartheft off, feeing the Ship fwim, as it were upright, begun, as we fuppofed, to fee their Miftake, and give over the Entrprize, finding it was not as they expected: Thus we got clear of this merry Fight; and having gotten fome Rice, and fome Roots, and Bread, with about fixteen good big Hogs on Board, two Days before, we refolv'd to ftay here no longer, but go foreward whatever came of it; for we made no Doubt but we fhould be furrounded the next Day with Rogues enough, perhaps more than our PitchKettle would difpofe of for us.

We therefore got all our Things on Board the fame Evening, and the next Morning was ready to fail; in the mean time, lying at an Anchor, at, fome Diftance, we were not fo much concern'd, being now in a fighting Posture, as well as in a failing Pofture, if any Enemy had prefented: The next Day ha-, ving finifh'd our Work within Board, and finding our Ship was perfectly heal'd of all her Leaks, we fet fail; we would have gone into the Bay of Tonquin; for we wanted to inform our felves of what was to be known concerning the Dutch Ships that had been there; but we durft not ftand in there, because we had seen several Ships go in, as we fuppos'd, but a little before; fo we kept on N. E. towards the Ille of Formofa, as much afraid of being feen by a Dutch or English Merchant Ship, as a Dutch or English Merchant Ship in the Mediteranean is of an Algerine Man of

War.

When

When we were thus got to Sea, we kept out N. E. as if we would go to the Munillas or the Phillippine Inlands; and this we did, that we might not fall into the Way of any of our European Ships; and then we steer'd North 'till we came to the Latitude of 22 Degrees, 30 Min.; by which Means we made the Inland Formofa directly, where we came to an Anchor, in order to get Water and fresh Provifions, which the People there, who are very courteous and civil in their Mannners, fupply'd us with willingly, and dealt very fairly and punctually with us in all their Agreements and Bargains; which is what we did not find among other People; and may be owing to the Remains of Chritianity, which was once planted here by a Dutch Miffionary of Proteftants, and is a Teftimony of what I have often obferv'd, viz. That the Chriftian Religion always civilizes the People, and reforms their Manners, where it is receiv'd, whether it works faving Effects upon them

or no.

From hence we fail'd ftill North, keeping the Coast of China at an equal Distance, 'till we knew we were beyond all the Ports of China, where our European Ships ufually come; being refolv'd, if poffible, not to fall into any of their Hands, especially in this Country, where, as our Circumstances were, we could not fail of being entirely ruin'd; nay, fo great was my Fear in particular,as to my being taken by them, that I believe firmly, I would much rather have chofen to fall into the Hands of the Spanish Inquifition.

Being now come to the Latitude of 30 Degrees we refolv'd to put into the firit trading Port we T should