The 6th February, 1604, Robert Wallis, one of our company, died, and several others of our men were very weak and lame, owing to the heat of the pepper, in dressing, screening, and turning it; so that we were in future obliged to hire Chinese to do that work, our own men only superintending them. The 16th of that month there came in a great ship of Zealand from Patane, which made us believe that General Warwicke was coming to load all his ships here; for which reason we immediately bought up all the good and merchantable pepper we could get. This ship had made some valuable prizes, but they had sworn all the English mariners on board to tell us nothing, on pain of losing their wages, which we took as very unkind. There was at this time in Bantam three houses of the Hollanders, all upon separate accounts, which all bought up as much pepper as they could get. The 5th March, the regent sent again to borrow 1000 pieces of eight in the name of the king; and I was forced to lend him 500, lest he might have quarrelled with me, which would have given much pleasure to the Hollanders. In this country, when a Javan of any note is to be put to death, although there is a public executioner, yet the nearest of kin to the criminal is generally allowed to execute the office, which is considered as a great favour. The 14th March, Thomas Tudd, who had been left here as chief factor for Banda, departed this life, having been long sick; so that of seven factors left here for Bantam and Banda, two only were in life, besides several others of our men having died; we being now only ten men living and one boy. A great junk from China came in on the 22d of April, which was thought to have been cast away, being so late, as they usually come in during February and March. In consequence of her very late coming, _cashes_ kept all this year at a very cheap rate, which was a great hindrance to our trade, as when _cashes_ are cheap, and pieces of eight consequently dear, we could not sell any of our prize goods at half the value we did at our first arrival. Besides this, the Chinese sent all the ryals they could get this year to China; for which reason we were obliged to give them credit, or must have lost the principal time of the year for making sales. The Hollanders had purchased all the pepper, except what was in our hands, and what belonged to the sabander, who would not sell at any reasonable price. Our goods now began to be old, and many of their colours to fade; for the warehouses are so hot and moist, that they will spoil any kind of cloth that is long in them, though we take never so much pains in airing and turning them. § 4. _Treacherous Underminings, and other Occurrences_.