A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 09: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 09: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
Our long boat, having fetched up with the _teradas_, drove them into a
bay whence they could not escape; on which the native mariners sailed so
far into the bay, that one of the teradas was cast away on the beach,
and the other had nearly shared the same fate, but was saved by our men
just without the surf. Most of the _balloches_ leapt overboard, and
several of them narrowly escaped drowning; while nine of them were
brought by our men to our ship along with the _terada_, part of whom
they had taken out of the water. There were originally twenty-six
balloches in the two teradas, but all the rest escaped ashore by
swimming through the surf. When these men came aboard our ship, they
were found to belong to Guadal; and when told that we were sorry for the
loss of their other bark, as we meant them no harm, but only wished to
speak with them, that we might learn the navigation to their port, they
were glad to learn we had no evil intentions, thinking we had been as
merciless as themselves, and acknowledged their loss proceeded from
their own folly.
We then informed them that we were bound for Guadal, on purpose to land
a Persian ambassador there, and that we earnestly entreated the master
of the terada, whose name was _Noradin_, to pilot us to that place, for
which we would satisfy him to his contentment. Knowing that he could not
chuse, he consented to go with us, on condition we would permit the
terada and his men to proceed to Muscat, whither they were originally
bound; but we did not think this quite safe, lest they might communicate
news of our arrival among the Portuguese, and thought it better to take
the bark along with us to Guadal, to manifest our own good intentions.
Noradin accordingly consented, between fear and good will, and was much
made of by us to reassure his confidence. On the passage to Guadal, we
had much conference with him and his men, both respecting the state of
the country, the character of their king, and the means of the
ambassador travelling from thence into Persia. Their answers and reports
all confirmed what we had been already told on the coast, and gave us
hopes of success. The terada was about fifteen tons burden, and her
loading mostly consisted in the provisions of the country, as rice,
wheat, dates, and the like. They had a Portuguese pass, which they
shewed us, thinking at first we had been of that nation. I translated
this, to show in what subjection the Portuguese keep all the natives of
these countries, as without such a pass they are not suffered to
navigate these seas, under penalty of losing their lives, ships, and
goods.
_Antonio Pereira de la Cerda, Captain of the Castle of Muscat, &c._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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