The first voyage round the world, by Magellan : $b translated from the accounts of Pigafetta, and other contemporary writersPigafetta, Antonio
History
The first voyage round the world, by Magellan : $b translated from the accounts of Pigafetta, and other contemporary writers
Pigafetta, Antonio
Magalhães, Fernão de, -1521; Voyages around the world -- Early works to 1800
Having left Cipit to the east, we saw to the west two islands called
Zolo[356] and Taghima,[357] near which islands pearls are found. The
two pearls of the King of Burné, of which I have spoken, were found
there, and this is the manner in which he obtained them, according
to the account which was given me of it. The King of Burné married a
daughter of the King of Zolo, who told him that her father had these
two big pearls. He desired to have them, and decided on getting them by
any means, and one night he set out with five hundred prahus full of
armed men, and went to Zolo, and took the king with his two sons, and
brought them to Burné, and did not restore them to liberty until they
gave him the two pearls.
Continuing our course east and a quarter north-east we passed near two
inhabited places called Cavit and Subanin, and passed near an island
called Monoripa, ten leagues distant from the before-mentioned islets.
The inhabitants of this island always live in their vessels, and have
no houses on shore. In these two districts of Cavit and Subanin, which
are situated in the same island[358] as that in which are Butuan and
Calagan, the best cinnamon of any grows. If we could have remained
here only two days, we could have laden the ships with it; but we did
not wish to lose time, but to profit by the favourable wind, for we
had to double a cape and some islets which were around it. Wherefore,
remaining under sail, we made a little barter, and obtained seventeen
pounds of cinnamon for two big knives, which we had taken from the
Governor of Pulaoan.
Having seen the cinnamon tree, I can give some description of it. It
is a small tree, not more than three or four cubits high, and of the
thickness of a man’s finger, and it has not got more than three or four
little branches. Its leaf is like that of the laurel. The cinnamon for
use which comes to us, is its bark, which is gathered twice in the
year. Its wood and leaves when they are green have the taste and force
of the bark itself. Here it is called Cain-mana, since _cain_ means
wood and _mana_ sweet.[359]
Having set the head of the ship to north-east, we made for a large
city called Maingdanao, situated in the same island in which are Butuan
and Calagan, in order to get precise information of the position of
Maluco. Following this course we took possession of a _bignaday_, a
vessel similar to a prahu, and being obliged to have recourse to force
and violence, we killed seven out of eighteen men who formed the crew.
These men were better made and more robust than all those we had seen
hitherto, and they were all chief men of Mindanao. There was among them
a brother of the king who said that he well knew where Maluco was.
Afterwards, following his indications, we left the north-east course
which we held, and took a south-east course. We were then in 6° 7´ N.
latitude and thirty leagues distant from Cavit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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