Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 8).djvu/36

30 board the Almonak. But soon found it to consist only of stone to ballast the ship. Being soon in readiness, on the first of August we put to sea, leaving this port for the island of Sumatra.

On our passage we were several times boarded by English men of war ships, and after a strict examination were permitted to pass. We passed close to the island of Ceylon, an English island, and saw colors hoisted, but made no stop. On the first of September, we arrived on the western coast of Sumatra. As there were no regular maps or charts of this coast, we could only traverse it by information derived from masters of vessels, which had traded there, and our own judgment. There are many reefs and rocks, which extend into the sea a considerable distance. Many of which lay but just below the surface [13] of the water. It was therefore found necessary to keep a good look out, one man at mast head and others closely watching below. We at last discovered a small bay, and run into it; the place was called Moco. This is one of the trading places. There are several others, such as Soosoo, Mecca, Bencooban, and Pecung. At the latter place, there was formerly a company of Dutch, who settled there for the purpose of trading with the natives. But in consequence of the English cruisers on the one side, and fear of the natives on the other, they had evacuated the place and returned to Batavia, from whence they came hither. We came to anchor in our first mentioned port, and prepared against any attack which might be made by these savages, by tricing up a boarding-netting round the ship, about fifteen feet above the deck. This netting was made of line, about the size of a cod line, and wove together like a seine for taking fish; our guns were loaded and primed, with matches burning by the side, boarding pikes, muskets and cutlasses at hand, and a centinel