sland called _Xima_ in the charts, but named
_Maihma_ by the natives, while the former island is called _Segue_, or
_Amaxay_.[7] The 10th, four great fishing-boats came aboard, about five
tons burden each, having one large sail, like that of a skiff. They had
each four oars of a side, resting on pins fastened to the gunwales, the
heads of the pins being let into the middle of the oars, so that they
hung in just equipoise, saving much labour to the rowers. These people
make much more speed in rowing than our men, and perform their work
standing, by which they take up less room. They told us we were just
before the entrance to _Nangasaki_, which bore N.N.E.; the straits of
_Arima_ being N.E. by N. and that the high hill we saw yesterday was
upon the island called _Uszideke_,[8] making the straits of _Arima_, at
the north end of which is good anchorage, and at the south end is the
entrance to _Cahinoch_.[9] We agreed with two of the masters of these
fishing-boats for thirty dollars each, and rice for their food, to pilot
us to _Firando_, on which agreement their people came aboard our ship,
and voluntarily performed its duty as readily as any of our own
mariners. We steered N. by W. the pilots reckoning that we were thirty
leagues from Firando. One of the boats which came to us at this time
belonged to the Portuguese who dwelt at Nangasaki, being Christian
converts, and thought our ship had been the Portuguese ship from Makao;
but, on finding we were not, made all haste back again to advise them,
refusing every entreaty to remain with us.

[Footnote 5: The island of Tanao-sima is probably here meant, being the
most southerly of the Japanese islands. It may be proper to remark, that
the termination _sima_, in the names of islands belonging to Japan,
obviously means _island_, like the prefix _pula_ in the names of islands
in the Malay Archipelago.--E.]

[Footnote 6: There is a considerable cluster of small islands south from
Tanaosima, between the latitudes of 29 deg. 30' and 30 deg. N.--E.]

[Footnote 7: Xima, or sima, only means island. Perhaps Mashama may be
that named Kaba-sima in modern maps, and Amaxay may possibly be Amacusa,
these islands being in the way towards Nangasaki.--E.]

[Footnote 8: This seems the same island called before Amaxay, or
Amacusa.--E.]

[Footnote 9: Cochinotzu is the name of a town on the south-west
peninsula of the island of Kiusiu; but Cochinoch in the text seems the
sound leading to Nang