hat he also knew their manner of Fighting, and the Weakness of
their Country; and therefore he would go away, and get a Band of Men
to assist him, and returning thither again, he would spoil and take
all that they had, and their Country too. When the General had been
informed of these Discourses, he would say, What, is Captain Swan made
of Iron, and able to resist a whole Kingdom? Or does he think that we
are afraid of him, that he speaks thus? Yet did he never touch him,
till now the Mindanayans kill'd him. It is very probable there might
be somewhat of Truth in all this; for the Captain was passionate,
and the General greedy of Gold. But whatever was the occasion, so
he was killed, as several have assured me, and his Gold seized on,
and all his Things; and his Journal also from England, as far as Cape
Corrientes on the Coast of Mexico. This Journal was afterwards sent
away from thence by Mr. Moody (who was there both a little before and
a little after the Murder) and he sent it to England by Mr. Goddard,
Chief Mate of the Defence.

But to our purpose: Seeing I could not persuade them to go to Captain
Swan again, I had a great desire to have had the Prince's Company:
But Captain Read was afraid to let his fickle Crew lie long. That
very day that the Prince had promised to return to us, which was
November 2, 1687, we sailed hence, directing our course South-West,
and having the Wind at N.W.

[The course of the ship after leaving Mindanao may be seen from the
heading to this chapter. Of Australia (or New Holland, as it was then
called) Dampier says: "New Holland is a very large tract of Land. It
is not yet determined whether it is an Island or a main Continent;
but I am certain that it joyns neither to Asia, Africa, nor America."]

[From Australia (chap. xvii) the adventurers sail along until they
reach Nicobar Island, where Dampier and two others receive permission
to remain, together with four Malays and a Portuguese; and have various
adventures with the natives of that island. Finally leaving there
(chap. xviii), they go to Sumatra, where the small band is decimated
by the death of one Malay and the Portuguese. The two Englishmen go to
the English factory. Leaving the island, Dampier sets out as boatswain
of an English ship for Nicobar, but returns to Achin. Thence he makes
various voyages (in 1688 and 1689) in Eastern waters, and finally
becomes gunner at the English factory at Bencouli (1690); but, that
post prov