Sailing to the west-southwest a matter of fourteen leagues, they fell in with a white bottom, which was a shoal below the water; and the black men they carried with them told them to draw near to the coast of the island, as it was deeper there, and that was more in the direction of Borneo, for from that neighborhood the island of Borneo could already be sighted.
Continuing Magellan’s Voyage Around the World,
our selection from First Voyage Around the World by Joan Bautista and by Antonio Pigafetta published in 1874. For works benefiting from the latest research see the “More information” section at the bottom of these pages. The selection is presented in a series of installments for 5 minute daily reading.
Previously in Magellan’s Voyage Around the World.
Time: 1519 – 1522
Place: Spice Islands
Seeing this, they agreed to go to another island, where they had had some dealings, to see if they could get some provisions. Then they met with a contrary wind, and, going about in the direction in which they wished to go, they anchored, and while at anchor they saw people on shore hailing them to go thither; they went there with the boats, and as they were speaking to those people by signs, for they did not understand each other otherwise, a man-at-arms, named Joan de Campos, told them to let him go on shore, since there were no provisions in the ships, and it might be that they would obtain some means of getting provisions, and that, if the people killed him, they would not lose much with him, for God would take thought of his soul; and also if he found provisions, and if they did not kill him, he would find means for bringing them to the ships: and they thought well of this. So he went on shore, and as soon as he reached it the inhabitants received him and took him into the interior the distance of a league, and when he was in the village all the people came to see him, and they gave him food and entertained him well, especially when they saw that he ate pigs’ flesh, because in this island they had dealings with the Moors of Borneo, and because the country people were greedy they made them neither eat pigs nor bring them up in the country. The country is called Dyguacam and is in 9°.
The said Christian, seeing that he was favored and well treated by the inhabitants, gave them to understand by his signs that they should carry provisions to the ships, which would be well paid for. In the country there was nothing except rice not pounded. Then the people set to pounding rice all the night, and when it was morning they took the rice and the said Christian and came to the ships, where they did them great honor, and took in the rice and paid them, and they returned on shore. This man being already set on shore, inhabitants of another village a little farther on came to the ships and told them they would give them much provisions for their money; and as soon as the said man whom they had sent arrived, they set sail and went to anchor at the village of those who had come to call them, which was named Vay Palay Cucar a Canbam, where Carvalho made peace with the King of the country, and they settled the price of rice, and they gave them two measures of rice, which weighed one hundred fourteen pounds, for three fathoms of linen stuff of Britanny; they took there as much rice as they wanted, and goats and pigs; and while they were at this place there came a Moor, who had been in the village of Dyguacam, which belongs to the Moors of Borneo, as had been said above, and after that he went to his country.
While they were at anchor at this village of Dyguacam, there came to them a parao in which there was a negro named Bastiam, who asked for a flag and a passport for the Governor of Dyguacam, and they gave him all this and other things for a present. They asked the said Bastiam, who spoke Portuguese sufficiently well, since he had been in Molucca, where he had become a Christian, if he would go with them and show them Borneo; he said he would be very willing, and when the departure arrived he hid himself, and, seeing that he did not come, they set sail from this port of Dyguacam on July 21st to seek for Borneo. As they set sail there came to them a parao, which was coming to the port of Dyguacam, and they took it, and in it they took three Moors, who said they were pilots and that they would take them to Borneo.
Having got these Moors, they steered along this island to the southwest, and fell in with two islands at its extremity, and passed between them; that on the north side is named Bolyna, and that on the south Bamdym. Sailing to the west-southwest a matter of fourteen leagues, they fell in with a white bottom, which was a shoal below the water; and the black men they carried with them told them to draw near to the coast of the island, as it was deeper there, and that was more in the direction of Borneo, for from that neighborhood the island of Borneo could already be sighted. This same day they reached and anchored at some islands, to which they gave the name of islets of St. Paul, which was a matter of two and a half or three leagues from the great island of Borneo, and they were in about 7° at the south side of these islands. In the island of Borneo there is an exceedingly big mountain to which they gave the name of Mount St. Paul; and from thence they navigated along the coast of Borneo to the southwest, between an island and the island of Borneo itself; and they went forward on the same course and reached the neighborhood of Borneo, and the Moors they had with them told them that there was no Borneo, and the wind did not suffer them to arrive thither, as it was contrary. They anchored at an island which is there, and which may be eight leagues from Borneo.
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