tained him, on seeing us making our way
among the islands, and suspecting he was in treaty with us. Wherefore we
set sail with the wind at N.W. and plied up towards Machian. The channel
between Bachian, Machian, Tidore, and Ternate, stretches N. by W. and S.
by E. and is six leagues across in its narrowest part. In the morning of
the 15th, we passed between Gilolo, otherwise called Batta-china and
Caia, our latitude at noon being 0 deg. 17' N. so that Machian was not truly
placed on our chart, in which the equator is made to pass through its
middle, whereas we found it five leagues more to the northwards. The
16th in the morning we were close by the island of Caia, and had sight
of a sail to the northwards, which we learnt from a fisherman to be a
Dutch vessel, bound from. Machian to Tidore with _sago_, of which the
natives make use instead of bread.[426] In the morning of the 17th we
were near a fort of the Hollanders, called _Tabalda_; and at four p.m.
we came to anchor in the road of _Pelebere_, hard by _Tahanue_, in fifty
fathoms water, so near the shore as to be within call;, having one point
of land to the S.S.W. two miles off, another N.E. by N. one and a half
mile off, and the island of _Caia_ five leagues distant. This night some
small quantities of cloves were brought to us, and a price fixed at
sixty dollars the bahar of 200 _cattees_, each _cattee_ being three
pounds five ounces English.[427] I received a letter from Key Malladaia
at Bachian, excusing his absence, promising to be with me shortly, and
saying he had sent orders to his people to supply me with all the cloves
they could procure.

[Footnote 426: In the test of the Pilgrims, Captain Sons calls sago a
root, while Purchas, in a marginal note, informs us that some say it is
the tops of certain trees. Sago is a granulated dried paste, prepared
from the pith of certain trees that grow in various of the eastern
islands of India, and of which a bland, mucilaginous, and nutritive
jell; is made by maceration and boiling in water.--E.]

[Footnote 427: The bahar in this instance may be called 662 pounds, and
the agreed price for the cloves rather below 5d the pound.--E.]

A _Samaca_ came aboard on the 18th, who made great offers of kindness.
He was accompanied by two Dutchmen, who were very inquisitive to know
who had directed us into this road, saying it must have been one of the
natives, and if they knew him, they would cut him in pieces before our
faces