Indian Antiquary Vol 48

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 167

SEPT., 1919)
EPISODES OF PIRACY IN THE EASTERN SEAS
163
(no country in the world being like China for all kind of provisions) and there got two greater junks in truck of the other, and two Lanteas? and one hundred and sixty mariners, so that they were in all five hundred persons, of which ninety-five were Portugals. They had one hundred and sixty harquebuses, forty bras9 pieces and sixty quintals of powder, nine hundred pots of powder, four thousand darts headed with iron, arrows and many fire-works with other weapons. Thus provided, they set forth in pursuit of Coia Acem Khwaja Hasan), and by a fisher-boat learned that he was in the river Tinlan, there to fit and furnish the junk lately taken from the Portugals, to go with it and two others from Siam, where he was born, about two days thence. Faria sent Vincente Morosa in the fisher-boat with some of his Company 8 to inform himself more fully, which, making a show of fishing with the rest, he easily did and brought word aboard of the easiness of the attempt. In the night they anchored, and went up the river in the morning, the enemy knowing nothing till they came in sight and Faria crying out 'Hey, my Masters, in the name of Christ, to them, to them, Santiago!' Off went the ordnance, the small shot succeeded, that none now in the junk durst appear. His small vessels (Lorobe) coming from the shore with succour were so entertained with great shot that they could not help themselves, and by our small vessels were fired with the fire-pote, in three of them two hundred persons were slain. Out of the fourth they leaped into the water and were most of them slain by Panian's men.
"Coia Acem, which before was not known, seeing his Moors ready to try the water's courtesy to escape their fiery enemies, armed in buff with plates fringed with gold, cried out aloud that he might be heard, 'La Ilah illalah-Muhamed rocolab 1.10 What, shall you Muslemang 11 and just men of the Law of Mubamed suffer yourselves to be conquered of so feeble a nation as these dogs, which have no more heart than white hens and bearded women? To them to them I the book of Flowers hath given promise from our Prophet to you and me to bathe ourselves in the blood of these Cafres [käfir, unbeliever, heathen) 12 without LAW. With these cursed words the Devil so animated them that it was fearful to see how they ran on our swords. Faria on the other side heartened his (men) in the name of Christ crucified, and with a sealous fervour reached Coia Acem such a blow with a twohand sword on his head-piece of mail that he sunk to the ground, and with another blow cut off his loge. Whereupon his men with such fury assailed Faria, not caring for thirty Portugals which stood about him, that they gave him two wounds, which put such spirit into our men that in a little space eight and forty of the enemies lay dead upon Coia Acem, and the rest they slew all but five, whom they took and bound, the boyes cutting the others in quarters and throwing them into the water with Coia Acem and the King of Bintan's 13
1 A sailing cargo boat. Seo a note on this term in Travels of Peter Mundy, Vol. III, Pt. I, ed. Temple (Hek. Soc.), p. 172.-ED. II.e., ship's company or crew.
The lorcha of the Chinese coast is a launch (Port. lancha) fighting or other. Yule, Hobson-Jobson, ed. Orooko, ... Lorcha, suggests low-chuen as -Chinese form for a small boat. - In Cantonese this form would be lau-shin, but according to Eitel, Chinese-English Dict., the word for lorcha is wd-shen. ED.
30 The Muhammadan Creed: LA iläha ill'illahu Muhammadi'r-Rasulu'llahu : (There) is no God except the God; Muhammad is the Prophet of the God.-ED.
11 Interesting falar plural of Musalman, a Muhammadan.-ED.
11 According to Pinto (Cap. XX, p. 72) the promise is one of atemal delights provided the faithful bathe themselves in the blood of in fidels. u Bintang (Bontán), island on the south side of the Straits of Singapore.-Ep.
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