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An.1686

Departure from Guam. 1. of St. John.

way to the East Indies, which we had resolved to visit; and that the Westerly Monsoon was at hand, which would oblige us to shelter some where in a short time, and that we could not expect good Harbours in a better place than in so large an Island as Mindanao : besides all this, I say, the Inhabitants of Mindanao being then, as we were told (tho falsly) at Wars with the Spaniards, our Men, who it should seem were very squeamish of plundering without Licence, derived hopes from thence of getting a Commission there from the Prince of the Island to plunder the Spanish Ships about Manila, and so to make Mindanao their common Rendezvouz. And if Captain Swan was minded to go to an En- glish Port, yet his Men, who thought he intended to leave them, hoped to get Vessels and Pilots at Mindanao fit for their turn, to cruise on the Coast of Manila. Asfor Captain Swan, he was willing enough to go thither, as best suiting his own design: and therefore this Voyage was concluded on by general consent.

Accordingly June 22d, 1686. we left Guam, bound for Mindanao. We had fair weather, and a pretty smart gale of Wind at East, for 3 or 4 days, and then it shifted to the S. W. being rainy, but it soon came about again to the East, and blew a gentle gale; yet it often shuffled about to the S. E. For though in the East Indies the Winds shift in A- pril, yet we found this to be the shifting season for the Winds here ; the other shifting season being in October sooner or later, all over India. As to our course from Guam to the Philippine Islands, we found it (as I intimated before) agreeable enough with the account of our common Draughts.

The 21st day of July we arrived at the Island St. John^[1], which is one of the Philippine Islands. The Philippines are a great company of large Islands, ta- king up about 13 deg. of Lat. in length, reaching near