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.  To this they added, that we did wrong in coming into these parts, as the country belonged to the Dutch by right of conquest.  I ordered them back to their fort, desiring them to tell their captains, that I was ready to let them have any thing I could spare, at reasonable rates, before all others, because we acknowledged them as our neighbours and brethren in Christ; but that we could not acknowledge the country to be their property, and would therefore continue to ride there while we thought proper, and would trade with whoever was pleased to come to us.  The two Dutchmen then departed, threatening the natives then aboard, that they would all be put to death if they brought us any cloves.  The natives made light of this threat, saying they looked on us as friends, and would come aboard in spite of the Dutch; and this day we bought 300 cattees of cloves in exchange for Cambaya cloth, and some sold for ready money.