THE FIRST TRAVELOGUE - A Brief History of the Circumnavigators - page 93

sort of food of bread kind. I did never see this fruit anywhere but here.
The natives told us that there is plenty of this fruit growing on the rest
of the Ladrone Islands; and I never heard of it anywhere else . 14
Swan had to weather another crisis during the stay at Guam.
An argosy from Acapulco approached the harbour but was warned
off by the governor, who sent a canoe out to tell the captain about
the pirates. In trying to get away the Spaniard managed to wedge
his vessel on the reef, where she stuck for three days before floating
free. For three days, therefore, she was a helpless prey and the men
of the Cygnet, naturally, wanted to capture her. Swan refused, de-
termined to abandon his life of crime and not to give unnecessary of-
fence to the Spaniards. What arguments he used Dampier does not
tell us. Now that he had reached the safety of Asian waters he had
become more authoritarian. A few weeks later Dampier noted that
he 'had his men as much under command as if he had been in a
king's ship'. 15 At Guam and, later, Mindanao he enjoyed hobnobbing
with the local rulers and the gap between him and his crew steadily
widened. If he could maintain control all would be well for him but
if he pushed the men too far there could only be trouble ahead. He
had persuaded them to cross the Pacific with promises of rich prizes.
Letting the Acapulco ship slip from his clutches could only sow mis-
trust and anger among his followers.
On 2 June the Cygnet and her consort sailed for the Philippines.
Swan chose the southern island of Mindanao rather than Manila be-
cause the Spaniards had given up all pretence of control and the
Dutch had failed to extend their rule there. According to information
gained in Guam, the people of Mindanao were warmly welcoming
of any Europeans who did not come from Spain or Holland. So it
proved: the Englishmen were well received and spent six months at
Mindanao.