Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the like shrieks and gestures. Thus they continue combating their ima-
ginary enemy all the rest of the day . . .
18
The sultan and his leading men gave every inducement to Swan
and his crew to stay. Embassies from nearby islands also came to of-
fer the sovereignty of their sultanates to these foreigners with the
big ships and powerful guns. Some of the men were very attracted
by the prospect of becoming oriental princes, attended by harems of
dusky Filipinos. Some of them simply deserted and disappeared into
the forest. But Swan gave no clear lead.
He was rapidly letting the situation slip out of his control.
Flattered by the attentions of his hosts, enjoying the sultan's lavish
hospitality, he spent all his time ashore and neglected his men. The
crew split into two factions; those who could afford to live in the city
and were in no hurry to leave, and those who remained on board, be-
ing too poor to enjoy the delights of Mindanao and therefore anxious
to resume the voyage. Friction between these groups became worse
when Swan subordinated the dignity of his own company to the de-
mands of the islanders. When a crew member was found guilty of
some minor offence against one of the locals, the captain had him
flogged in front of the natives. A few weeks later the pirates' second
ship, the barque, was found to be so wormy as to be of no more
use. How long would it be, the men grumbled, before the
Cygnet
also had to be scuttled and with her their last chance of reaching
home? The final coal laid upon the smouldering fire of discontent
was the discovery of Swan's journal. It was kept inside his locked
cabin but when he sent a man aboard to fetch something, one of
the crew slipped in and appropriated the topic which contained the
captain's private thoughts and plans. It was inflammatory reading.
Swan's opinions of his piratical shipmates and his determination to
ditch them at the earliest opportunity were read aloud to everyone
on board.
