Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
That boat slim, shining, and shooting through the water like a pike after a small fish was a caique from Tophana; it had distanced the Sultan's oarsmen and the best crews of the Capitan Pasha in the Bosphorus; it was the workmanship of Togrul-Beg, Caikjee Bashee of his Highness. The Bashee had refused fifty thousand tomauns from Count Boutenieff, the Russian Ambassador, for that little marvel.
At the Bashee River, after they had passed the ford, they remained one day to hunt the hippopotami, and were successful; only Major Henderson, who was not content to hunt during the day, but went out at night, had a narrow escape.
And indeed from the plenty of this Liquor, and their plentiful use of it, our Men call'd all these Islands, the Bashee Islands. What Language these People do speak I know not: for it had no affinity in sound to the Chinese, which is spoke much through the Teeth; nor yet to the Malayan Language.
If they had none of this Liquor themselves, they would buy a Jar of Drink of their Neighbours, and sit down with us: for we could see them go and give a piece or two of their Gold for some Jars of Bashee.
They depart from the Bashee Islands, and passing by some others, and the N. End of Luconia. St. John's Isle, and other of the Philippines. They stop at the two Isles near Mindanao; where they re-fit their Ship, and make a Pump after the Spanish fashion.
The Eastermost Island of the two, our Men unanimously called Bashee Island, from a Liquor which we drank there plentifully every day, after we came to an Anchor at it. The other, which is the smallest of all, we called Goat Island, from the great number of Goats there; and to the Northward of them all, are two high Rocks. Orange Island, which is the biggest of them all, is not Inhabited.
Hereby the casks are sought to be kept damply tight; while by the changed character of the withdrawn water, the mariners readily detect any serious leakage in the precious cargo. Now, from the South and West the Pequod was drawing nigh to Formosa and the Bashee Isles, between which lies one of the tropical outlets from the China waters into the Pacific.
Thus employed in securing the treasure and the prisoners, the Commodore, as has been said, stood for the river of Canton, and on the 30th of June, at six in the evening, got sight of Cape Delangano, which then bore west ten leagues distant, and the next day he made the Bashee Islands, and the wind being so far to the northward that it was difficult to weather them, it was resolved to stand through between Grafton and Monmouth Islands, where the passage seemed to be clear; but in getting through the sea had a very dangerous aspect, for it rippled and foamed as if it had been full of breakers, which was still more terrible as it was then night.
The westmost of these islands, which the Dutch among us named Orange isle, is the largest, being seven or eight leagues from N. to S. and two from E. to W. There are two other large islands to the S. of this; the northern of which we named Grafton isle, which is four leagues from N. to S. and a league and a half from E. to W. The other, and most southerly, we named Monmouth isle, being three leagues from N. to S. and one from E. to W. Two other isles, lying E. and W. between Monmouth isle and the S. end of Orange isle, we called Bashee isle, from a certain liquor we drank there, and Goat isle.
When gliding by the Bashee isles we emerged at last upon the great South Sea; were it not for other things, I could have greeted my dear Pacific with uncounted thanks, for now the long supplication of my youth was answered; that serene ocean rolled eastwards from me a thousand leagues of blue.
Word Of The Day