Page 185 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

ENGLISH AND DUTCH RIVALRY IN THE EAST 185

without a greater force than that at Jourdain’s disposal.
Recognizing the hopelessness of his position the English
Commander, when he had taken in supplies at an adjoining
port, departed for Bantam.
After calling at Macassar on his way and establishing a
small factory there, under the charge of George Cokayne,
Jourdain reached the Javan port towards the end of 1613.
A terrible disappointment awaited him here. He had
expected to find a flourishing English factory with resources
which would have enabled him to renew the struggle with
the Dutch, but when he entered the port there were no
signs of English life. On the Dutch factory the ensign
was hoisted and struck twice in curious fashion, as if to
give warning to the incoming ship. Jourdain, accepting
the signal in this fight, called his men to action and cast
loose his ordnance to be ready for any emergency. After
a period of suspense a boat came off from the shore and four
Englishmen, “ all of them like ghosts or men fraighted ”
clambered with difficulty on board. They brought with
them lamentable tidings of the condition of the factory.
“ I could not number any man of note, but was dead of the
the number of 140 persons,” wrote Jourdain, “ and the
rest which were remaining as well on land as aboard the
Trade's Increase were all sick, these four persons being
the strongest of them, who were scarce able to keep on
their legges.”
In the presence of such a lamentable condition of weak­
ness Jourdain had to dismiss all thoughts of further action
Eastward and concentrate his attention on the question of
saving the situation at Bantam. The whole of 1614 slipped
away without any means offering of taking up the Dutch
challenge. Mainly through the Agent at Macassar came