made for Bantam, off which port he anchored some time in November.
As news of the exploits of the Tiger had preceded her it was natural that her welcome was not effusive. Some Englishmen from the local factory who came aboard told them the stories that were current as to their character. The Hollanders, who were most active in circulating the "slanders" as they were rather whimsically regarded by Michelborne, represented the members of the expedition as a body of "disordinate livers," who only wanted the opportunity to perpetrate the worst acts of violence.
In a fine frenzy of indignation the gentleman adventurer sent a message to the Dutch ships then in port that he would weigh anchor and ride close by them with the intent that they might attack him if they dared. He gave notice that if one piece of ordnance was put out he would either sink them or be sunk by their side. Suiting the action to the word, Michelborne shifted his anchorage to the vicinity of the Dutch fleet, which consisted of five ships, one of which was a large vessel of between 700 and 800 tons. But the challenge was not taken up, and according to the veracious chronicler, "whereas the Hollanders were wont to swagger and keep great stirre on shore all the time before our being there, they were so quiet that we could scarcely see one of them on land."
Notwithstanding this bravado, Michelborne found it convenient to make his stay at the Javan port a brief one. On leaving he steered a course for Patani, a port on the eastern coast of the Malay Peninsula, which at that period was a centre of considerable trade. For some days the vessel was becalmed off the island of Banca. To enliven
