Early Australian Voyages: Pelsart, Tasman, Dampier Part 4

About the lat.i.tude of 26 degrees south we saw an opening, and ran in, hoping to find a harbour there; but when we came to its mouth, which was about two leagues wide, we saw rocks and foul ground within, and therefore stood out again; there we had twenty fathom water within two miles of the sh.o.r.e: the land everywhere appeared pretty low, flat, and even, but with steep cliffs to the sea, and when we came near it there were no trees, shrubs, or gra.s.s to be seen. The soundings in the lat.i.tude of 26 degrees south, from about eight or nine leagues off till you come within a league of the sh.o.r.e, are generally about forty fathoms, differing but little, seldom above three or four fathoms; but the lead brings up very different sorts of sand, some coa.r.s.e, some fine, and of several colours, as yellow, white, grey, brown, bluish, and reddish.

When I saw there was no harbour here, nor good anchoring, I stood off to sea again in the evening of the 2nd of August, fearing a storm on a lee- sh.o.r.e, in a place where there was no shelter, and desiring at least to have sea-room, for the clouds began to grow thick in the western-board, and the wind was already there and began to blow fresh almost upon the sh.o.r.e, which at this place lies along north-north-west and south-south- east. By nine o'clock at night we got a pretty good offing, but the wind still increasing, I took in my main-top-sail, being able to carry no more sail than two courses and the mizen. At two in the morning, August 3rd, it blew very hard, and the sea was much raised, so that I furled all my sails but my mainsail, though the wind blew so hard, we had pretty clear weather till noon, but then the whole sky was blackened with thick clouds, and we had some rain, which would last a quarter of an hour at a time, and then it would blow very fierce while the squalls of rain were over our heads, but as soon as they were gone the wind was by much abated, the stress of the storm being over; we sounded several times, but had no ground till eight o'clock, August the 4th, in the evening, and then had sixty fathom water, coral ground. At ten we had fifty-six fathom, fine sand. At twelve we had fifty-five fathom, fine sand, of a pale bluish colour. It was now pretty moderate weather, yet I made no sail till morning, but then the wind veering about to the south-west, I made sail and stood to the north, and at eleven o'clock the next day, August 5th, we saw land again, at about ten leagues distant. This noon we were in lat.i.tude 25 degrees 30 minutes, and in the afternoon our cook died, an old man, who had been sick a great while, being infirm before we came out of England.

The 6th of August, in the morning, we saw an opening in the land, and we ran into it, and anch.o.r.ed in seven and a half fathom water, two miles from the sh.o.r.e, clean sand. It was somewhat difficult getting in here, by reason of many shoals we met with; but I sent my boat sounding before me. The mouth of this sound, which I called Shark's Bay, lies in about 25 degrees south lat.i.tude, and our reckoning made its longitude from the Cape of Good Hope to be about 87 degrees, which is less by one hundred and ninety-five leagues than is usually laid down in our common draughts, if our reckoning was right and our gla.s.ses did not deceive us. As soon as I came to anchor in this bay, I sent my boat ash.o.r.e to seek for fresh water, but in the evening my men returned, having found none. The next morning I went ash.o.r.e myself, carrying pickaxes and shovels with me, to dig for water, and axes to cut wood. We tried in several places for water, but finding none after several trials, nor in several miles compa.s.s, we left any further search for it, and spending the rest of the day in cutting wood, we went aboard at night.

The land is of an indifferent height, so that it may be seen nine or ten leagues off. It appears at a distance very even; but as you come nigher you find there are many gentle risings, though none steep or high. It is all a steep sh.o.r.e against the open sea; but in this bay or sound we were now in, the land is low by the seaside, rising gradually in with the land. The mould is sand by the seaside, producing a large sort of samphire, which bears a white flower. Farther in the mould is reddish, a sort of sand, producing some gra.s.s, plants, and shrubs. The gra.s.s grows in great tufts as big as a bushel, here and there a tuft, being intermixed with much heath, much of the kind we have growing on our commons in England. Of trees or shrubs here are divers sorts, but none above ten feet high, their bodies about three feet about, and five or six feet high before you come to the branches, which are bushy, and composed of small twigs there spreading abroad, though thick set and full of leaves, which were mostly long and narrow. The colour of the leaves was on one side whitish, and on the other green, and the bark of the trees was generally of the same colour with the leaves, of a pale green. Some of these trees were sweet-scented, and reddish within the bark, like sa.s.safras, but redder. Most of the trees and shrubs had at this time either blossoms or berries on them. The blossoms of the different sorts of trees were of several colours, as red, white, yellow, etc., but mostly blue, and these generally smelt very sweet and fragrant, as did some also of the rest. There were also besides some plants, herbs, and tall flowers, some very small flowers growing on the ground, that were sweet and beautiful, and, for the most part, unlike any I had seen elsewhere.

There were but few land fowls. We saw none but eagles of the larger sorts of birds, but five or six sorts of small birds. The biggest sort of these were not bigger than larks, some no bigger than wrens, all singing with great variety of fine shrill notes; and we saw some of their nests with young ones in them. The water-fowls are ducks (which had young ones now, this being the beginning of the spring in these parts), curlews, galdens, crab-catchers, cormorants, gulls, pelicans, and some water-fowl, such as I have not seen anywhere besides.

The land animals that we saw here were only a sort of racc.o.o.ns, different from those of the West Indies, chiefly as to their legs, for these have very short forelegs, but go jumping upon them as the others do (and like them are very good meat), and a sort of guanos, of the same shape and size with other guanos described, but differing from them in three remarkable particulars; for these had a larger and uglier head, and had no tail, and at the rump, instead of the tail there, they had a stump of a tail, which appeared like another head, but not really such, being without mouth or eyes; yet this creature seemed by this means to have a head at each end, and, which may be reckoned a fourth difference, the legs also seemed all four of them to be forelegs, being all alike in shape and length, and seeming by the joints and bending to be made as if they were to go indifferently either head or tail foremost. They were speckled black and yellow like toads, and had scales or k.n.o.bs on their backs like those of crocodiles, plated on to the skin, or stuck into it, as part of the skin. They are very slow in motion, and when a man comes nigh them they will stand still and hiss, not endeavouring to get away.

Their livers are also spotted black and yellow; and the body, when opened, hath a very unsavoury smell. I did never see such ugly creatures anywhere but here. The guanos I have observed to be very good meat, and I have often eaten of them with pleasure; but though I have eaten of snakes, crocodiles, and alligators, and many creatures that look frightfully enough, and there are but few I should have been afraid to eat of if pressed by hunger, yet I think my stomach would scarce have served to venture upon these New Holland guanos, both the looks and the smell of them being so offensive.

The sea-fish that we saw here (for here was no river, land or pond of fresh water to be seen) are chiefly sharks. There are abundance of them in this particular sound, that I therefore gave it the name of Shark's Bay. Here are also skates, thornbacks, and other fish of the ray kind (one sort especially like the sea-devil), and gar-fish, bonetas, etc. Of sh.e.l.l-fish we got here mussels, periwinkles, limpets, oysters, both of the pearl kind and also eating oysters, as well the common sort as long oysters, besides c.o.c.kles, etc. The sh.o.r.e was lined thick with many other sorts of very strange and beautiful sh.e.l.ls for variety of colour and shape, most finely spotted with red, black, or yellow, etc., such as I have not seen anywhere but at this place. I brought away a great many of them, but lost all except a very few, and those not of the best.

There are also some green turtle weighing about two hundred pounds. Of these we caught two, which the water ebbing had left behind a ledge of rock which they could not creep over. These served all my company two days, and they were indifferent sweet meat. Of the sharks we caught a great many, which our men ate very savourily. Among them we caught one which was eleven feet long. The s.p.a.ce between its two eyes was twenty inches, and eighteen inches from one corner of his mouth to the other.

Its maw was like a leather sack, very thick, and so tough that a sharp knife could scarce cut it, in which we found the head and bones of a hippopotamus, the hairy lips of which were still sound and not putrified, and the jaw was also firm, out of which we plucked a great many teeth, two of them eight inches long and as big as a man's thumb, small at one end, and a little crooked, the rest not above half so long. The maw was full of jelly, which stank extremely. However, I saved for awhile the teeth and the shark's jaw. The flesh of it was divided among my men, and they took care that no waste should be made of it.

It was the 7th of August when we came into Shark's Bay, in which we anch.o.r.ed at three several places, and stayed at the first of them (on the west side of the bay) till the 11th, during which time we searched about, as I said, for fresh water, digging wells, but to no purpose. However, we cut good store of firewood at this first anchoring-place, and my company were all here very well refreshed with racc.o.o.ns, turtle, shark, and other fish, and some fowls, so that we were now all much brisker than when we came in hither. Yet still I was for standing farther into the bay, partly because I had a mind to increase my stock of fresh water, which was begun to be low, and partly for the sake of discovering this part of the coast. I was invited to go further by seeing from this anchoring-place all open before me, which therefore I designed to search before I left the bay. So on the 11th about noon I steered further in, with an easy sail, because we had but shallow water. We kept, therefore, good looking out for fear of shoals, sometimes shortening, sometimes deepening the water. About two in the afternoon we saw the land ahead that makes the south of the bay, and before night we had again sholdings from that sh.o.r.e, and therefore shortened sail and stood off and on all night, under two top-sails, continually sounding, having never more than ten fathom, and seldom less than seven. The water deepened and sholdened so very gently, that in heaving the lead five or six times we should scarce have a foot difference. When we came into seven fathom either way, we presently went about. From this south part of the bay we could not see the land from whence we came in the afternoon; and this land we found to be an island of three or four leagues long; but it appearing barren, I did not strive to go nearer it, and the rather because the winds would not permit us to do it without much trouble, and at the openings the water was generally shoal: I therefore made no farther attempts in this south-west and south part of the bay, but steered away to the eastward, to see if there was any land that way, for as yet we had seen none there. On the 12th, in the morning, we pa.s.sed by the north point of that land, and were confirmed in the persuasion of its being an island by seeing an opening to the east of it, as we had done on the west. Having fair weather, a small gale, and smooth water, we stood further on in the bay to see what land was on the east of it. Our soundings at first were seven fathom, which held so a great while, but at length it decreased to six. Then we saw the land right ahead. We could not come near it with the s.h.i.+p, having but shoal water, and it being dangerous lying there, and the land extraordinarily low, very unlikely to have fresh water (though it had a few trees on it, seemingly mangroves), and much of it probably covered at high water, I stood out again that afternoon, deepening the water, and before night anch.o.r.ed in eight fathom, clean white sand, about the middle of the bay. The next day we got up our anchor, and that afternoon came to an anchor once more near two islands and a shoal of coral rocks that face the bay. Here I scrubbed my s.h.i.+p; and finding it very improbable I should get any further here, I made the best of my way out to sea again, sounding all the way; but finding, by the shallowness of the water, that there was no going out to sea to the east of the two islands that face the bay, nor between them, I returned to the west entrance, going out by the same way I came in at, only on the east instead of the west side of the small shoal: in which channel we had ten, twelve, and thirteen fathom water, still deepening upon us till we were out at sea. The day before we came out I sent a boat ash.o.r.e to the most northerly of the two islands, which is the least of them, catching many small fish in the meanwhile, with hook and line. The boat's crew returning told me that the isle produces nothing but a sort of green, short, hard, p.r.i.c.kly gra.s.s, affording neither wood nor fresh water, and that a sea broke between the two islands--a sign that the water was shallow. They saw a large turtle, and many skates and thornbacks, but caught none.

It was August the 14th when I sailed out of this bay or sound, the mouth of which lies, as I said, in 25 degrees 5 minutes, designing to coast along to the north-east till I might commodiously put in at some other port of New Holland. In pa.s.sing out we saw three water-serpents swimming about in the sea, of a yellow colour spotted with dark brown spots. They were each about four foot long, and about the bigness of a man's wrist, and were the first I saw on this coast, which abounds with several sorts of them. We had the winds at our first coming out at north, and the land lying north-easterly. We plied off and on, getting forward but little till the next day, when the wind coming at south-south-west and south, we began to coast it along the sh.o.r.e on the northward, keeping at six or seven leagues off sh.o.r.e, and sounding often, we had between forty and forty-six fathom water, brown sand with some white sh.e.l.ls. This 15th of August we were in lat.i.tude 24 degrees 41 minutes. On the 16th day, at noon, we were in 23 degrees 22 minutes. The wind coming at east by north, we could not keep the sh.o.r.e aboard, but were forced to go farther off, and lost sight of the land; then sounding, we had no ground with eighty-fathom line. However, the wind shortly after came about again to the southward, and then we jogged on again to the northward, and saw many small dolphins and whales, and abundance of cuttle-sh.e.l.ls swimming on the sea, and some water-snakes every day. The 17th we saw the land again and took a sight of it.

The 18th, in the afternoon, being three or four leagues off sh.o.r.e, I saw a shoal-point stretching from the land into the sea a league or more; the sea broke high on it, by which I saw plainly there was a shoal there. I stood farther off and coasted along sh.o.r.e to about seven or eight leagues distance, and at twelve o'clock at night we sounded, and had but twenty fathom, hard sand. By this I found I was upon another shoal, and so presently steered off west half an hour, and had then forty fathom. At one in the morning of the 18th day we had eighty-five fathom; by two we could find no ground, and then I ventured to steer along sh.o.r.e again due north, which is two points wide of the coast (that lies north-north-east), for fear of another shoal. I would not be too far off from the land, being desirous to search into it wherever I should find an opening or any convenience of searching about for water, etc. When we were off the shoal-point I mentioned, where we had but twenty fathom water, we had in the night abundance of whales about the s.h.i.+p, some ahead, others astern, and some on each side, blowing and making a very dismal noise; but when we came out again into deeper water, they left us; indeed, the noise that they made by blowing and das.h.i.+ng of the sea with their tails, making it all of a breach and foam, was very dreadful to us, like the breach of the waves in very shoal water or among rocks. The shoal these whales were upon had depth of water sufficient, no less than twenty fathom, as I said, and it lies in lat.i.tude 22 degrees 22 minutes.

The sh.o.r.e was generally bold all along. We had met with no shoal at sea since the Abrohlo shoal, when we first fell on the New Holland coast in the lat.i.tude of 28 degrees, till yesterday in the afternoon and this night. This morning also, when we expected by the draught we had with us to have been eleven leagues off sh.o.r.e, we were but four, so that either our draughts were faulty, which yet hitherto and afterwards we found true enough as to the lying of the coast, or else here was a tide unknown to us that deceived us, though we had found very little of any tide on this coast hitherto; as to our winds in the coasting thus far, as we had been within the verge of the general trade (though interrupted by the storm I mentioned), from the lat.i.tude of 28 degrees, when we first fell in with the coast, and by that time we were in the lat.i.tude of 25 degrees, we had usually the regular trade wind (which is here south-south-east) when we were at any distance from sh.o.r.e; but we had often sea and land breezes, especially when near sh.o.r.e and when in Shark's Bay, and had a particular north-west wind or storm that set us in thither. On this 18th of August we coasted with a brisk gale of the true trade wind at south-south-east, very fair and clear weather; but hauling off in the evening to sea, were next morning out of sight of land, and the land now trending away north- easterly, and we being to the northward of it, and the wind also shrinking from the south-south-east to the east-south-east (that is, from the true trade wind to the sea breeze, as the land now lay), we could not get in with the land again yet awhile so as to see it, though we trimmed sharp and kept close on a wind. We were this 19th day in lat.i.tude 21 degrees 42 minutes. The 20th we were in lat.i.tude 19 degrees 37 minutes, and kept close on a wind to get sight of the land again, but could not yet see it. We had very fair weather, and though we were so far from the land as to be out of sight of it, yet we had the sea and land breezes. In the night we had the land breeze at south-south-east, a small gentle gale, which in the morning about sun-rising would s.h.i.+ft about gradually (and withal increasing in strength) till about noon we should have it at east-south-east, which is the true sea breeze here. Then it would blow a brisk gale so that we could scarce carry our top-sails double-reefed; and it would continue thus till three in the afternoon, when it would decrease again. The weather was fair all the while, not a cloud to be seen, but very hazy, especially nigh the horizon. We sounded several times this 20th day, and at first had no ground, but had afterwards from fifty-two to forty-five fathom, coa.r.s.e brown sand, mixed with small brown and white stones, with dints besides in the tallow.

The 21st day also we had small land breezes in the night, and sea breezes in the day, and as we saw some sea-snakes every day, so this day we saw a great many, of two different sorts or shapes. One sort was yellow, and about the bigness of a man's wrist, about four feet long, having a flat tail about four fingers broad. The other sort was much smaller and shorter, round, and spotted black and yellow. This day we sounded several times, and had forty-five fathom, sand. We did not make the land till noon, and then saw it first from our topmast head; it bore south- east by east about nine leagues distance, and it appeared like a cape or head of land. The sea breeze this day was not so strong as the day before, and it veered out more, so that we had a fair wind to run in with to the sh.o.r.e, and at sunset anch.o.r.ed in twenty fathom, clean sand, about five leagues from the Bluff point, which was not a cape (as it appeared at a great distance), but the easternmost end of an island about five or six leagues in length, and one in breadth. There were three or four rocky islands about a league from us, between us and the Bluff point, and we saw many other islands both to the east and west of it, as far as we could see either way from our topmast-head, and all within them to the south there was nothing but islands of a pretty height, that may be seen eight or nine leagues off; by what we saw of them they must have been a range of islands of about twenty leagues in length, stretching from east- north-east to west-south-west, and, for aught I know, as far as to those of Shark's Bay, and to a considerable breadth also, for we could see nine or ten leagues in among them, towards the continent or mainland of New Holland, if there be any such thing hereabouts; and by the great tides I met with awhile afterwards, more to the north-east, I had a strong suspicion that here might be a kind of archipelago of islands, and a pa.s.sage possibly to the south of New Holland and New Guinea into the great South Sea eastward, which I had thoughts also of attempting in my return from New Guinea, had circ.u.mstances permitted, and told my officers so; but I would not attempt it at this time, because we wanted water, and could not depend upon finding it there. This place is in the lat.i.tude of 20 degrees 21 minutes, but in the draught that I had of this coast, which was Tasman's, it was laid down in 19 degrees 50 minutes, and the sh.o.r.e is laid down as all along joining in one body or continent, with some openings appearing like rivers, and not like islands as really they are.

This place lies more northerly by 40 minutes than is laid down in Mr.

Tasman's draught, and besides its being made a firm continued land, only with some openings like the mouths of rivers, I found the soundings also different from what the p.r.i.c.ked line of his course shows them, and generally shallower than he makes them, which inclines me to think that he came not so near the sh.o.r.e as his line shows, and so had deeper soundings, and could not so well distinguish the islands. His meridian or difference of longitude from Shark's Bay agrees well enough with my account, which is two hundred and thirty-two leagues, though we differ in lat.i.tude; and to confirm my conjecture that the line of his course is made too near the sh.o.r.e, at least not far to the east of this place, the water is there so shallow that he could not come there so nigh.

But to proceed. In the night we had a small land breeze, and in the morning I weighed anchor, designing to run in among the islands, for they had large channels between them of a league wide at least, and some two or three leagues wide. I sent in my boat before to sound, and if they found shoal water to return again, but if they found water enough to go ash.o.r.e on one of the islands and stay till the s.h.i.+p came in, where they might in the meantime search for water. So we followed after with the s.h.i.+p, sounding as we went in, and had twenty fathom till within two leagues of the Bluff head, and then we had shoal water and very uncertain soundings; yet we ran in still with an easy sail, sounding and looking out well, for this was dangerous work. When we came abreast of the Bluff head, and about two miles from it, we had but seven fathom, then we edged away from it, but had no more water, and running in a little farther we had but four fathoms, so we anch.o.r.ed immediately; and yet when we had veered out a third of a cable, we had seven fathom water again, so uncertain was the water. My boat came immediately on board, and told me that the island was very rocky and dry, and they had little hopes of finding water there. I sent them to sound, and bade them, if they found a channel of eight or ten fathom water, to keep on, and we would follow with the s.h.i.+p. We were now about four leagues within the outer small rocky islands, but still could see nothing but islands within us, some five or six leagues long, others not above a mile round. The large islands were pretty high, but all appeared dry, and mostly rocky and barren. The rocks looked of a rusty yellow colour, and therefore I despaired of getting water on any of them, but was in some hopes of finding a channel to run in beyond all these islands, could I have spent time here, and either got to the main of New Holland or find out some other islands that might afford us water and other refreshments; besides that among so many islands we might have found some sort of rich mineral, or ambergris, it being a good lat.i.tude for both these. But we had not sailed above a league farther before our water grew shoaler again, and then we anch.o.r.ed in six fathom, hard sand.

We were now on the inner side of the island, on whose outside is the Bluff point. We rode a league from the island, and I presently went ash.o.r.e and carried shovels to dig for water, but found none. There grow here two or three sorts of shrubs, one just like rosemary, and therefore I called this Rosemary Island; it grew in great plenty here, but had no smell. Some of the other shrubs had blue and yellow flowers; and we found two sorts of grain like beans; the one grew on bushes, the other on a sort of creeping vine that runs along on the ground, having very thick broad leaves, and the blossom like a bean blossom, but much larger and of a deep red colour, looking very beautiful. We saw here some cormorants, gulls, crab-catchers, etc., a few small land birds, and a sort of white parrots, which flew a great many together. We found some sh.e.l.l-fish, viz., limpets, periwinkles, and abundance of small oysters growing on the rocks, which were very sweet. In the sea we saw some green turtle, many sharks, and abundance of water-snakes of several sorts and sizes. The stones were all of rusty colour, and ponderous.

We saw a smoke on an island three or four leagues off, and here also the bushes had been burned, but we found no other sign of inhabitants. It was probable that on the island where the smoke was there were inhabitants, and fresh water for them. In the evening I went aboard, and consulted with my officers whether it was best to send thither, or to search among any other of these islands with my boat, or else go from hence and coast along sh.o.r.e with the s.h.i.+p, till we could find some better place than this was to ride in, where we had shoal water and lay exposed to winds and tides. They all agreed to go from hence, so I gave orders to weigh in the morning as soon as it should be light, and to get out with the land breeze.

Accordingly, August 23rd, at five in the morning, we ran out, having a pretty fresh land breeze at south-south-east. By eight o'clock we were got out, and very seasonably, for before nine the sea breeze came on us very strong, and increasing, we took in our top-sails and stood off under two courses and a mizen, this being as much sail as we could carry. The sky was clear, there being not one cloud to be seen, but the horizon appeared very hazy, and the sun at setting the night before, and this morning at rising, appeared very red. The wind continued very strong till twelve, then it began to abate; I have seldom met with a stronger breeze. These strong sea breezes lasted thus in their turns three or four days. They sprang up with the sunrise; by nine o'clock they were very strong, and so continued till noon, when they began to abate; and by sunset there was little wind, or a calm, till the land breezes came, which we should certainly have in the morning about one or two o'clock.

The land breezes were between the south-south-west and south-south-east: the sea breezes between the east-north-east and north-north-east. In the night while calm, we fished with hook and line, and caught good store of fish viz., snappers, breams, old-wives, and dog-fish. When these last came we seldom caught any others; for it they did not drive away the other fish, yet they would be sure to keep them from taking our hooks, for they would first have them themselves, biting very greedily. We caught also a monk-fish, of which I brought home the picture.

On the 25th of August we still coasted along sh.o.r.e, that we might the better see any opening; kept sounding, and had about twenty fathom, clean sand. The 26th day, being about four leagues off sh.o.r.e, the water began gradually to sholden from twenty to fourteen fathom. I was edging in a little towards the land, thinking to have anch.o.r.ed; but presently after the water decreased almost at once, till we had but five fathom. I durst, therefore, adventure no farther, but steered out the same way that we came in, and in a short time had ten fathom (being then about four leagues and a half from the sh.o.r.e), and even soundings. I steered away east-north-east, coasting along as the land lies. This day the sea breezes began to be very moderate again, and we made the best of our way along sh.o.r.e, only in the night edging off a little for fear of shoals.

Ever since we left Shark's Bay we had fair clear weather, and so for a great while still.

The 27th day we had twenty fathom water all night, yet we could not see land till one in the afternoon from our topmast-head. By three we could just discern land from our quarter-deck; we had then sixteen fathom. The wind was at north, and we steered east-by-north, which is but one point in on the land; yet we decreased our water very fast, for at four we had but nine fathom, the next cast but seven, which frightened us; and we then tacked instantly and steed off, but in a short time the wind coming at north-west and west-north-west, we tacked again and steered north-north-east, and then deepened our water again, and had all night from fifteen to twenty fathom.

The 28th day we had between twenty and forty fathom. We saw no land this day, but saw a great many snakes and some whales. We saw also some b.o.o.bies and noddy-birds, and in the night caught one of these last. It was of another shape and colour than any I had seen before. It had a small long bill, as all of them have, flat feet like ducks' feet, its tail forked like a swallow, but longer and broader, and the fork deeper than that of the swallow, with very long wings; the top or crown of the head of this noddy was coal-black, having also small black streaks round about and close to the eyes; and round these streaks on each side, a pretty broad white circle. The breast, belly, and under part of the wings of this noddy were white, and the back and upper part of its wings of a faint black or smoke colour. Noddies are seen in most places between the tropics, as well in the East Indies and on the coast of Brazil, as in the West Indies. They rest ash.o.r.e at night, and therefore we never see them far at sea, not above twenty or thirty leagues, unless driven off in a storm. When they come about a s.h.i.+p they commonly perch in the night, and will sit still till they are taken by the seamen. They build on cliffs against the sea, or rocks.

The 30th day, being in lat.i.tude 18 degrees 21 minutes, we made the land again, and saw many great smokes near the sh.o.r.e; and having fair weather and moderate breezes, I steered in towards it. At four in the afternoon I anch.o.r.ed in eight fathom water, clear sand, about three leagues and a half from the sh.o.r.e. I presently sent my boat to sound nearer in, and they found ten fathom about a mile farther in, and from thence still farther in the water decreased gradually to nine, eight, seven, and at two miles distance to six fathom. This evening we saw an eclipse of the moon, but it was abating before the moon appeared to us; for the horizon was very hazy, so that we could not see the moon till she had been half an hour above the horizon; and at two hours twenty-two minutes after sunset, by the reckoning of our gla.s.ses, the eclipse was quite gone, which was not of many digits. The moon's centre was then 33 degrees 40 minutes high.

The 31st of August, betimes in the morning, I went ash.o.r.e with ten or eleven men to search for water. We went armed with muskets and cutla.s.ses for our defence, expecting to see people there, and carried also shovels and pickaxes to dig wells. When we came near the sh.o.r.e we saw three tall, black, naked men on the sandy bay ahead of us; but as we rowed in, they went away. When we were landed, I sent the boat with two men in her to lie a little from the sh.o.r.e at an anchor, to prevent being seized; while the rest of us went after the three black men, who were now got on the top of a small hill about a quarter of a mile from us, with eight or nine men more in their company. They, seeing us coming, ran away. When we came on the top of the hill where they first stood, we saw a plain savannah, about half a mile from us, farther in from the sea. There were several things like hay-c.o.c.ks standing in the savannah, which at a distance we thought were houses, looking just like the Hottentots' houses at the Cape of Good Hope: but we found them to be so many rocks. We searched about these for water, but could find none, nor any houses, nor people, for they were all gone. Then we turned again to the place where we landed, and there we dug for water.

While we were at work there came nine or ten of the natives to a small hill a little way from us, and stood there menacing and threatening us, and making a great noise. At last one of them came towards us, and the rest followed at a distance. I went out to meet him, and came within fifty yards of him, making to him all the signs of peace and friends.h.i.+p I could, but then he ran away, neither would they any of them stay for us to come nigh them, for we tried two or three times. At last I took two men with me, and went in the afternoon along by the sea-side, purposely to catch one of them, if I could, of whom I might learn where they got their fresh water. There were ten or twelve of the natives a little way off, who, seeing us three going away from the rest of our men, followed us at a distance. I thought they would follow us, but there being for awhile a sand-bank between us and them, that they could not then see us, we made a halt, and hid ourselves in a bending of the sand-bank. They knew we must be thereabouts, and being three or four times our numbers, thought to seize us. So they dispersed themselves, some going to the sea- sh.o.r.e, and others beating about the sand-hills. We knew by what rencounter we had had with them in the morning that we could easily out- run them, so a nimble young man that was with me, seeing some of them near, ran towards them; and they for some time ran away before him, but he soon overtaking them, they faced about and fought him. He had a cutla.s.s and they had wooden lances, with which, being many of them, they were too hard for him. When he first ran towards them I chased two more that were by the sh.o.r.e; but fearing how it might be with my young man, I turned back quickly and went to the top of a sand-hill, whence I saw him near me, closely engaged with them. Upon their seeing me, one of them threw a lance at me, that narrowly missed me. I discharged my gun to scare them, but avoided shooting any of them, till finding the young man in great danger from them, and myself in some; and that though the gun had a little frightened them at first, yet they had soon learnt to despise it, tossing up their hands and crying, "pooh, pooh, pooh," and coming on afresh with a great noise, I thought it high time to charge again, and shoot one of them, which I did. The rest, seeing him fall, made a stand again, and my young man took the opportunity to disengage himself and come off to me; my other man also was with me, who had done nothing all this while, having come out unarmed, and I returned back with my men, designing to attempt the natives no farther, being very sorry for what had happened already. They took up their wounded companion; and my young man, who had been struck through the cheek by one of their lances, was afraid it had been poisoned, but I did not think that likely. His wound was very painful to him, being made with a blunt weapon; but he soon recovered of it.

Among the New Hollanders, whom we were thus engaged with, there was one who by his appearance and carriage, as well in the morning as this afternoon, seemed to be the chief of them, and a kind of prince or captain among them. He was a young brisk man, not very tall, nor so personable as some of the rest, though more active and courageous: he was painted (which none of the rest were at all) with a circle of white paste or pigment (a sort of lime, as we thought) about his eyes, and a white streak down his nose, from his forehead to the tip of it: and his breast and some part of his arms were also made white with the same paint; not for beauty or ornament, one would think, but as some wild Indian warriors are said to do, he seemed thereby to design the looking more terrible; this his painting adding very much to his natural deformity; for they all of them have the most unpleasant looks and the worst features of any people that ever I saw, though I have seen great variety of savages.

These New Hollanders were probably the same sort of people as those I met with on this coast in my voyage round the world, for the place I then touched at was not above forty or fifty leagues to the north-east of this, and these were much the same blinking creatures (here being also abundance of the same kind of flesh-flies teazing them,) and with the same black skins, and hair frizzled, tall and thin, &c. as those were: but we had not the opportunity to see whether these, as the former, wanted two of their fore-teeth.

We saw a great many places where they had made fires, and where there were commonly three or four boughs stuck up to windward of them; for the wind, (which is the sea-breeze), in the day-time blows always one way with them, and the land-breeze is but small. By their fire-places we should always find great heaps of fish-sh.e.l.ls of several sorts; and it is probable that these poor creatures here lived chiefly on the sh.e.l.l-fish, as those I before described did on small fish, which they caught in wires or holes in the sand at low water. These gathered their sh.e.l.l-fish on the rocks at low water but had no wires (that we saw), whereby to get any other sorts of fish; as among the former I saw not any heaps of sh.e.l.ls as here, though I know they also gathered some sh.e.l.l-fish. The lances also of those were such as these had; however, they being upon an island, with their women and children, and all in our power, they did not there use them against us, as here on the continent, where we saw none but some of the men under head, who come out purposely to observe us. We saw no houses at either place, and I believe they have none, since the former people on the island had none, though they had all their families with them.

Upon returning to my men I saw that though they had dug eight or nine feet deep, yet found no water. So I returned aboard that evening, and the next day, being September 1st, I sent my boatswain ash.o.r.e to dig deeper, and sent the seine within him to catch fish. While I stayed aboard I observed the flowing of the tide, which runs very swift here, so that our nun-buoy would not bear above the water to be seen. It flows here (as on that part of New Holland I described formerly) about five fathom; and here the flood runs south-east by south till the last quarter; then it sets right in towards the sh.o.r.e (which lies here south- south-west and north north-east) and the ebb runs north-west by north.

When the tides slackened we fished with hook and line, as we had already done in several places on this coast; on which in this voyage hitherto we had found but little tides; but by the height, and strength, and course of them hereabouts, it should seem that if there be such a pa.s.sage or strait going through eastward to the great South Sea, as I said one might suspect, one would expect to find the mouth of it somewhere between this place and Rosemary Island, which was the part of New Holland I came last from.

Next morning my men came aboard and brought a runlet of brackish water which they had got out of another well that they dug in a place a mile off, and about half as far from the sh.o.r.e; but this water was not fit to drink. However, we all concluded that it would serve to boil our oatmeal, for burgoo, whereby we might save the remains of our other water for drinking, till we should get more: and accordingly the next day we brought aboard four hogsheads of it: but while we were at work about the well we were sadly pestered with the flies, which were more troublesome to us than the sun, though it shone clear and strong upon us all the while very hot. All this while we saw no more of the natives, but saw some of the smoke of some of their fires at two or three miles distance.

The land hereabouts was much like the port of New Holland that I formerly described; it is low, but seemingly barricaded with a long chain of sand- hills to the sea, that lets nothing be seen of what is farther within land. At high water the tides rising so high as they do, the coast shows very low: but when it is low water it seems to be of an indifferent height. At low water-mark the sh.o.r.e is all rocky, so that then there is no landing with a boat; but at high water a boat may come in over those rocks to the sandy bay, which runs all along on this coast. The land by the sea for about five or six hundred yards is a dry sandy soil, bearing only shrubs and bushes of divers sorts. Some of these had them at this time of the year, yellow flowers or blossoms, some blue, and some white; most of them of a very fragrant smell. Some had fruit like peascods, in each of which there were just ten small peas; I opened many of them, and found no more nor less. There are also here some of that sort of bean which I saw at Rosemary Island: and another sort of small red hard pulse, growing in cods also, with little black eyes like beans. I know not their names, but have seen them used often in the East Indies for weighing gold; and they make the same use of them at Guinea, as I have heard, where the women also make bracelets with them to wear about their arms. These grow on bushes; but here are also a fruit like beans growing on a creeping sort of shrub-like vine. There was great plenty of all these sorts of cod-fruit growing on the sand-hills by the sea side, some of them green, some ripe, and some fallen on the ground: but I could not perceive that any of them had been gathered by the natives; and might not probably be wholesome food.

The land farther in, that is, lower than what borders on the sea, was so much as we saw of it, very plain and even; partly savannahs and partly woodland. The savannahs bear a sort of thin coa.r.s.e gra.s.s. The mould is also a coa.r.s.er sand than that by the sea-side, and in some places it is clay. Here are a great many rocks in the large savannah we were in, which are five or six feet high, and round at top like a hay-c.o.c.k, very remarkable; some red and some white. The woodland lies farther in still, where there were divers sorts of small trees, scarce any three feet in circ.u.mference, their bodies twelve or fourteen feet high, with a head of small knibs or boughs. By the sides of the creeks, especially nigh the sea, there grow a few small black mangrove-trees.

There are but few land animals. I saw some lizards; and my men saw two or three beasts like hungry wolves, lean like so many skeletons, being nothing but skin and bones; it is probable that it was the foot of one of those beasts that I mentioned as seen by us in New Holland. We saw a racc.o.o.n or two, and one small speckled snake.

The land fowls that we saw here were crows, just such as ours in England, small hawks and kites, a few of each sort: but here are plenty of small turtle doves, that are plump, fat, and very good meat. Here are two or three sorts of smaller birds, some as big as larks, some less; but not many of either sort. The sea-fowl are pelicans, b.o.o.bies, noddies, curlews, seapies, &c., and but few of these neither.

The sea is plentifully stocked with the largest whales that I ever saw; but not to compare with the vast ones of the Northern Seas. We saw also a great many green turtle, but caught none, here being no place to set a turtle net in; there being no channel for them, and the tides running so strong. We saw some sharks and parracoots; and with hooks and lines we caught some rock-fish and old-wives. Of sh.e.l.l-fish, here were oysters both of the common kind for eating, and of the pearl kind; and also whelks, conchs, muscles, limpits, periwinkles, &c., and I gathered a few strange sh.e.l.ls, chiefly a sort not large, and thickset all about with rays or spikes growing in rows.

And thus having ranged about a considerable time upon this coast, without finding any good fresh water or any convenient place to clean the s.h.i.+p, as I had hoped for; and it being moreover the height of the dry season, and my men growing s...o...b..tic for want of refreshments, so that I had little encouragement to search further, I resolved to leave this coast, and accordingly in the beginning of September set sail towards Timor.

On the 12th of December, 1699, we sailed from Babao, coasting along the island Timor to the eastward, towards New Guinea. It was the 20th before we got as far as Laphao, which is but forty leagues. We saw black clouds in the north-west, and expected the wind from that quarter above a month sooner.

That afternoon we saw the opening between the islands...o...b.. and Fetter, but feared to pa.s.s through in the night. At two o'clock in the morning it fell calm, and continued so till noon, in which time we drove with the current back again south-west six or seven leagues.

On the 22nd, steering to the eastward to get through between Omba and Fetter, we met a very strong tide against us, so that although we had a very fresh gale, we yet made way very slowly; but before night got through. By a good observation we found that the south-east point of Omba lies in lat.i.tude 8 degrees 25 minutes. In my drafts it is laid down in 8 degrees 10 minutes. My true course from Babao, is east 25 degrees north, distance one hundred eighty-three miles. We sounded several times when near Omba, but had no ground. On the north-east point of Omba we saw four or five men, and a little further three pretty houses on a low point, but did not go ash.o.r.e.

At five this afternoon we had a tornado, which yielded much rain, thunder, and lightning; yet we had but little wind. The 24th in the morning we caught a large shark, which gave all the s.h.i.+p's company a plentiful meal.

The 27th we saw the Burning Island; it lies in lat.i.tude 6 degrees 36 minutes south; it is high, and but small; it runs from the sea a little sloping towards the top, which is divided in the middle into two peaks, between which issued out much smoke: I have not seen more from any volcano. I saw no trees; but the north side appeared green, and the rest looked very barren.

Having pa.s.sed the Burning Island, I shaped my course for two islands, called Turtle Isles, which lie north-east by east a little easterly, and distant about fifty leagues from the Burning Isle. I fearing the wind might veer to the eastward of the north, steered twenty leagues north- east, then north-east by east. On the 28th we saw two small low islands, called Lucca-Parros, to the north of us. At noon I accounted myself twenty leagues short of the Turtle Isles.

The next morning, being in the lat.i.tude of the Turtle Islands, we looked out sharp for them, but saw no appearance of any island till eleven o'clock, when we saw an island at a great distance. At first we supposed it might be one of the Turtle Isles, but it was not laid down true, neither in lat.i.tude nor longitude from the Burning Isle, nor from the Lucca-Parros, which last I took to be a great help to guide me, they being laid down very well from the Burning Isle, and that likewise in true lat.i.tude and distance from Omba, so that I could not tell what to think of the island now in sight, we having had fair weather, so that we could not pa.s.s by the Turtle Isles without seeing them, and this in sight was much too far off for them. We found variation 1 degrees 2 minutes east. In the afternoon I steered north-east by east for the islands that we saw. At two o'clock I went and looked over the fore-yard, and saw two islands at much greater distance than the Turtle Islands are laid down in my drafts, one of them was a very high peaked mountain, cleft at top, and much like the Burning Island that we pa.s.sed by, but bigger and higher; the other was a pretty long high flat island. Now I was certain that these were not the Turtle Islands, and that they could be no other than the Bande Isles, yet we steered in to make them plainer. At three o'clock we discovered another small flat island to the north-west of the others, and saw a great deal of smoke rise from the top of the high island. At four we saw other small islands, by which I was now a.s.sured that these were the Bande Isles there. At five I altered my course and steered east, and at eight east-south-east, because I would not be seen by the inhabitants of those islands in the morning. We had little wind all night, and in the morning, as soon as it was light we saw another high peaked island; at eight it bore south-south-east half-east, distance eight leagues: and this I knew to be Bird Isle. It is laid down in our drafts in lat.i.tude 5 degrees 9 minutes south, which is too far southerly by twenty-seven miles, according to our observation, and the like error in laying down the Turtle Islands might be the occasion of our missing them.

At night I shortened sail, for fear of coming too nigh some islands, that stretch away bending like a half moon from Ceram towards Timor, and which in my course I must of necessity pa.s.s through. The next morning betimes I saw them, and found them to be at a farther distance from Bird Island than I expected. In the afternoon it fell quite calm, and when we had a little wind, it was so unconstant, flying from one point to another, that I could not without difficulty get through the islands where I designed; besides, I found a current setting to the southward, so that it was betwixt five and six in the evening before I pa.s.sed through the islands, and then just weathered little Watela, whereas I thought to have been two or three leagues more northerly. We saw the day before, betwixt two and three, a spout but a small distance from us, it fell down out of a black cloud, that yielded great store of rain, thunder and lightning; this cloud hovered to the southward of us for the s.p.a.ce of three hours, and then drew to the westward a great pace, at which time it was that we saw the spout, which hung fast to the cloud till it broke, and then the cloud whirled about to the south-east, then to east-north-east, where meeting with an island, it spent itself and so dispersed, and immediately we had a little of the tail of it, having had none before. Afterwards we saw a smoke on the island Kosiway, which continued till night.

On New Year's Day we first descried the land of New Guinea, which appeared to be high land, and the next day we saw several high islands on the coast of New Guinea, and ran in with the main land. The sh.o.r.e here lies along east-south-east and west-north-west. It is high even land, very well clothed with tall flouris.h.i.+ng trees, which appeared very green, and gave us a very pleasant prospect. We ran to the westward of four mountainous islands, and in the night had a small tornado, which brought with it some rain and a fair wind. We had fair weather for a long time, only when near any land we had some tornadoes; but off, at sea, commonly clear weather, though, if in sight of land, we usually saw many black clouds hovering about it.

On the 5th and 6th of January we plied to get in with the land, designing to anchor, fill water, and spend a little time in searching the country, till after the change of the moon, for I found a strong current setting against us. We anch.o.r.ed in thirty-eight fathom water, good oozy ground.

We had an island of a league long without us, about three miles distant, and we rode from the main about a mile. The easternmost point of land seen bore east-by-south half-south, distance three leagues, and the westernmost west-south-west half-south, distance two leagues. So soon as we anch.o.r.ed, we sent the pinnace to look for water and try if they could catch any fish. Afterwards we sent the yawl another way to see for water. Before night the pinnace brought on board several sorts of fruits that they found in the woods, such as I never saw before. One of my men killed a stately land-fowl, as big as the largest dunghill c.o.c.k; it was of a sky-colour, only in the middle of the wings was a white spot, about which were some reddish spots; on the crown it had a large bunch of long feathers, which appeared very pretty; his bill was like pigeon's; he had strong legs and feet, like dunghill fowls, only the claws were reddish; his crop was full of small berries. It lays an egg as big as a large hen's egg, for our men climbed the tree where it nested, and brought off one egg. They found water, and reported that the trees were large, tall, and very thick, and that they saw no sign of people. At night the yawl came aboard and brought a wooden fish-spear, very ingeniously made, the matter of it was a small cane; they found it by a small barbecue, where they also saw a shattered canoe.

The next morning I sent the boatswain ash.o.r.e fis.h.i.+ng, and at one haul he caught three hundred and fifty-two mackerel, and about twenty other fishes, which I caused to be equally divided among all my company. I sent also the gunner and chief mate to search about if they could find convenient anchoring near a watering-place; by night they brought word that they had found a fine stream of good water, where the boat could come close to, and it was very easy to be filled, and that the s.h.i.+p might anchor as near to it as I pleased, so I went thither. The next morning, therefore, we anch.o.r.ed in twenty-five fathom water, soft oozy ground, about a mile from the river; we got on board three tuns of water that night, and caught two or three pike-fish, in shape much like a parracota, but with a longer snout, something resembling a garr, yet not so long.

The next day I sent the boat again for water, and before night all my casks were full.

Having filled here about fifteen tuns of water, seeing we could catch but little fish, and had no other refreshments, I intended to sail next day, but finding that we wanted wood, I sent to cut some, and going ash.o.r.e to hasten it, at some distance from the place where our men were, I found a small cove, where I saw two barbecues, which appeared not to be above two months' standing; the spars were cut with some sharp instrument, so that, if done by the natives, it seems that they have iron. On the 10th, a little after twelve o'clock, we weighed and stood over to the north side of the bay, and at one o'clock stood out with the wind at north and north- north-west. At four we pa.s.sed out by a White Island, which I so named from its many white cliffs, having no name in our drafts. It is about a league long, pretty high, and very woody; it is about five miles from the main, only at the west end it reaches within three miles of it. At some distance off at sea the west point appears like a cape-land, the north side trends away north-north-west, and the east side east-south-east.

This island lies in lat.i.tude 3 degrees 4 minutes south, and the meridian distance from Babao five hundred and twelve miles east. After we were out to sea, we plied to get to the northward, but met with such a strong current against us, that we got but little, for if the wind favoured us in the night, that we got three or four leagues, we lost it again, and were driven as far astern next morning, so that we plied here several days.