If Therefore We Were Deceived By A Current, It Is Very
Probable That The Land Is Here Disjoined, And That
There is a
passage through to the southward, and that the land from King
William's Cape to this place is
An island, separated from New Guinea
by some strait, as Nova Britannia is by that which we came through.
But this being at best but a probable conjecture, I shall insist no
farther upon it.
The 14th we passed by Scouten's Island, and Providence Island, and
found still a very strong current setting to the north-west. On the
17th we saw a high mountain on the main, that sent forth great
quantities of smoke from its top: this volcano we did not see in
our voyage out. In the afternoon we discovered King William's
Island, and crowded all the sail we could to get near it before
night, thinking to lie to the eastward of it till day, for fear of
some shoals that lie at the west end of it. Before night we got
within two leagues of it, and having a fine gale of wind and a light
moon, I resolved to pass through in the night, which I hoped to do
before twelve o'clock, if the gale continued; but when we came
within two miles of it, it fell calm: yet afterwards by the help of
the current, a small gale, and our boat, we got through before day.
In the night we had a very fragrant smell from the island.
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