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 ashore

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 passed 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 latitude 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.

The 14th, being past a point of land that we had been three days getting about, we found little or no current, so that, having the wind at north-west-by-west and west-north-west, we stood to the northward, and had several soundings: at three o'clock thirty-eight fathom, the nearest part of New Guinea being about three leagues' distance; at four, thirty-seven; at five, thirty-six; at six, thirty-six; at eight, thirty-three fathom; then the Cape was about four leagues' distant, so that as we ran off we found our water shallower; we had then some islands to the westward of us, at about four leagues' distance.

A little after noon we saw smoke on the islands to the west of us, and having a fine gale of wind, I steered away for them. At seven o'clock in the evening we anchored in thirty-five fathom, about two leagues from an island, good soft oozy ground. We lay still all night, and saw fires ashore. In the morning we weighed again, and ran farther in, thinking to have shallower water; but we ran within a mile of the shore, and came to in thirty-eight fathom good soft holding ground.

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