These That Came Last We Only Dressed And Corned Till Morning, And Then Sent Both Boats Ashore For More Refreshments Either Of Hogs Or Roots; But In The Night The Natives Had Conveyed Away Their Provisions Of All Sorts.

Many of them were now about the houses, and none offered to resist our boats landing, but, on the contrary, were so amicable, that one man brought ten or twelve cocoa-nuts, left them on the shore after he had shown them to our men, and went out of sight.

Our people, finding nothing but nets and images, brought some of them away, which two of my men brought aboard in a small canoe, and presently after my boats came off. I ordered the boatswain to take care of the nets till we came at some place where they might be disposed of for some refreshment for the use of all the company. The images I took into my own custody.

In the afternoon I sent the canoe to the place from whence she had been brought, and in her two axes, two hatchets (one of them helved), six knives, six looking-glasses, a large bunch of beads, and four glass bottles. Our men drew the canoe ashore, placed the things to the best advantage in her, and came off in the pinnace which I sent to guard them; and now, being well-stocked with wood and all my water-casks full, I resolved to sail the next morning. All the time of our stay here we had very fair weather, only sometimes in the afternoon we had a shower of rain, which lasted not above an hour at most; also some thunder and lightning, with very little wind; we had sea and land breezes, the former between the south-south-east, and the latter from north-east to north-west.

This place I named Port Montague in honour of my noble patron: it lies in the latitude of 6 degrees 10 minutes south, and meridian distance from Cape St. George 151 miles west. The country hereabouts is mountainous and woody, full of rich valleys and pleasant fresh-water brooks. The mould in the valleys is deep and yellowish, that on the sides of the hill of a very brown colour, and not very deep, but rocky underneath, yet excellent planting land. The trees in general are neither very straight, thick, nor tall, yet appear green and pleasant enough; some of them bore flowers, some berries, and others big fruits, but all unknown to any of us; cocoa- nut trees thrive very well here, as well on the bays by the sea- side, as more remote among the plantations; the nuts are of an indifferent size, the milk and kernel very thick and pleasant. Here is ginger, yams, and other very good roots for the pot, that our men saw and tasted; what other fruits or roots the country affords I know not. Here are hogs and dogs; other land animals we saw none. The fowls we saw and knew were pigeons, parrots, cockatoos, and crows like those in England; a sort of birds about the bigness of a blackbird, and smaller birds many.

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