TASMAN S VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY.
44 7
the coaft of New Guinea, is in reality the coaft of New Britain , which Captain Dam-pier firft difcovered to be a large ifland, feparated from the coaft of New Guinea.
14. On the 25th, in the latitude of 4 0 35' fouth, and in the longitude of 175 0 10',We found the variation 9 0 30' eaft. We were then in the height of the iflands ofMark, which were difcovered by William Schovten and James le Maire. They arefourteen or fifteen in number, inhabited by favages, with black hair, dreffed andtrimmed in the fame manner as thofe we faw before at the Bay of Murderers in NewZealand . On the 29th, we paffed the Green Iflands; and on the 30th, that ofSt.John; which were likewife difcovered by Schovten and Le Maire. This ifland theyfound to be of a conftderable extent; and judged it to lie at the diftance of one thou-fand eight hundred and forty leagues from the coaft of Peru . It appeared to themwell inhabited, and well cultivated, abounding with flefh, fowl, fifh, fruit, and otherrefrefhments. The inhabitants made ufe of canoes of all fizes, were armed with flings,darts, and wooden fwords, wore necklaces and bracelets of pearl, and rings in theirRofes. They were, however, very intractable, notwithftanding all the pains that couldbe taken to engage them in a fair correfpondence; fo that Captain Schovten was atlaft obliged to fire upon them, to prevent them from making themfelves matters of hisVefTel, which they attacked with a great deal of vigour: and very probably this wasthe reafon that Captain Tafman did not attempt to land, or make any farther difcovery.Dn April ift, we were in the latitude of 4 0 30' fouth, and in the longitude of 171 0 2',the variation being 8° 45' to the eaft, having now fight of the coaft of New Guinea ;«tnd endeavouring to double the cape which the Spaniards call Cobo Santa Maria, wecontinued to fail along the coaft, which lies north-weft. We afterwards paffed theJflands of Antony Caens, Gardeners Ifland, and Fifhers Ifland, advancing towards thePromontory called Struis Hoek, where the coaft runs fouth, and fouth-eaft. Werefolved to purfue the fame route, and to continue fleering fouth, till we fhould eitherdifcover land, or a paffage on that fide.
It is neceffary to obferve, that all this time they continued on the coaft, not of NewGuinea, but of New Britain ; for that cape which the Spaniards called Santa Maria, isthe very fame that Captain Dampier called Cape St. George; and Caens, Gardeners ,Slid Fifhers Iflands, all lie upon the fame coaft. They had been difcovered bySchovten and Le Maire, who found them to be well inhabited, but by a very bafe andtreacherous people; who, after making figns of peace, attempted to furprife theirtups: and thefe iflanders managed their flings with fuch force and dexterity, as totirive the Dutch failors from their decks: which account of Le Maire’s agree perfectlyVVe] l with what Captain Dampier tells us of the fame people. As for the continentNew Guinea, it lies quite behind the ifland of New Britain ; and was therefore laid. °^ v n, in all the charts before Dampier’s difcovery, at leaft 4 0 more to the eaft than‘hould have been.
* 5 - On April 12th, in the latitude of 3 0 45' fouth, and in the longitude of 167%XVe found the variation 10° towards the eaft. That night part of the crew were wakenedout of their fleep by an earthquake. They immediately ran upon deck, fuppoftngr lat the fhip had ftruck. On heaving the lead, however, there was no bottom to be^und. We had afterwards feveral fhocks ; but none of them fo violent as the firft.it e had then doubled the Struis Hoek, and were, at that time, in the bay of GoodVv °Pf On the 14th, in the latitude of 5° 27' fouth, and in the longitude of 166 0 57',e obferved the variation to be 9 0 15' to the eaft. The land lay then north-eaft, eaft0rc h-eaft, and again foeuth fouth-weft ; fo that we imagined there had been a paffage
between