DAMPIER’s ACCOUNT OP NEW HOLLAND.

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feet like ducks feet, its tail forked like a fwallow, but longer and broader, and the forkdeeper than that of the fwallow, with very'long wings ; the top or crown of the headof this noddy was coal-black, having alfo fmall black ftreaks round about and clofe tothe eyes ; and round thefe ftreaks on each fide, a pretty broad white circle. The breaft,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 fmoak colour. Noddies are feen in moft placesbetween the tropics, as well in the Eaft Indies and on the coaft of Brazil , as in the WeftIndies. They reft afhore at night, and therefore we never fee them far at fea, notabove twenty or thirty leagues, unlefs driven off in a ftorm. When they come abouta {hip they commonly perch in the night, and will fit ftill till they are taken by the fea-men. They build on cliffs againft the fea or rocks.

The 30th day, being in latitude 18 0 21', we made the land again, and faw manygreat fmokes near the fhore ; and having fair weather and moderate breezes, I fleeredin towards it. At four in the afternoon I anchored in eight fathom water, clear fand,about three leagues and a half from the fhore. I prefently fent my boat to foundnearer in, and they found ten fathom about a mile farther in ; and from thence ftillfarther in the water decreafed gradually to nine, eight, feven, and at two miles diftanceto fix fathom- This evening we faw an eclipfe of the moon, but it was abating beforethe moon appeared to us ; for the horizon was very hazy, fo that we could not fee themoon till fhe had befen half an hour above the horizon : and at two hours twenty-twominutes after fun-fet, by the reckoning of our glaffes, the eclipfe was quite gone, whichwas not of many digits. The moon’s centre was then 33 0 40' high.

The 31ft of Auguft betimes in the morning I went afhore with ten or eleven men tofearch for water. We went armed with mufkets and cutlaffes for our defence, ex-pediting to fee people there ; and carried alfo {hovels and pickaxes to dig wells. Whenwe came near the fhore we faw three tall black naked men on the fandy bay a-head ofus: but as we rowed in, they went away. When we were landed, I fent the boat withtwo men in her to lie a little from the fhore at an anchor, to prevent being feized}while the reft of us went after the three black men, who were now got on the top of afmall hill about a quarter of a mile from us, with eight or nine men more in theircompany. They feeing us coming, ran away. When we came on the top of the hillwhere they firft flood we faw a plain favannah, about half a mile from us, farther infrom the fea. There were feveral things like hay-cocks, Handing in the favannah,which at a diftance we thought were houfes, looking juft like the Hottentots’ houfes atthe Cape of Good Hope : but we found them to be fo many rocks. We fearchedabout thefe for water, but coulcf find none, nor any houfes, nor people, for they wereall gone. Then we turned again to the place where we landed, and there we dug fo rwater.

While we were at work there came nine or ten of the natives to a fmall hill a littleway from us, and flood there menacing and threatening of us, and making a greatnoife. At laft one of them came towards us, and the reft followed at a diftance. Iwent out to meet him, and came within fifty yards of him, making to him all the fignsof peace and friendfhip I could 5 but then he ran away, neither would they any °tthem flay for us to come nigh them ; for we tried two or three times. At laft I tooktwo men with me, and went in the afternoon along by the fea-fide, purpofely to catchone of them, if I could, of whom I might learn where they got their frefh water.There were ten or twelve of the natives a little way off, who feeing us three goingaway from the reft of our men, followed us at a diftance. I thought they would follow..us .: but there being for a while a fand-bank between us and them, that they could not