dampier’s account or new Holland.

47 4

in the fand at low water. Thefe gathered their fhell-fifh on the rocks at low water jbut had no wires (that we law) whereby to get any other forts of filh: as amongthe former I faw not any heaps of Ihells as here, though I know they alfogathered fome Ihell-filh. The lances alfo of thofe were fuch as thefe had; how-ever they being upon an illand, with their women and children, and all in our power,they did not there ufe them againft us, as here on the continent, where we faw nonebut fome of the men under head, who come out purpofely to obferve us. We faw nohoufes at either place ; and l believe they have none, fince the former people on theilland had none, though they had all their families with them.

Upon returning to my men I faw that though they had dug eight or nine feet deep,yet found no water. So I returned aboard that evening, and the next day, beingSeptember ill, I fent my boatfwain alhore to dig deeper, and.fent the fain with him tocatch filh. While I (laid aboard I obferved the flowing of the tide, which runs veryfwift here, fo that our nun-buoy would not bear above the water to be feen. It flowshere (as on that part of New Holland I defcribed formerly) about five fathom; andhere the flood runs fouth-eaft by fouth till the lafl: quarter ; then it fets right in towardsthe Ihore (which lies here fouth-fouth-weft and north-north-eaft) and the ebb runs north-well by north. When the tides flackened we filhed with hook and line, as we hadalready done in feveral places on this coall ; on which in this voyage hitherto we hadfound but little tides; but by the heighth, and llrength, and courfe of them hereabouts,it Ihould feem that if there be fuch a paffage or freight going through eaftward to thegreat South Sea, as I faid one might fufpedt, one would expert to find the mouth of itfomewhere between this place and Rofemary Illand, which was the part of New HollandI came lafl: from.

Next morning my men came aboard and brought a rundlet of brackilh water whichthey got out of another well that they dug in a place a mile olf, and about half as farfrom the Ihore; but this water was not fit to drink. However we all concludedthat it would ferve to boil our oatmeal, for burgoo, whereby we might fave the remainsof our other water for drinking, till we Ihould get more; and accordingly the nextday we brought aboard four hoglheads of it: but while we were at work about thewell we were fadly peftered with the flies, which were more troublefome to us than thefun, though it fhone clear and ftrong upon us all the while very hot. All this whilewe faw no more of the natives, but faw fome of the fmoaks of fome of their fires attwo or three miles diftance.

The land hereabouts was much like the port of New Holland that I formerly de-fcribed ; it is low, but feemingly barricadoed with a long chain of fand-hills to the fea,that lets nothing be feen of what is farther within land. At high water the tides riling,fo high as they do, the coaft fhews very low ; but when it is low water it feems to be ofan indifferent heighth. At low water-mark the Ihore is all rocky, fo that then there isno landing with a boat; but at high water a boat may come in over thofe rocks to thefandy bay, which runs all along on this coaft. The land by the fea for about five or fixhundred yards is a dry fandy foil, bearing only fhrubs and bulhes of divers forts. Someof thefe had them at this time of the year, yellow flowers or bloffoms, fome blue, andfome white ; moft of them of a very fragrant fmell. Some had fruit like peafcods, 111each of which there were juft ten fmall peas ; I opened many of them, and found nomore nor lefs. There are alfo here fome of that fort of bean which I faw at RofemaryIlland: and another fort of fmall red hard pulfe, growing in cods alfo, with little blac-eyes like beans. I know' not their names, but have feen them ufed often in the EatIndies for weighing gold ; and they make the fame ufe of them at Guinea , as I have

heard, where the women alfo make bracelets with them to wear about their arms*

Them