DAMPIER’s ACCOUNT OF NEW HOLLAND.

484

intending to run along by it, and anchor on the fouth-eaft fide, but the tornadoes camein fo thick and hard, that I could not venture in. This ifland is pretty low and plain,and clothed with wood ; the trees were very green, and appeared to be large and tall,as thick as they could (land one by another. It is about two or three leagues long., andat the fouth-weft point there is another fmall low woody ifland, about a mile round, andabout a mile from the other. Between them there runs a reef*, of rocks, which joinsthem. (The biggeft. I named Squally Ifland).

Seeing we could not anchor here, I flood away to the fouthw'ard, to make the main »but having many hard fqualls and tornadoes, we were often forced to hand all our failsand fleer more eafterly to go before it. On the 26th, at four o’clock, it cleared up toa hard fky, and a brifk fettled gale; then we made as much fail as we could. At fiveit cleared up over the land, and we f&w, as we thought, Cape Solomafwer bearingfouth-fouth-eaft, diftance ten leagues. We had many great logs and trees fwimmingby us all this afternoon, and much grafs; we fleered in fouth-fouth-eaft till fix, theathe wind flackened, and we flood off till feven, having little wind; then we lay bytill ten, at which time we made fail, and fleered away eaft all night. The next morn-ing, as foon as it was light, we made all the fail we could, and fleered away eaft-fouth-eaft, as the land lay, being fair in fight of it, and not above feven leagues diftance. Wepaffed by many fmall low woody iflands which lay between us and the main, not. laiddown in our drafts. We found variation 9 0 50' eaft.

The 28th we had many violent tornadoes, wind, rain, and fome fpouts, and in thetornadoes the wind (hifted. In the night we had fair weather, but more lightning than■we had feen at any time this voyage. This morning we left a large high ifland on ourlarboard-fide, called in the Dutch drafts Wifhart’s Ifle, about fix leagues from themain, and feeing many fmoaks upon the main, I therefore fleered towards it.

The main land at this place is high and mountainous, adorned with tall floarilhingtrees; the fides of the hills had many large plantations and patches of clear land,which, together with the fmoaks we faw, were certain figns of its being well inhabited ;and I was defirous to have fome commerce with the inhabitants. Being nigh fhore, wefaw firft one proe, a little after, two or three more, and at laft a great many boats camefrom all the adjacent bays; when they were forty-fix in number they approached f<?near us, that we could fee each others figns, and hear each other fpeak, though wecould not underftand them, nor they us; they made figns for us to go in towards theIhore, pointing that way ; it was fqually weather, which at firft made me cautious ofgoing too near; but the weather beginning to look pretty well, I endeavoured to getinto a bay a head of us, which we could have got into well enough at firft; but whilewe lay by, we were driven fo far to leeward, that now it was more difficult to get in. Thenatives lay in their proes round us; to whom I (hewed beads, knives, glaffes, to allurethem to come nearer, but they would not come fo nigh as to receive any thing fromus; therefore I threw out fome things to them, viz. a knife faftened to a piece of board,and a glafs bottle corked up with fome beads in it, which they took up and feemedwell pleafed. They often ftruck their left breaft with their right hand, and as oft enheld up a black truncheon over their heads, which we thought was a token of friendffiip*wherefore we did the like: and when we flood in towards their (hore, they feemed torejoice, but when we flood off, they frowned, yet kept us company in their proes,(till pointing to the (hore. About five o’clock we got within the mouth of the bay*and founded feveral times, but had no ground, though within a mile of the (h° re *The bafon of this bay was above two nr.ies within us, into which we might havegone; but as I was not affured of anchorage there, fo I thought it not prudent