[Footnote 3:  We have omitted in the text the naked journal of daily winds, courses, and distances, as tending to no useful information whatever.—­E.]

[Footnote 4:  The indicated latitude, considering the direction of the voyage between Morty and Japan, nearly coincides with the small islands of Kumi and Matchi, west from the south end of the great Liqueo.—­E.]

On the 7th, we supposed ourselves about twenty-eight or thirty leagues from Tonan.[5] In the morning of the 8th, we had sight of a high round island, bearing E. six leagues off, with various other islands, in six or seven directions westwards, five or six leagues off.[6] In the morning of the 8th we had sight of land bearing N.N.E. and of six great islands in a row N.E. from the island we descried the preceding evening; and at the northern end of all were many small rocks and hummocks.  In a bay to the eastwards of these, we saw a high land bearing E. and E. by S. and E.S.E. which is the island called Xima in the charts, but named Maihma by the natives, while the former island is called Segue, or Amaxay.[7] The 10th, four great fishing-boats came aboard, about five tons burden each, having one large sail, like that of a skiff.  They had each four oars of a side, resting on pins fastened to the gunwales, the heads of the pins being let into the middle of the oars, so that they hung in just equipoise, saving much labour to the rowers.  These people make much more speed in rowing than our men, and perform their work standing, by which they take up less room.  They told us we were just before the entrance to Nangasaki, which bore N.N.E.; the straits of Arima being N.E. by N. and that the high hill we saw yesterday was upon the island called Uszideke,[8] making the straits of Arima, at the north end of which is good anchorage, and at the south end is the entrance to Cahinoch.[9] We agreed with two of the masters of these fishing-boats for thirty dollars each, and rice for their food, to pilot us to Firando, on which agreement their people came aboard our ship, and voluntarily performed its duty as readily as any of our own mariners.  We steered N. by W. the pilots reckoning that we were thirty leagues from Firando.  One of the boats which came to us at this time belonged to the Portuguese who dwelt at Nangasaki, being Christian converts, and thought our ship had been the Portuguese ship from Makao; but, on finding we were not, made all haste back again to advise them, refusing every entreaty to remain with us.

[Footnote 5:  The island of Tanao-sima is probably here meant, being the most southerly of the Japanese islands.  It may be proper to remark, that the termination sima, in the names of islands belonging to Japan, obviously means island, like the prefix pula in the names of islands in the Malay Archipelago.—­E.]

[Footnote 6:  There is a considerable cluster of small islands south from Tanaosima, between the latitudes of 29 deg. 30’ and 30 deg.  N.—­E.]