[Footnote 115:  This double canoe seems to have belonged to the Society islands, and was perhaps bound towards Otaheite, by the course which it followed on getting rid of the Dutch.—­E.]

The 10th of May, Schouten continued his course W.S.W. and that day saw some very high land to larboard, S.E. by S. about eight leagues off.  The 11th they came to a very high island, and about two leagues south from this to one much lower; and the same day sailed over a bank where they had fourteen fathoms on a stoney bottom, about two leagues from the land, and being past this bank could find no bottom.  At this time another bark, or double canoe like the former, came up to them, having a small loose single canoe in her, to put out upon occasion.  She sailed so fast that few Dutch ships could have outstripped her.  She was steered behind by two oars, one in each canoe, and when they have a mind to tack they use oars forwards.  Sending their boat to sound at one of these islands, ground was found a cannon-shot from the shore, in twelve, fourteen, and fifteen fathoms, but shelvy.  The savages in the bark made signs as if directing them to the other island, but they anchored at the former in twenty-five fathoms on a sandy bottom, a cannon-shot from shore.

This island, in lat. 16 deg. 10’ S. is one entire mountain, looking like one of the Molucca islands, and all covered with cocoa-nut trees, for which reason they named it Cocoa island.[116] The other island is much lower than this, but longer, and stretches east and west.  While at anchor off Cocoa island there came three ships,[117] and nine or ten canoes about them, having three or four men in each.  Some of these holding out white flags in token of peace, the Dutch did so likewise.  The canoes were flat before and sharp behind, hewed each out of one piece of a red kind of wood, and sailed very swiftly.  On coming near the Unity, some of the savages leapt into the sea and swam to the ship, having their hands full of cocoa-nuts and ubes-roots,[118] which they bartered for nails and beads, giving four or five cocoa-nuts for a nail or a small string of beads, so that the Dutch that day procured 180 cocoa-nuts.  This traffic brought so many of the natives on board, that the Dutch could hardly stir about the ship.

[Footnote 116:  Cocas, or Boscawen island, is in 16 deg. 32’ S. and long. 169 deg. 35’ W. The other island mentioned in the text, Traitors, or Keppel island, is a few leagues S.S.W. from Cocos.—­E.]

[Footnote 117:  These ships must have been large double canoes.—­E.]

[Footnote 118:  These ubes-roots were perhaps the same that are called eddoes by modern navigators among the South Sea islands.—­E.]