extent, and very uneven.  In the morning of the 7th, they sailed towards these mighty hills, some of which they found were volcanoes, for which reason they named this Vulcan’s Island.  It was well inhabited and fall of cocoa-nut trees, but had no convenient place for anchorage.  The inhabitants were naked, and extremely fearful of the Dutch, and their language so different from that of all the neighbouring people, that none of the blacks could understand them.  More islands appeared to the N. and N.W. but they proceeded to a very low island, bearing N.W. by W. which they reached in the evening.  The water here was observed to be of several colours, green, white, and yellow, perhaps occasioned by the mixture of some river, as it was far sweeter than ordinary sea water, and was full of leaves and boughs of trees, on some of which were birds, and even some crabs.

[Footnote 128:  They still had the north-western end of Papua or New Guinea between them and Banda, from which they were distant at least twelve degrees of longitude.—­E.]

On the 8th, continuing their course W.N.W. having a high island on the starboard, and another somewhat lower to larboard, they anchored in the afternoon in 70 fathoms on a good sandy bottom, about a cannon-shot from the land, at an island in 3 deg. 40’ S. which seemed an unhealthy place, yielding nothing of any value except a little ginger.  It was inhabited by Papuas or blacks, whose ridiculous mode of dress, and their own natural deformity, made them appear little short of a kind of monsters.  Hardly any of them but had something odd and strange, either in the bigness or position of their limbs.  They had strings of hog’s teeth hung about their necks; their noses were perforated, in which rings were fastened; their hair was frizled, and their faces very ugly.  Their houses also were extremely singular, being mounted on stakes, eight or nine feet above the ground.  Before noon of the 9th, they anchored in a more convenient bay, in 26 fathoms, on a bottom of sand mixed with clay.  There were two villages near the shore, whence some canoes brought off hogs and cocoas, but the Indians held them at so dear a rate that the Dutch would not buy any of them.

Though they had now sailed so long upon this new land, yet were they unable to determine with any certainty if it actually were the coast of New Guinea, as their charts neither agreed with each other, nor with the coast in view.  This coast for the most part ran N.W. by W. sometimes more westerly, and at other times more northerly.  Yet they held on their course W.N.W. along the coast, having quiet weather though dull winds, but assisted by a stream or current setting along the coast to the westwards.  Proceeding in this manner, they came into the lat. of 2 deg. 58’ S. at noon of the 12th.  Continuing their course on the 13th and 14th, the coast in sight was sometimes high and at other times low.  The 15th, still pursuing the same course, they reached two low islands about half a league from the main, about the latitude of 2 deg. 54’ S. where they had good anchorage in 45 and 46 fathoms.  Seeing the country well stored with cocoas, two boats well armed were sent with orders to land and procure some cocoa-nuts.  But they were forced to retire by the Indians, in spite of their muskets, at least sixteen of the Dutch, being wounded by arrows and stones thrown from slings.