some trifles, as presents to the natives, if any of them should appear.  While he was gone, we saw from the ship two men on horseback, who seemed to be riding upon the hills for their amusement, and often stopped to look at the ship.  By this we knew that the place had been settled by Europeans, and hoped, that the many disagreeable circumstances which always attend the first establishment of commerce with savages, would be avoided.  In the mean time, Mr Gore landed in a small sandy cove near some houses, and was met by eight or ten of the natives, who, as well in their dress as their persons, very much resembled the Malays; They were without arms, except the knives which it is their custom to wear in their girdles, and one of them had a jack-ass with him:  They courteously invited him ashore, and conversed with him by signs, but very little of the meaning of either party could be understood by the other.  In a short time he returned with this report, and, to our great mortification, added, that there was no anchorage for the ship.  I sent him however a second time, with both money and goods, that he might, if possible, purchase some refreshments, at least for the sick; and Dr Solander went in the boat with him.  In the mean time I kept standing on and off with the ship, which at this time was within about a mile of the shore.  Before the boat could land, we saw two other horsemen, one of whom was in a complete European dress, consisting of a blue coat, a white waistcoat, and a laced hat:  These people, when the boat came to the shore, took little notice of her, but sauntered about, and seemed to look with great curiosity at the ship.  We saw however other horsemen, and a great number of persons on foot, gather round our people, and, to our great satisfaction, perceived several cocoa-nuts carried into the boat, from which we concluded that peace and commerce were established between us.

After the boat had been ashore about an hour and a half, she made the signal for having intelligence that there was a bay to leeward, where we might anchor:  We stood away directly for it, and the boat following, soon came on board.  The lieutenant told us, that he had seen some of the principal people, who were dressed in fine linen, and had chains of gold round their necks:  He said, that he had not been able to trade, because the owner of the cocoa-nuts was absent, but that about two dozen had been sent to the boat as a present, and that some linen had been accepted in return.  The people, to give him the information that he wanted, drew a map upon the sand, in which they made a rude representation of a harbour to leeward, and a town near it:  They also gave him to understand, that sheep, hogs, fowls, and fruit might there be procured in great plenty.  Some of them frequently pronounced the word Portuguese, and said something of Larntuca upon the island of Ende:  From this circumstance, we conjectured that there were Portuguese somewhere upon the island, and a Portugueze,