and valuable spices, especially as most of the countries hitherto discovered under the same parallel are not deficient in such riches.  He was afterwards assured, that some of the free burgesses in the Moluccas go annually to New Guinea, where they exchange small pieces of iron for nutmegs.  Schouten and other navigators conceived high ideas of this country, and represented it as one of the finest and richest in the world; but they were unable to penetrate any way into the interior, which could not be done with a small force, as it is extremely populous, and the natives are mostly well armed, and of a martial disposition.

Roggewein and his officers were at this time in considerable doubts, whether to prosecute the route formerly followed by Dampier, or to go by Ternate, Tidore, and Bacian, as the less dangerous passage.  To gain time, however, they chose the former, as they most otherwise have coasted round the last-mentioned islands, in their way to the Moluccas.  In this view, they steered along shore, or rather through an innumerable chain of small islands, extending from the western point of New Guinea to the island of Gilolo, making their passage with much difficulty and danger, and were greatly delighted and astonished on getting sight of the island of Bouro, in lat. 2 deg.  S. [3 deg. 30’ S. and long. 127 deg.  E.] the most eastern country in which the Dutch East-India Company, maintain a factory.  This island is mostly pretty high land, and abounds every where with trees and shrubs of various kinds.  On their arrival upon its coast, they were spoken with by a small vessel, in which were two white men and several blacks.  The white men examined them very strictly to whom they belonged, whence they came, and whither they were bound.  To which they answered, that they came from New Guinea, and were going to Batavia, but wisely concealed belonging to the West-India Company, knowing that the East-India Company permitted no vessels, except their own, to navigate these seas, and had given strict orders to capture all strange vessels that might appear there.  Yet, in spite of these precautions, the English sometimes find their way among these islands, to the no small displeasure of the Dutch company, although they keep ships cruizing here during both monsoons, to preserve their monopoly of spices.

The island of Bouro is about forty or fifty leagues in circumference, and is indifferently fertile, formerly producing abundance of clove-trees; but a detachment of Dutch soldiers is sent yearly to grub them up, as they do also in the other Molucca islands, because Amboina is thought to produce enough of that commodity to maintain their commerce.  Formerly also the Dutch had a strong fort here, which the natives took and demolished after a long siege, putting all the garrison to the sword.  At present, [in 1721,] the company only sends a detachment of soldiers to root out the clove-trees, for which the inhabitants receive some present.  The two whites who were