The 28th day we had between 20 and 40 fathom.  We saw no land this day but saw a great many snakes and some whales.  We saw also some boobies and noddy-birds; and in the night caught one of these last.  It was of another shape and colour than any I had seen before.  It had a small long bill, as all of them have, flat feet like ducks’ feet; its tail forked like a swallow, but longer and broader, and the fork deeper than that of the swallow, with very long wings; the top or crown of the head of this noddy was coal-black, having also small black streaks round about and close to the eyes; and round these streaks on each side a pretty broad white circle.  The breast, belly, and underpart of the wings of this noddy were white; and the back and upper part of its wings of a faint black or smoke colour.  See a picture of this and of the common one, Birds Figures 5 and 6.  Noddies are seen in most places between the tropics, as well in the East Indies, and on the coast of Brazil, as in the West Indies.  They rest ashore a-nights, and therefore we never see them far at sea, not above 20 or 30 leagues, unless driven off in a storm.  When they come about a ship they commonly perch in the night, and will sit still till they are taken by the seamen.  They build on cliffs against the sea, or rocks, as I have said.

Of the inhabitants there, and great tides, the vegetables and animals, etc.

The 30th day being in latitude 18 degrees 21 minutes we made the land again, and saw many great smokes near the shore; and having fair weather and moderate breezes I steered in towards it.  At 4 in the afternoon I anchored in 8 fathom water, clear sand, about 3 leagues and a half from the shore.  I presently sent my boat to sound nearer in, and they found 10 fathom about a mile farther in; and from thence still farther in the water decreased gradually to 9, 8, 7, and 2 mile distance to 6 fathom.  This evening we saw an eclipse of the moon, but it was abating before the moon appeared to us; for the horizon was very hazy, so that we could not see the moon till she had been half an hour above the horizon:  and at 2 hours, 22 minutes after sunset, by the reckoning of our glasses, the eclipse was quite gone, which was not of many digits.  The moon’s centre was then 33 degrees 40 minutes high.

The 31st of August betimes in the morning I went ashore with 10 or 11 men to search for water.  We went armed with muskets and cutlasses for our defence, expecting to see people there; and carried also shovels and pickaxes to dig wells.  When we came near the shore we saw 3 tall black naked men on the sandy bay ahead of us:  but as we rowed in they went away.  When we were landed I sent the boat with two men in her to lie a little from the shore at an anchor, to prevent being seized; while the rest of us went after the 3 black men, who were now got on the top of a small hill about a quarter of a mile