At last after much consideration I thought it safer to go away again for Babao; and accordingly stood to the westward.  We were now about 60 leagues to the east of Babao.  The coast is bold all the way, having no shoals, and but one island which I saw and described coming to the eastward.  The land in the country is very mountainous; but there are some large valleys towards the east end.  Both the mountains and valleys on this side are barren; some wholly so; and none of them appear so pleasant as the place where I watered.  It was the 23rd day in the evening when I stood back again for Babao.  We had but small sea and land-breezes.  On the 27th we came into Kupang Bay; and the next day, having sounded Babao road, I ran in and came to an anchor there, in 20 fathom, soft oaze, 3 mile from the shore.  One reason, as I said before, of my coming hither, was to ride secure and to clean my ship’s bottom; as also to endeavour by fishing and hunting of buffaloes to refresh my men and save my salt provision.  It was like to be some time before I could clean my ship because I wanted a great many necessaries, especially a vessel to careen by.  I had a long-boat in a frame that I brought out of England, by which I might have made a shift to do it; but my carpenter was uncapable to set her up.  Besides, by the time the ship’s sides were caulked, my pitch was almost spent; which was all owing to the carpenter’s wilful waste and ignorance; so that I had nothing to lay on upon the ship’s bottom.  But instead of this I intended to make lime here, which with oil would have made a good coat for her.  Indeed had it been advisable I would have gone in between Cross Island and Timor, and have hauled my ship ashore; for there was a very convenient place to do it in; but, my ship being sharp, I did not dare to do it:  besides, I must have taken everything out of her; and I had neither boats to get my things ashore nor hands to look after them when they were there; for my men would have been all employed; and, though here are no Indians living near, yet they come hither in companies when ships are here, on purpose to do any mischief they can to them; and it was not above 2 years since a Portuguese ship riding here, and sending her boat for water to one of the galleys, the men were all killed by the Indians.  But to secure my men I never suffered them to go ashore unarmed; and while some were at work others stood to guard them.

We lay in this place from October the 28th till December the 12th.  In which time we made very good lime with shells, of which here are plenty.  We cut palmetto leaves to burn the ship’s sides; and, giving her as good a heel as we could, we burned her sides and paid them with lime and water for want of oil to mix with it.  This stuck on about 2 months where it was well burned.  We did not want fresh provisions all the time we lay here, either of fish or flesh.  For there were fair sandy bays on the point of Babao, where in 2 or 3 hours in a morning we used with our seine to drag ashore as much fish as we could eat all the day; and for a change of diet when we were weary of fish I sent 10 or 11 men a-hunting for buffaloes; who never came empty home.  They went ashore in the evening or early in the morning, and before noon always returned with their burdens of buffalo, enough to suffice us 2 days; by which time we began to long for fish again.