natives are very black, strong, and well-limbed people, having great round heads, their hair naturally curled and short, which they shave into several forms, and dye it also of divers colours—­viz., red, white, and yellow.  They have broad round faces, with great bottle-noses, yet agreeable enough till they disfigure them by painting, and by wearing great things through their noses as big as a man’s thumb, and about four inches long.  These are run clear through both nostrils, one end coming out by one cheek-bone, and the other end against the other; and their noses so stretched that only a small slip of them appears about the ornament.  They have also great holes in their ears, wherein they wear such stuff as in their noses.  They are very dexterous, active fellows in their proas, which are very ingeniously built.  They are narrow and long, with outriggers on one side, the head and stern higher than the rest, and carved into many devices—­viz., some fowl, fish, or a man’s head painted or carved; and though it is but rudely done, yet the resemblance appears plainly, and shows an ingenious fancy.  But with what instruments they make their proas or carved work I know not, for they seem to be utterly ignorant of iron.  They have very neat paddles, with which they manage their proas dexterously, and make great way through the water.  Their weapons are chiefly lances, swords and slings, and some bows and arrows.  They have also wooden fish-spears for striking fish.  Those that came to assault us in Slinger’s Bay on the main are in all respects like these, and I believe these are alike treacherous.  Their speech is clear and distinct.  The words they used most when near us were vacousee allamais, and then they pointed to the shore.  Their signs of friendship are either a great truncheon, or bough of a tree full of leaves, put on their heads, often striking their heads with their hands.

The next day, having a fresh gale of wind, we got under a high island, about four or five leagues round, very woody, and full of plantations upon the sides of the hills; and in the bays, by the waterside, are abundance of cocoa-nut trees.  It lies in the latitude of 3 degrees 25 minutes south, and meridian distance from Cape Mabo 1,316 miles.  On the south-east part of it are three or four other small woody islands, one high and peaked, the others low and flat, all bedecked with cocoa-nut trees and other wood.  On the north there is another island of an indifferent height and of a somewhat larger circumference than the great high island last mentioned.  We passed between this and the high island.  The high island is called in the Dutch drafts Anthony Cave’s Island.  As for the flat, low island, and the other small one, it is probable they were never seen by the Dutch, nor the islands to the north of Garret Dennis’s Island.  As soon as we came near Cave’s Island some canoes came about us, and made signs for us to come ashore, as all the rest had