A Boat Was Sent Ashore Well Armed, And
Immediately On Landing, About Thirty Of The Natives Rushed From A Wood,
Armed with clubs, slings, and long staves or spears, and would have
seized the boat and taken away the arms
From the soldiers; but on
receiving a discharge of musquetry they run off. Not being able to
anchor here, they called this the Island without ground. It is low,
and mostly composed of white sandy ground, on which are many trees,
which were supposed to be cocoas and palmitos. It is not broad, but of
considerable length, being in lat. 15 deg. S. and about 100 leagues from Dog
Island.[112]
[Footnote 112: Sondre-ground, or Without-ground, is in lat. 15 deg. 12' S.
and 143 deg. 25' W. long. - E.]
Finding nothing could be done here, they held on their course to the
west, and on the 16th came to another island, about fifteen leagues
north from the former. This seemed all drowned land, yet its skirts were
well clothed with trees. Here also they found no ground, and it yielded
nothing but a few herbs, with some crabs and other shell-fish, which
they found good eating. It afforded them also good fresh water, which
they found in a pit not far from the shore. The pottage or soup, which
they made of certain herbs gathered here, proved serviceable to those
who were afflicted with the flux. They called this Water Island,[113]
because it supplied them with fresh water.
[Footnote 113: Water-land is in lat. 15 deg. S. and 146 deg. W. long. - E.]
Sailing from this island westwards, they came on the 18th to another
island 20 leagues distant from the last, and extending a considerable
way N.W. and S.E. Dispatching the boat in search of anchorage, a bottom
was found near a point of land, in 25 and 40 fathoms, about a
musket-shot from the shore, where also was a gentle stream of fresh
water. This news induced them to send back the boat with some casks for
water: But after using much pains to get on shore, and searching in the
wood to find a spring, they were frightened away by seeing a savage. On
getting back to their boat, five or six more of the savages came to the
shore, but on seeing the Dutch put off they soon retired into the woods.
Although they thus got rid of the savages, they encountered other
adversaries of a formidable nature; for they were followed from the
woods by innumerable myriads of black flies, so that they came on board
absolutely covered with them from head to foot, and the plague of flies
began to rage in the ship in a most intolerable manner. This persecution
lasted three or four days, on which account they called this Fly
Island,[114] and by the help of a good breeze of wind, they left it as
fast as they could.
[Footnote 114:
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