Their Hair Was Rubbed Over
With Chalk, Their Black Frizly Locks Appearing As If Powdered.
They
affected to be poor, and came to beg, not bringing any thing to the
ship, yet the four islands whence they came appeared, to be well stored
with cocoas.
On the 1st June, the Dutch came to anchor between the coast of New
Guinea and an island two miles long. They were soon after surrounded by
twenty-five canoes, full of the same people who had broken staves the
day before in token of peace, and who came now fully armed in guise of
war. They were not long of entering on the work they came about. Two of
them laid hold of two anchors which hung from the bows of the ship, and
endeavoured with their girdles to tug the ship on shore. The rest lay
close to the ship's sides, and gave a brisk onset with slings and other
weapons; but the great guns soon forced them to retire, with twelve or
thirteen killed, and many more wounded. After this, the Dutch sailed
peaceably along the coast, with a good gale of wind, continuing their
course W.N.W. and N.W. by W. The 2d they were in lat. 3 deg. 12' S. and saw
a low land to larboard, and right before them a low island. Continuing
W.N.W. with a slight current at E.N.E. they sailed gently along. The 3d
they saw high land, bearing W. about 14 leagues from the other island,
and in lat. 2 deg. 41' S. The 4th, while passing these four island, they
suddenly came in view of twenty-three other islands, some great, some
small, some high, and others low, most of which they left to starboard,
and only two or three to larboard. Some of these were a league distant
from the others, and some only a cannon-shot. Their latitude was in 2 deg.
30' S. a little more or less.
On the 6th in the morning, the weather being variable and even sometimes
stormy, they had in the morning a very high hill before them, bearing
S.W. which they thought to have been Geeminassi in Banda; but, on a
nearer approach, they discovered three other hills more like it in the
north, some six or seven leagues distant, which they were convinced were
that hill of Banda.[128] Behind these hills lay a large tract of land,
stretching east and west, of very great extent, and very uneven. In the
morning of the 7th, they sailed towards these mighty hills, some of
which they found were volcanoes, for which reason they named this
Vulcan's Island. It was well inhabited and fall of cocoa-nut trees,
but had no convenient place for anchorage. The inhabitants were naked,
and extremely fearful of the Dutch, and their language so different from
that of all the neighbouring people, that none of the blacks could
understand them. More islands appeared to the N. and N.W. but they
proceeded to a very low island, bearing N.W. by W. which they reached in
the evening.
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