shot and the heavy goods. But by this time || they found their mistake, for the current which I mentioned was nothing but a strong tide of flood, which, the indraught of the river being very great, ran up with a very great force; and, in something less than an hour the brigantine floated again.

However she stuck so long upon the sand, and the force of the current or tide was so great that she received considerable damage, and had a great deal of water in her hold. I immediately ordered our boats to row to the land on both sides, to see if they could find a good place to lay her on shore in; they did so, and found a very convenient harbour in the mouth of a small river, which emptied itself into the great river about two leagues within the foreland of it, on the north side, as the river Medway runs into the Thames within the mouth of it, on the south side; only this was not so far up.

Here they ran in the sloop immediately, and the next day we came thither also; our boats having sounded the whole breadth of the main river, and found a very good channel half a league broad, having from seventeen to four-andtwenty fathom water all the way, and very good riding.

Here we found it absolutely necessary to take everything out of the brigantine to search her bottom; for her lying on shore had strained her seams, and broke one of her floor timbers; and having hands enough, our men unloaded her in a very little time, and making a little dock for her, mended all the damage in about ten days' time. But seeing her in so good a condition, and the place so convenient, I resolved to have her whole bottom new caulked and payed; so we made her as clean as she was when she first

came off the stocks.

This I took for a good opportunity to careen and clean our other ships too; for we had done little to them since we came from Madagascar. We found our Madagascar ship much wormeaten in her sheathing, which we helped as well as we could by new nailing, and by taking out some pieces of her sheathing and putting new ones in. But as to our great ship, she was sheathed with lead, and so had received no damage at all, only that she was very foul, which we remedied by scraping and cleaning, and new graving her quite over.

We were not all employed in this work, and therefore we had leisure to make the best of our time for the main work of new discoveries. And now I resolved to leave it no more to under-officers as I had done before, viz. when I gave the command of the shallop that traded with the king and queen, as above, to a midshipman, which I was very sorry for, though the fellow did his business very well too; but I say, I resolved not to trust any one now but myself.

In the first place, I took the shallops and went across the mouth of the great river to the south shore, to see what kind of a country was to be found there. For, as to the north side where we where, we found it to be much the same with that part where we had been before; only that we found no gold, nor did we perceive that the people had any.

I found the mouth of this river or inlet to be

about four leagues over, where I crossed it which was about three leagues and a half within the inlet itself. But the weather being very calm, and the flood-tide running sharp, we let our boat drive up in our crossing about two leagues more; and we found the channel grew narrow so fast, that where we came to land it was not a league over; that about three leagues farther we found it a mere river, not above as broad as the Thames at Blackwall.

We found it a steep shore, and observing a little creek very convenient for our purpose, we ran in our boats among some flags or rushes, and laid them as soft and as safe as if they had been in a dock; we went all on shore immediately except two men in each boat left to guard our provisions.

We had for arms, every man a musket, a pistol, and a cutlass; and in each boat we had six half-pikes to use as we might have occasion. We had also every man a hatchet, hung in a little frog at his belt, and in each boat a broad are and a saw.

We were furnished with strings of beads, bits of glass, glass rings, earrings, pearl necklaces, and such like jewellery ware, innumerable; be sides knives, scissars, needles, pins, looking. glasses, drinking-glasses and toys a great store.

We were no sooner on shore but we found people in abundance, for there were two or three small towns within a little way of the shore; and I suppose we might have the more people about us, because, as we understood afterwards, they had seen us before, though we had not seen them.

We made signs to them by putting our fingers to our mouths, and moving our chops, as if we were eating, that we wanted provisions; and we hung up a white flag for a truce. They pre sently understood the first signal, but knew nothing of the last; and as to provisions, just as had been the case before, they brought us out roots and fruits, such as they eat themselves; but such as we had never seen before. Some of them however, were very sweet and good, and when we boiled them, they eat much like an English parsnip; and we gave them strings of beads, pieces of glass, and such things as we found they were always very fond of.

We found the people, as I observed of the other, very inoffensive and sincere; not quarre some, nor treacherous or mischievous in the least; and we took care not so much as to let them know the use or manner of our fire-arms great while; neither was there one piece fired all the time we were among the other people, where we had so much gold. If there had, it had been very probable that they would have fled the country, in spite of all the good usage we could have been able to have shown them.

The people where we were now were not s rich in gold as those where we were before, but || we found them much better stored with provi sions; for besides deer, of which they had great plenty and variety, for they had some of a sort. which I had never seen before, and besides en infinite number of those rabbits which I men tioned before, which were as big as our hares. and which do not burrow in the ground as cur conies do, they had a kind of sheep, large (like

those of Peru, where they are used to carry burdens) and very good. They have no wool nor horns, but are rather hairy, like a goat; nor should I call them sheep, but that their flesh eats like mutton; and I know not what else to call them. The natives call them huttash; but what breed, or from what part of the world, or whether created for a peculiar purpose to this part, I know not.

However, their flesh was very agreeable, and they were fat and good; and as the Indians were mightily pleased with the price we paid them, and the goods we paid them in, they brought us more of these huttashes than we knew what to do with; and as I can calculate the rate, I suppose we might have them for about eight-ment. pence, or sometimes not above sixpence cost each; for they would give us one very thankfully for a string or two of small beads, and think themselves mighty well paid.

I found them so plentiful and so easy to come at, that in short I sent fifty of them alive tied neck and heels, in one of the shallops back to our ships, and ordered them to send their long boats over for more; for though it was so little a way over, we did not find they had any of them on that side the river.

We did the Indians another piece of service, for if they gave us meat we taught them to be cooks; for we showed them how to roast it upon a stick or spit before the fire, whereas they eat all their meat before either stewed in earthen pots over the fire, with herbs, such as we did not understand, or thrown on the coals of green wood into the fire; which, by the way, always made it stink of the smoke most intolerably.

respect the rest showed him; I say, being making a bargain with him as well as could be done between people that understood not one word of what either of us said, he had made signs to bring me twelve sheep the next morning for some things that I was to deliver him of mine. I am sure the goods were not all of them of value sufficient to give me the least distrust, but when I gave him the goods without the sheep, being as I said to trust him till the next day, he called two men to him, and pointing to the goods that I had put into his hands, he tells upon his fingers twelve, letting them know (as I suppose) that he was to give me twelve sheep the next day, so far it seems they were to be witnesses of the agreeThen he places his two hands one upon each breast, turned very accurately with the fingers towards the face, and holding them there, he looks towards heaven, with his face turned upward and with the most gravity, seriousness, and solemnity in his countenance that ever I saw in any man's face in my life. When he had continued in this posture about a quarter of a minute, he takes the two men and puts them just in the same posture; and then points to me and then to himself, by which I understood, first, that he solemnly swore to me that he would bring the sheep punctually and faithfully to me, and then he brought the two men to be bail or security for the performance; that is to say, to oblige themselves to perform it if he did not.

Doubtless, those people who have any notion of a God, must represent Him to themselves as something superior, and something that secs and hears and knows what they say or do. Whether these people meant the sun or the moon, or the stars, or what else I do not determine for them, but it is visible they understood it to be some

We had a great deal of opportunity now to converse with the people on both sides of the river, and we found them to be not only diffe-thing to swear by,-something that could bear rent nations, but of a differing speech and differing customs. These on the south sides where I now was, seemed to be the best furnished with provisions, and to live in the greatest plenty; but those on the north side appeared better clothed, and a more civilized sort of people; and of the two seemed to have, in their countenances, something the more agreeable.

However, as they were near neighbours, for the river only parted them, they were not very much unlike neither. That which seemed most strange to me was, that we found that they had little knowledge or communication one with another. They had indeed some boats in the river, but they were but small, and rather served to just waft them over, or to fish in them, than for any carriage, for we found none that could carry above four men, and these very oddly made; partly as a canoe, by hollowing a tree, and partly by skins of beasts, dried and stuck on so as they made waste clothes to the other, yet they would paddle along at a great rate with them.

For want of understanding their language, I could come at no knowledge of their religion or worship; nor I did see any idols among them, or any worshipping of the sun or moon. But yet, as a confirmation that all nations, however barbarous, have some notion of a God, and some awe of a superior power; so I observed here, that being making a bargain with one of the principal men, such I perceived him to be by the

witness of their engagement, and that being called to witness of it, could resent the breach of promise. As to those whose gods are monsters, and hideous shapes, frightful images and terrible figures, the motive of their adoration being that of mere terror, they have certainly gross ideas. But these people seem to act upon a more solid foundation, paying their reverence in manner much more rational, and to something which it was much more reasonable to worship; this appeared in the solemnity of their countenances, and their behaviour in making a solemn promise.

We found those people clothed, generally speaking, over their whole bodies, their heads, arms, legs, and feet excepted, but not so agreeably as those we mentioned above; and we found that the clothing of these were generally the skins of beasts, but very artfully put together, so that though they had neither needle or thread, yet they had the same plant as I mentioned before, the stalk of which would so strongly tie like a thread, that they peeled it off thicker or finer as they had occasion, and made use of it in abundance of ways, to tie, and twist, and make their clothes with it, as well for their occasion as if it had been woven in a loom.

We found several of these people had little bits of gold about them; but when we made signs to them to know where they got it and where it might be had, they made signs again,

pointing to the country on the north side of the || river, so that we had, it seems, chopped upon the right gold coast in our first coming. They pointed indeed, likewise, to some very high mountains which we saw at a great distance S. W., so that it seems as if there was gold found that way also, but it seems the people here had not much for their share.

The men here had bows and arrows, and they used them so dexterously that a wild goose flying over our heads, one of the Indians shot it quite through with an arrow. One of our men was so provoked to see them, as it were, outdo him, that some time after seeing a couple of ducks flying fair for a mark, he presented his piece and shot them both flying.

and jewels wondrous fine, a necklace about its neck, and bracelets of beads about its wrist, and several strings of beads wrapped up and tied in its hair, having fed it and laid it to sleep, and made much of it all night. In this figure he carried it up in his arms to the Indian huts or houses, where he had found it, and where there had been, it seems, a great outcry for the child all the night, the mother crying and raising her neighbours, and in a most strange concern.

But when some of the women, her neighbours, saw the child brought back, there was a contrary extreme of joy, and the mother of it being, I suppose, fetched, she fell a jumping and dancing to see her child, but also making so many odd gestures, as our men could not well tell for awhile whether she was pleased or not. The reason, it seems, was, she did not know whether to hope or fear, for she did not know whether the man would give back her child or take it away again. But when the man who had the child in his arms, had been told by signs that this was the mother, he beckoned to have her come to him, and she came, but trembling for fear. Then he took the child, and kissing it two or three times he gave it into her arms. But it is impossible to express by words the agony the poor woman was in; she took the child, and holding it in her arms, fixed her eyes upon it without motion, or as it were without life, for a good while, then she took it and embraced it in the most passionate manner imaginable. When this was over, she

I was very angry when I heard the gun; had I been there he had never got leave to shoot. However, when it was done, I was pleased well enough to see the effect it had upon these poor innocent well-meaning people: at first it frightened them to the last degree, and I may well say it frighted them out of their wits, for they that were near it started so violently that they fell down and lay speechless for some time; those that were farther off ran away as if it had been some new kind of lightning and thunder, and came out of the earth instead of out of the clouds; but when they saw the two creatures fall down dead out of the air, and could see nothing that flew up to them to kill them, they were perfectly astonished, and laid their two hands on their breasts and looked up to hea-fell a crying so vehemently till she sobbed, and ven as if they were saying their prayers in the most solemn manner imaginable. How ever, this accident gave them terrible ideas of us, and I was afraid at first they would run all away from us for fear; I therefore used them after it with all the kindness and tenderness imaginable, gave them every day one trifle or other, which, though of no value to me, they were exceedingly fond of, and as we asked nothing of them but provisions, of which they had great plenty, and gave us enough every day to satisfy us. "As for drink, they had none of the milky liquor which we had on the other part of the country, but they had a root which they steeped in their water and made it drink hot, as if pepper had been in it, which made it so strong, that though it would not make our men drunk, it was worse, for it made them mad.

I was so pleased with these people that I came over to them every other day, and some of our men lay on shore under a sail pitched for a tent, and they were so safe that at last they kept no watch, for the poor people neither thought any harm or did any, and we never gave them the least occasion to apprehend anything from us, at least not till our man fired the gun, and that only let them know we were able to hurt them, not giving them the least suspicion that we intended it on the contrary, one of our men played an odd prank with them, and fully satisfied them that we would do them no harm: this man having seen one of their children, a little laughing speechless creature of about two years old, the mother having gone from it a little way on some particular occasion, the fellow took it and led it home to the tent, and kept it there all night. The next morning he dressed it up with beads

all this while spoke not one word. When the crying had given sufficient vent to her passion, then she fell a dancing, and making a strange odd noise that we cannot describe; and, at last, she leaves the child and comes back to the place where our men were, and to the man that brought her the child, and as soon as she came up to him she fell flat on the ground, as I have described above, the queen and her women did, and up again immediately, and thus she did three times, which it seems was her acknowledgment to him for bringing it back.

The next day, for her gratitude did not end here, she came down to our tent, and brought with her two sheep, with a great back-burthen of roots, of the kind which I said they steeped in the water; and several fruits of the country, as much as two men, who came with her, could carry; and these she gave all to the man that had brought back her child. Our men were so moved at the affectionate carriage of this por woman to her child, that they told me it brought tears out of their eyes.

They took her present, but the man that received it took the woman and dressed her up as almost as he had done the child, and she went home like a kind of a queen among them.

We observed, while we stayed here, that this was a most incomparable soil, that the earth was a fat loomy mould, that the herbage was strong. that the grass, in some places, was very rank and good, being as high as our mid-thigh; and that the air was neither very hot, nor, as we believe, i very cold; we made an experiment of the fruitfulness of the soil, for we took some white peas, and digging the ground up with a spade, we sowed some, and before we went away we saw

them come out of the ground again, which was in about nine days.

We made signs to the people that they should let them grow, and that if they gathered them, they were good to eat. We also sowed some English wheat, and let them know, as well as we could, what the use of them both was. But I make no doubt but they have been better acquainted with them both by this time, by an occasion which followed.

Our men were so fond of this place, and so pleased with the temper of the people, the fruitfulness of the soil, and agreeableness of the climate, that about twenty of them offered me, if I would give them my word to come again, or send to them to relieve and supply them with necessaries, they would go on shore and begin a colony, and live all their days there. Nay, after this, their number came up to three-and-thirty: or they offered, that if I would give them the sloop, and leave with them a quantity of goods, especially such toys as they knew would oblige the people to use them well, they would stay at all hazards, not doubting, as they told me, but they should come to England again at last, with the sloop full of gold.

I was not very willing to encourage either of these proposals; because, as I told them, I might perhaps find a place as fit to settle a colony in before we came home, which was not at such an excessive distance from England, so that it was scarce possible ever to relieve them. This satisfled them pretty well, and they were content to give over the project; and yet, at last, which was more preposterous than all the rest, five of our men and a boy ran away from us, and went on shore, and what sort of life they led, or how they manage, we are scarce ever likely to know, for they are too far off us to inquire after them again. They took a small yaul with them, and, it seems, had furnished themselves privately with some necessary things, especially tools, a grindstone, a barrel of powder, some peas, some wheat, and some barley; so that, it seems they are resolved to plant there. I confess I pitied them, and when I had searched for them, and could not find them, I caused a letter to be written to them, and fixed it up upon a post, at the place where our ship careened, and another on the south side, to tell them, that in such a certain place I had left other necessaries for them, which I did, made up in a large case of boards, or planks, and covered with boards, like a shed.

Here I left them hammocks for lodging, all sorts of tools for building them a house, spades, shovels, pickaxes, an axe, two saws, with clothes, shoes, stockings, hats, shirts, and, in a word, everything that I could think of for their use, and a large box of toys, beads, &c., to oblige the trade with the natives.

One of our men, whom they had made privy to their design, but made him promise not to reveal it till they were gone, had told them that he would persuade me, if he could, to leave them a further supply, and bid them come to the place, after the ships were gone, and that they should find directions left for them on a piece of a board, or a letter from him, set up upon a post. Thus they were well furnished with all things for immediate living.

I make no doubt but they came to find these things; and since they had a mind to make trial of a wild retired life, they might shift very well; nor would they want anything but Englishwomen to raise a new nation of English people, in a part of the world that belongs neither to Europe, Asia, Africa, or America. I also left them every man another gun, a cutlass, and a horn for powder, and I left two barrels of fine powder, and two pigs of lead for shot, in another chest by itself.

I doubt not but the natives will bestow wives upon them, but what sort of a posterity they will make I cannot foresee. For I do not find by enquiry that the fellows had any great store of knowledge or religion in them, being all Madagascar men, as we called them, that is to say, pirates and rogues; so that for aught I know, there may be a generation of English heathens in an age or two more, though I left them five Bibles, and six or seven Prayer-books, and good books of several sorts, that they might not want instruction, if they thought fit to make use of it for themselves or their progeny.

It is true this is a country that is most remote from us of any in the yet discovered world, and consequently it would be suggested as unprofitable to our commerce; but I have something to allege in its defence which will prove it to be infinitely more advantageous to England than any of our East India trade can be, or that can be pretended for it: the reason is plain in a few words; our East India trade is all carried on, or most of it, by an exportation of bullion in specie, and a return of foreign manufactures or produce, and most of these manufactures, also, either trifling and unnecessary in themselves, or such as are injurious to our own manufactures The solid goods brought from India, which may be said to be necessary to us, and worth sending our money for, are but few; for example:

I. The returns which I reckon trifling and unnecessary are such as china ware, coffee, tea, japan works, pictures, fans, screens, &c.

II. The returns that are injurious to our manufactures, or growth of our own country are printed calicoes, chintz, wrought silks, stuffs of herba and barks, block-tin, cotton, arrack, copper, indigo.

III. The necessary or useful things are pepper, saltpetre, dying-woods and dying-earthis, drugs, lacs, such as shellac, stick-lac, &c., diamonds, and some pearl, and raw silk.

For all these we carry nothing or very little but money, the innumerable nations of the Indies, China, &c., despising our manufactures, and filling us with their own.

On the contrary, the people in the southern unknown countries, being first of all very nume. rous, and living in a temperate climate, which requires clothing, and having no manufactures, or materials for manufactures of their own, would consequently take off a very great quantity of English woollen manufactures, especially when civilized by our dwelling among them, and taught the manner of clothing themselves for their ease and convenience; and in return for these manufactures, it is evident we should have gold in specie, and perhaps spices, the best merchandise and return in the world.

I need say no more to excite adventurous heads || S. S. E., we reached the former latitude, where to search out a country by which such an im- we had been; and meeting with nothing remark. provement might be made, and which would be able, we steered a little farther to the eastward, such an increase of, or addition to, the wealth and but keeping a southerly course still, till we came commerce of our country. into the latitude of forty-one; and then going due east, with the wind at N. and by W., we reckoned our meridian distance from the Ladrones to be fifty degrees and a half.

This is the true ocean called the South Sea; that part that we corruptly call so, can be so in no geographical account, or by any rule, but by the mere imposition of custom, it being only originally called so, because they that sailed to it. We went in, however, and after we were