a shoal-point, stretching from the land into the sea, a league or more.
The sea broke high on it; by which I saw plainly there was a shoal
there. I stood farther off, and coasted along shore, to about seven or
eight leagues distance; and at 12 a clock at night we sounded, and had
but twenty fathom, hard sand. By this I found I was upon another shoal,
and so presently steered off W. half an hour, and had then forty fathom.
At one in the morning of the 18th day, we had eighty-five fathom: by two
we could find no ground; and then I ventured to steer along shore again,
due N., which is two points wide of the coast (that lies N. N. E.) for
fear of another shoal. I would not be too far off from the land, being
desirous to search into it wherever I should find an opening, or any
convenience of searching about for water, etc. When we were off the
shoal-point I mention’d where we had but twenty fathom-water, we had in
the night abundance of whales about ship, some a-head, others a-stern,
and some on each side blowing and making a very dismal noise; but when
we came out again into deeper water they left us. Indeed, the noise that
they made by blowing and dashing of the sea with their tails, making it
all of a breach and foam, was very dreadful to us, like the breach of
the waves in very shoal-water, or among rocks. The shoal these whales
were upon had a depth of water sufficient, no less than twenty fathom,
as I said; and it lies in latitude 22° 22´. The shore was generally bold
all along; we had met with no shoal at sea since the Abrohlo-shoal, when
we first fell on the New Holland coast in the latitude of 28°, till
yesterday in the afternoon, and this night. This morning also, when we
expected by the draught we had with us, to have been eleven leagues off
shore, we were but four; so that either our draughts were faulty, which
yet hitherto and afterwards we found true enough as to the lying of the
coast; or else here was a tide unknown to us that deceived us; tho’ we
had found very little of any tide on this coast hitherto. As to our
winds in the coasting thus far, as we had been within the verge of the
general trade (tho’ interrupted by the storm I mentioned) from the
latitude of 28°, when we first fell in with the coast: and by that time
we were in the latitude of 25°; we had usually the regular trade-wind
(which is here S. S. E.), when we were at any distance from shore: but
we had often sea and land breezes, especially when near shore, and when
in Shark’s Bay; and had a particular N. west wind, or storm, that set us
in thither. On this 18 of August, we coasted with a brisk gale of the
true trade-wind at S.S.E., very fair and clear weather; but haling off
in the evening to sea, were next morning out of sight of land; and the
land now trending away N. easterly, and we being to the northward of it,
and the wind also shrinking from the S. S. E. to the E. S. E. (that is,
from the true trade-wind to the sea-breeze, as the land now lay); we
could not get in with the land again yet a-while, so as to see it, tho’
we trim’d sharp and kept close on a wind. We were this 19th day, in
latitude 21° 42´. The 20th, we were in latitude 19° 37´, and kept close
on a wind to get sight of the land again, but could not get to see it.
We had very fair weather; and tho’ we were so far from the land as to be
out of sight of it, yet we had the sea and land-breezes. In the night we
had the land-breeze at S. S. E. a small gentle gale; which in the
morning about sun-rising would shift about gradually (and withal
increasing in strength), till about noon we should have it at E. S. E.
which is the true sea-breeze here. Then it would blow a brisk gale, so
that we could scarce carry our top-sails double rift; and it would
continue thus to three in the afternoon, when it would decrease again.
The weather was fair all the while, not a cloud to be seen; but very
hazy, especially nigh the horizon. We sounded several times this 20th
day, and at first had no ground; but had afterwards from fifty-two to
forty-five fathom, coarse brown sand, mixt with small brown and white
stones, with dints besides in the tallow.
The 21st day, also, we had small land-breezes in the night, and
sea-breezes in the day: and as we saw some sea-snakes every day, so this
day we saw a great many, of two different sorts or shapes. One sort was
yellow, and about the bigness of a man’s wrist, about four foot long,
having a flat tail about four fingers broad. The other sort was much
smaller and shorter, round and spotted, black and yellow. This day we
sounded several times, and had forty-five fathom, sand. We did not make
the land till noon, and then saw it first from our top-mast head. It
bore S. E. by E. about nine leagues distance, and it appeared like a
cape or head of land. The sea-breeze this day was not so strong as the
day before, and it veered out more; so that we had a fair wind to run in
with to the shore, and at sunset anchored in twenty fathom, clean sand,
about five leagues from the bluff point; which was not a cape (as it
appear’d at a great distance, but the easternmost end of an island,
about) five or six leagues in length and one in breadth. There were
three or four rocky islands about a league from us, between us and the
bluff point; and we saw many other islands both to the east and west of
it, as far as we could see either way from our topmast-head: and all
within them to the S. there was nothing but islands of a pretty heighth,
that may be seen eight or nine leagues off. By what we saw of them they
must have been a range of islands of about twenty leagues in length,
stretching from E. N. E. to W. S. W. and for ought I know, as far as to
those of Shark’s Bay; and to a considerable breadth also (for we could
see nine or ten leagues in among them) towards the continent or main
land of New Holland, if there be any such thing hereabouts: and by the
great tides I met with a while afterwards, more to the N. east; I had a
strong suspicion that here might be a kind of archipelago of islands,
and a passage possibly to the S. of New Holland and New Guinea into the
great S. sea eastward; which I had thoughts also of attempting in my
return from new Guinea (had circumstances permitted), and told my
officers so: but I could not attempt it at this time, because we wanted
water, and could not depend upon finding it there. This place is in the
latitude of 20° 21´, but in the draught that I had of this coast, which
was Tasman’s, it was laid down in 19° 50´, and the shore is laid down as
all along joining in one body or continent, with some openings appearing
like rivers; and not like islands, as really they are. See several
sights of it. This place lies more northerly by 40´ than is laid down in
Mr. Tasman’s draught: and beside its being made a firm continued land,
only with some openings like the mouths of rivers, I found the soundings
also different from what the prick’d line of this course shows them, and
generally shallower than he makes them; which inclines me to think that
he came not so near the shore as his line shews, and so had deeper
soundings, and could not so well distinguish the islands. His meridian
or difference of longitude from Shark’s Bay agrees well enough with my
account, which is two hundred and thirty-two leagues tho’ we differ in
latitude. And to confirm my conjecture that the line of his course is
made too near the shore, at least not far to the east of this place, the
water is there so shallow that he could not come there so high.
But to proceed; in the night we had a small land breeze, and in the
morning I weighed anchor, designing to run in among the islands, for
they had large channels between them, of a league wide at least, and
some two or three leagues wide. I sent in my boat before to sound, and
if they found shoal water to return again; but if they found water
enough, to go ashore on one of the islands, and stay till the ship came
in: where they might in the mean time search for water. So we followed
after with the ship, sounding as we went in, and had twenty fathoms,
till within two leagues of the Bluff head, and then we had shoal water,
and very uncertain soundings: yet we ran in still with an easy sail,
sounding and looking out well, for this was dangerous work. When we came
abreast of the Bluff head, and about two mile from it, we had but seven
fathom: then we edg’d away from it, but had no more water; and running
in a little farther, we had but four fathoms; so we anchored
immediately; and yet when we had veered out the third of a cable, we had
seven fathom water again; so uncertain was the water. My boat came
immediately aboard, and told me that the island was very rocky and dry,
and they had little hopes of finding water there. I sent them to sound,
and bade them, if they found a channel of eight or ten fathom water, to
keep on and we would follow with the ship. We were now about four
leagues within the outer small rocky islands, but still could see
nothing but islands within us; some five or six leagues long, others not
above a mile round. The large islands were pretty high; but all appeared
dry, and mostly rocky and barren. The rocks look’d of a rusty yellow
colour, and therefore I despaired of getting water on any of them; but
was in some hopes of finding a channel to run in beyond all these
islands, could I have spent time here, and either get to the main of New
Holland, or find out some other islands that might afford us water and
some other refreshments: besides, that among so many islands, we might
have found some sort of rich mineral, or ambergreece, it being a good
latitude for both of these. But we had not sailed above a league farther
before our water grew shoaler again, and then we anchored in six fathom
hard land.
We were now on the inner side of the island, on whose outside is the
Bluff-point. We rode a league from the island, and I presently went
ashore, and carried shovels to dig for water, but found none. There grew
here two or three sorts of shrubs, one just like rosemary; and therefore
I called this Rosemary Island. It grew in great plenty here, but had no
smell. Some of the other shrubs had blue and yellow flowers; and we
found two sorts of grain like beans: the one grew on bushes; the other
on a sort of a creeping vine that runs along on the ground, having very
thick broad leaves, and the blossom like a bean blossom, but much
larger, and of a deep red colour, looking very beautiful. We saw here
some Cormorants, Gulls, Crabcatchers, etc., a few small land birds, and
a sort of white Parrots, which flew a great many together. We found some
shell fish, viz., limpits, perriwinkles, and abundance of small oysters
growing on the rocks, which were very sweet. In the sea we saw some
green turtle, a pretty many sharks, and abundance of water snakes of
several sorts and sizes. The stones were all of rusty colour, and
ponderous.
We saw a smoak on an island three or four leagues off; and here also the
bushes had been burned, but we found no other sign of inhabitants: ’twas
probable that on the island where the smoak was there was inhabitants,
and fresh water for them. In the evening I went aboard, and consulted
with my officers whether it was best to send thither, or to search among
any other of these islands with my boat; or else go from thence, and
coast along shore with the ship, till we could find some better place
than this was to ride in, where we had shoal water, and lay exposed to
winds and tides. They all agreed to go from hence; so I gave orders to
weigh in the morning as soon as it should be light, and to get out with
the land breeze.
Accordingly, August the 23rd, at five in the morning, we ran out, having
a pretty fresh land breeze at S.S.E. By eight o’clock we were got out,
and very seasonably, for before nine the sea breeze came on us very
strong, and increasing, we took in our topsails and stood off under two
courses and a mizen, this being as much sail as we could carry. The sky
was clear, there being not one cloud to be seen; but the horizon
appeared very hazy, and the sun at setting the night before, and this
morning at rising, appeared very red. The wind continued very strong
till twelve, then it began to abate: I have seldom met with a stronger
breeze. These strong sea breezes lasted thus in their turns three or
four days. They sprung up with the sunrise; by nine a clock they were
very strong, and so continued till noon, when they began to abate; and
by sunset there was little wind, or a calm till the land breezes came;
which we should certainly have in the morning about one or two a clock.
The land breezes were between the S.S.W. and S.S.E. In the night while
calm, we fish’d with hook and line, and caught good store of fish, viz.,
snappers, breams, old wives and dog fish. When these last came we seldom
caught any others; for if they did not drive away the other fish, yet
they would be sure to keep them from taking our hooks, for they would
first have them themselves, biting very greedily. We caught also a
monk-fish, of which I brought home the picture.
On the 25th of August, we still coasted along shore, that we might the
better see any opening; kept sounding, and had about twenty fathom clean
sand. The 26th day, being about four leagues off shore, the water began
gradually to sholden from twenty to fourteen fathom. I was edging in a
little towards the land, thinking to have anchored; but presently after
the water decreas’d almost at once, till we had but five fathoms. I
durst therefore adventure no farther, but steer’d out the same way that
we came in; and in a short time had ten fathom (being then about four
leagues and a half from the shore) and even soundings. I steer’d away
E.N.E. coasting along as the land lies. This day the sea breezes began
to be very moderate again, and we made the best of our way along the
shore, only in the night edging off a little for fear of sholes. Ever
since we left Shark’s Bay we had fair clear weather, and so for a great
while still.
The 27th day we had twenty fathom water all night, yet we could not see
land till one in the afternoon, from our topmast-head. By three we could
just discern land from our quarter deck; we had then sixteen fathom. The
wind was N. and we steer’d E. by N. which is but one point in on the
land; yet we decreas’d our water very fast; for at four we had but nine
fathom; the next cast but seven, which frighted us; and we then tackt
instantly and stood off: but in a short time the wind coming at N.W. and
W.N.W. we tackt again and steer’d N.N.E. and then deepned our water
again, and had all night from fifteen to twenty fathom.
The 28th day we had between twenty and forty fathom. We saw no land this
day, but saw a great many snakes and some whales. We saw also some
boobies, and noddy-birds; and in the night caught one of these last. It
was of another shape and colour than any I had seen before. It had a
small long bill, as all of them have, flat feet like ducks’ feet; its
tail forked like a swallow, but longer and broader, and the fork deeper
than that of the swallow, with very long wings; the top or crown of the
head of this noddy was coal black, having also black streaks round about
and close to the eyes; and round these streaks on each side, a pretty
broad white circle. The breast, belly, and under-part of the wings of
this noddy were white; and the back and upper-part of its wings of a
faint black or smoak colour. Noddies are seen in most places between the
tropicks, as well as in the East Indies, and on the coast of Brazil, as
in the West Indies. They rest ashore a nights, and therefore we never
see them far at sea, not above twenty or thirty leagues, unless driven
off in a storm; when they come about a ship they commonly perch in the
night, and will sit still till they are taken by the seamen. They build
on cliffs against the sea, or rocks, as I have said.
The 30th day, being in latitude 18° 21´, we made the land again, and saw
many great smoaks near the shore; and having fair weather and moderate
breezes, I steer’d in towards it. At four in the afternoon I anchor’d in
eight fathom water, clear sand, about three leagues and a half from the
shore. I presently sent my boat to sound nearer in, and they found ten
fathom about a mile farther in; and from thence still farther in the
water decreased gradually to nine, eight, seven, and two mile distance
to six fathom. This evening we saw an eclipse of the moon, but it was
abating before the moon appear’d to us; for the horizon was very hazy,
so that we could not see the moon till she had been half an hour above
the horizon: and at two hours, twenty-two minutes after sunset, by the
reckoning of our glasses, the eclipse was quite gone, which was not of
many digits. The moon’s center was then 33° 40´ high.
The 31st of August betimes in the morning, I went ashore with ten or
eleven men to search for water. We went armed with muskets and cutlasses
for our defence, expecting to see people there; and carried also shovels
and pickaxes to dig wells. When we came near the shore we saw three tall
black naked men on the sandy bay a-head of us: but as we row’d in, they
went away. When we were landed, I sent the boat with two men in her to
lie a little from the shore at an anchor, to prevent being seized; while
the rest of us went after the three black men, who were now got on the
top of a small hill, about a quarter of a mile from us, with eight or
nine men more in their company. They seeing us coming, ran away. When we
came on the top of the hill where they first stood, we saw a plain
savannah, about half a mile from us, farther in from the sea. There were
several things like hay cocks, standing in the savannah; which at a
distance we thought were houses, looking just like the Hottentots’
houses at the cape of Good Hope: but we found them to be so many rocks.
We searched about these for water, but could find none, nor any houses;
nor people, for they were all gone. Then we turned again to the place
where we landed, and there we dug for water.
While we were at work, there came nine or ten of the natives to a small
hill a little way from us, and stood there menacing and threatning of
us, and making a great noise. At last one of them came towards us, and
the rest followed at a distance. I went out to meet him, and came within
fifty yards of him, making to him all the signs of peace and friendship
I could; but then he ran away, neither would they any of them stay for
us to come nigh them, for we tried two or three times. At last I took
two men with me, and went in the afternoon along by the sea side
purposely to catch one of them, if I could, of whom I might learn where
they got their fresh water. There were ten or twelve of the natives a
little way off, who seeing us three going away from the rest of our men,
followed us at a distance. I thought they would follow us; but there
being for a while a sandbank between us and them, that they could not
then see us, we made a halt, and hid ourselves in a bending of the
sandbank. They knew we must be thereabouts, and being three or four
times our number, thought to seize us. So they dispers’d themselves,
some going to the sea shore, and others beating about the sand hills. We
knew by what rencounter we had had with them in the morning that we
could easily outrun them; so a nimble young man that was with me, seeing
some of them near, ran towards them, and they for some time ran away
before him. But he soon overtaking them, they faced about and fought
him. He had a cutlass and they had wooden lances, with which, being many
of them, they were too hard for him. When he first ran towards them, I
chas’d two more that were by the shore; but fearing how it might be with
my young man, I turn’d back quickly and went up to the top of a
sandhill, whence I saw him near me closely engaged with them. Upon their
seeing me one of them threw a lance at me, that narrowly miss’d me. I
discharg’d my gun to scare them, but avoided shooting any of them; till
finding the young man in great danger from them, and myself in some; and
that tho’ the gun had a little frighted them at first, yet they had soon
learnt to despise it, tossing up their heads and crying “Pooh, pooh,
pooh,” and coming on afresh with a great noise; I thought it high time
to charge again and shoot one of them, which I did. The rest seeing him
fall made a stand again, and my young man took the opportunity to
disengage himself and come off to me; my other man also was with me, who
had done nothing all this while, having come out unarm’d; and I returned
back with my men, designing to attempt the natives no farther, being
very sorry for what had happened already. They took up their wounded
companion, and my young man, who had been struck through the cheek by
one of their lances, was afraid it had been poison’d, but I did not
think that likely. His wound was very painful to him, being made with a
blunt weapon; but he soon recover’d of it.
Among the N. Hollanders whom we were thus engaged with, there was one
who by his appearance and carriage, as well in the morning as this
afternoon, seem’d to be the chief of them, and a kind of prince or
captain among them. He was a young brisk man, not very tall, nor so
personable as some of the rest, tho’ more active and couragious: he was
painted (which none of the rest were at all) with a circle of white
paste or pigment (a sort of lime, as we thought) about his eyes, and a
white streak down his nose from his forehead to the tip of it. And his
breast and some part of his arms were also made white with the same
paint; not for beauty or ornament one would think, but as some wild
Indian warriors are said to do, he seem’d thereby to design the looking
more terrible; this his painting added very much to his natural
deformity, for they all of them have the most unpleasant looks and the
worst features of any people that ever I saw, tho’ I have seen great
variety of savages. These New Hollanders were probably the same sort of
people as those I met with on this coast in my voyage round the world
(see vol. i, p. 464, etc.); for the place I then touched at was not
above forty or fifty leagues to the N.E. of this: and these were much
the same blinking creatures (here being also abundance of the same kind
of flesh-flies teizing them), and with the same black skins, and hair
frizled, tall and thin, etc., as those were: but we had not the
opportunity to see whether these, as the former, wanted two of their
fore-teeth.
We saw a great many places where they had made fires, and where there
were commonly three or four boughs stuck up to the windward of them; for
the wind (which is the sea breeze) in the daytime blows always one way
with them, and the land breeze is but small. By their fireplaces we
should always find great heaps of fish shells of several sorts; and ’tis
probable that these poor creatures here lived chiefly on the shell fish,
as those I before describ’d did on small fish, which they caught in
wires or holes in the sand at low water. These gather’d their shell fish
on the rocks at low water, but had no wires (that we saw) whereby to get
any other sorts of fish: as among the former I saw not any heaps of
shells as here, though I know they also gather’d some shell fish. The
lances also of those were such as these had; however, they being upon an
island, with their women and children, and all in our power, they did
not there use them against us as here on the continent, where we saw
none but some of the men under head, who come out purposely to observe
us. We saw no houses at either place; and I believe they have none,
since the former people on the island had none, tho’ they had all their
families with them.
Upon returning to my men I saw that tho’ they had dug eight or nine foot
deep, yet found no water. So I return’d aboard that evening, and the
next day, being September 1st, I sent my boatswain ashore to dig deeper,
and sent the sain with him to catch fish. While I staid aboard I
observed the flowing of the tide, which runs very swift here, so that
our nun-buoy would not bear above the water to be seen. It flows here
(as on that part of N. Holland I described formerly) about five fathom;
and here the flood runs S.E. by S. till the last quarter; then it sets
right in towards the shore (which lies here S.S.W. and N.N.E.) and the
ebb runs N.W. by N. When the tides slackned we fish’d with hook and
line, as we had already done in several places on this coast, on which
in this voyage hitherto we had found but little tides; but by the
heighth, and strength, and course of them hereabouts, it should seem
that if there be such a passage or streight going through eastward to
the great South Sea, as I said one might suspect, one would expect to
find the mouth of it somewhere between this place and Rosemary Island,
which was the part of New Holland I came last from.