Leaving Horn Island on the 1st of June, they saw no other land till the 21st, when they made towards a very low island bearing S.S.W. by W. from them, in lat. 4° 47' S. near which were several sands stretching N.W. from the land, as also three or four small islands very full of trees. Here a canoe came to the Unity, of the same odd fashion with those formerly described. The people also were much like those formerly seen, only blacker, and armed with bows and arrows, being the first they had seen among the Indians of the South Sea. These people told them, by signs, that there was more land to the westwards, where their king dwelt, and where there were good refreshments to be had. On this information, they sailed on the 22d W. and W. by N. in the lat. of 4° 45' S. and saw that day at least twelve or thirteen islands close together, lying W.S.W. from them, and reaching S.E. and N.W. about half a league, but they left these to larboard. The 24th, the wind being S. they saw three low islands to larboard, S.W. of their course, one of them very small, the other two being each two miles long, all very full of trees, to which they gave the name of Green Islands.[126] The shores of these islands were rugged and full of cliffs, presenting no place for anchoring, wherefore they proceeded on their voyage.
[Footnote 126: These Green Islands of Schouten are laid down in our best modern maps in lat. 4° S. and long. 205° 20' W. The other two groups mentioned at this place in the text and without names, seem to have been the Four Islands and the Nine Islands of Carteret, to the S.E. of Green Islands.--E.]
On the 25th, being St John the Baptist's day, they sailed past another island, on which were seven or eight hovels, which they named St John's Island. [Lat. 3° 40' S. long. 206° 20' W.] At this time they saw some very high land to the S.W. which they thought to be the western point of New Guinea.[127] They reached this coast by noon, and sailed along, sending their boat in search of an anchorage, but no bottom could then be found. Two or three canoes filled with a barbarous people attacked the boat with slings, but were soon driven away by the muskets. These people were very black, entirely naked, and spoke a quite different language from that of the islanders they had seen hitherto. They kept fires burning on the coast all night, and some of them came lurking about the ship in their canoes; but though the Dutch, on discovering them, did every thing they could to conciliate, they would not understand any signs made for procuring provisions, but answered all with horrible noises and outcries.
[Footnote 127: This land was discovered afterwards to be separate from New Guinea, and is now named New Ireland, having another large island interposed, called New Britain.--E.]
At night, they anchored in a bay in 40 fathoms on uneven ground. About this place the country was high and verdant, and afforded a pleasant prospect, being, as they guessed, 1840 leagues west from the coast of Peru. In the morning of the 26th, three canoes came to the ship, quite full of these barbarians, being well armed after their manner, with clubs, wooden swords, and slings. The Dutch treated them kindly, giving them several toys to procure their favour; but they were not to be won by kindness, neither could they be taught good manners except by the language of the great guns: For they presently assaulted the ship with all their force, and continued till ten or twelve of them were slain by cannon-shot. They then threw themselves into the water, endeavouring to escape by swimming and diving; but they were pursued in the water by the boat, when several were knocked in the head, and three prisoners taken, besides four of their canoes, which were cut up as fuel for the use of the ship. Though these savages would not formerly understand any signs, they were now more apt, and understood that hogs and bananas were demanded in ransom for the prisoners. One wounded man was set at liberty, but the Dutch exacted ten hogs for the others. This island afforded a sort of birds that are all over bright red. North of it lay another island, of which they made no other discovery, except its position in regard to this. The Dutch concluded that these people were of the Papuas nation, because of their short hair, and because they chewed betel mixed with chalk.
In the evening of the 28th, they sailed from hence, and next day held a course to the N.W. and N.W. by N. with a shifting wind till noon, and then a calm. They had the point of the island in view till evening, though they sailed along the coast, which was full of bays and turnings, and trended N.W. and N.W. by W. This day they saw other three high islands, which lay northwards five or six miles from the greater one, being then in the latitude of 3° 20' S. The 30th in the morning, several canoes of these black Papuas came off to the ship, and being allowed to come aboard, broke certain staves over the Dutch, in sign of peace. Their canoes were more artificially made and ornamented than the others, and the people seemed more civilized and more modest, as they had the pudenda covered, which the others had not. 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° 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° 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° 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. The water here was observed to be of several colours, green, white, and yellow, perhaps occasioned by the mixture of some river, as it was far sweeter than ordinary sea water, and was full of leaves and boughs of trees, on some of which were birds, and even some crabs.
[Footnote 128: They still had the north-western end of Papua or New Guinea between them and Banda, from which they were distant at least twelve degrees of longitude.--E.]
On the 8th, continuing their course W.N.W. having a high island on the starboard, and another somewhat lower to larboard, they anchored in the afternoon in 70 fathoms on a good sandy bottom, about a cannon-shot from the land, at an island in 3° 40' S. which seemed an unhealthy place, yielding nothing of any value except a little ginger. It was inhabited by Papuas or blacks, whose ridiculous mode of dress, and their own natural deformity, made them appear little short of a kind of monsters. Hardly any of them but had something odd and strange, either in the bigness or position of their limbs. They had strings of hog's teeth hung about their necks; their noses were perforated, in which rings were fastened; their hair was frizled, and their faces very ugly. Their houses also were extremely singular, being mounted on stakes, eight or nine feet above the ground. Before noon of the 9th, they anchored in a more convenient bay, in 26 fathoms, on a bottom of sand mixed with clay. There were two villages near the shore, whence some canoes brought off hogs and cocoas, but the Indians held them at so dear a rate that the Dutch would not buy any of them.