nk, when they shook their heads as if by way of denial. Seeing us
proceeding towards the island, one of the men in the boat blew a horn,
on which all the other boats made boldly towards us; and thinking they
meant to board us, we fired a junket over their heads to intimidate
them, at the noise of which they seemed much surprised and drew back,
menacing us at a distance with their paddles, and still following.
Seeing such multitudes on the shore, and finding we could have nothing
from them but by force, and besides not having anchors and cables on
which we could depend, or any boat in which to land, we concluded that
we could do no good here; and on examining our water, which was found
sufficient for eighteen days, at a quart each man daily, we resolved to
quit these islands, and trust to Providence for guiding us to some more
friendly place, where we might supply our wants. So we left these
islands, naming the westermost the Island of _Disappointment_, because
we made certain of procuring water here, but could not.

These three islands were all low, flat, and almost even with the water,
yet full of trees of various sorts, all very green and flourishing; and
doubtless, if we had possessed a boat, we must have found something
beneficial to ourselves, perhaps useful to our country, as we might also
at several other islands which we afterwards passed. The inhabitants of
most of these islands were a very large and strong-boned race of men,
having long black lank hair reaching to their middles, and were all
entirely naked, not so much as covering their parts of shame; and I
certainly never saw such, a parcel of stout-limbed men together in all
my life. These islands, therefore, are abundantly peopled, though they
were utterly averse from any communication with us, perhaps from a
notion that all whites are Spaniards; and yet it is not quite clear that
even the Spaniards have ever attempted to form a settlement at any of
these islands.

We left these islands with a fresh breeze at E. steering S.W. and
continually met with weeds and grass on our way, which made us believe
we were not far from land, yet we had no ground with 100 fathoms. Early
in the morning of the 9th May, we descried the coast of New Guinea, more
than eighteen or nineteen leagues distant. We now saw the necessity of
constructing a boat, with a few old boards and such other materials as
we had, though not quite suitable for the purpose; and though neither
stron