g nor handsome, it proved exceeding useful in the sequel. On the
9th we had very bad weather, the wind shifting to every point of the
compass. This part of New Guinea appeared very mountainous, black, and
rocky, without harbour, bay, or road, in which we might anchor in
safety. The mountains seemed so bleak and barren, and the vallies so
deep and narrow, that at first we conceived the country to be
uninhabited; neither did we afterwards see any inhabitants or signs of
any. That same day we passed two small islands, each about a league in
length, which were very low, and well clothed with small green trees. At
the same time we saw part of the great island of Gilolo, at the distance
of eight leagues, and held our course W.S.W.[212] intending to pass
through between that island and New Guinea, into the East Indian Sea.

[Footnote 212: The only way of explaining this part of the text, is by
supposing Funnel may have mistaken the island of Waygoo for a part of
New Guinea, and even the N.W. point of that island is at least sixty
leagues from the S.W. leg or peninsula of Gilolo, to which the direction
of his course certainly points.--E.]

We had very bad weather till the 11th of May, and the night being very
dark, we missed the common passage, and found ourselves among many
small islands; and as the wind was at E. we resolved to look out for
some passage among these islands to the south. After infinite difficulty
and much danger, we at length made our way through a strait, which we
named _St John's Straits_, after the name of our bark. At this time we
were boarded by a large Indian proa, on board of which was a freeman of
Amboina, whom we acquainted with our great want of victuals, having had
nothing for a great while to support us except a scanty allowance of
spoilt flour and water, and so very little of that as hardly sufficed to
keep us alive. He told us, if we would go to the island of _Manissa_,
which was then in sight, he would be our pilot, where he had no doubt we
might have enough of rice for our money to carry us to Batavia. We
accordingly proceeded for Manissa, passing by the island of _Keylan_,
which is small and high, but well inhabited, and clothed with many kinds
of trees. Its chief produce is rice, and a few cloves; and on this
island there is a Dutch corporal with six soldiers, whose only business
is to see all the clove trees cut down and destroyed. From thence we
proceeded to Manissa, where we arrived about