33 AUSTRALIA TO SAVU ISLAND CHAP, xiv 



which was a great appearance of salt-water creeks and many 

 mangroves. In parts, however, were many cocoanut trees. 

 Close down to the beach the flat land seemed to extend in 

 some places two or three miles before the rise of the first 

 hill. We saw no appearance of plantations or houses near 

 the sea, but the land looked most fertile, and from the many 

 fires we saw in different parts we could not help having a 

 good opinion of its population. 



1 4:th. Infinite albecores and bonitos were about the ship, 

 attended, as they always are when near land, by some 

 species of Sterna. These were Dampier's New Holland 

 noddies, which flew in large flocks, hovering over the shoals 

 of fish. Many man-of-war birds also attended, and enter- 

 tained us by very frequently stooping at albecores so large 

 that twenty times their strength could not have lifted them, 

 had they been dexterous enough to seize them, which they 

 never once effected. 



1 5th. About a mile up from the beach began the plantations, 

 and houses almost innumerable standing under the shade of 

 large groves of palms, appearing like the fan-palm (Borassus). 

 The plantations, which were in general enclosed with some 

 kind of fence, reached almost to the top of the hills, but 

 near the beach were no certain marks of habitations seen. 

 But what surprised us most was that, notwithstanding all 

 these indisputable marks of a populous country, we saw 

 neither people nor any kind of cattle stirring all the day, 

 though our glasses were almost continually employed. 



16th. Soon after breakfast the small island of Eotte was 

 in sight, and a little later the opening appeared plainly, 

 which at last convinced our old unbelievers that the island 

 we had so long been off was really Timor. Soon after dinner 

 we passed the straits. Eotte was not mountainous or high 

 like Timor, but consisted of hills and vales. On the east 

 end of it some of our people saw houses, but I did not. The 

 north side had many sandy beaches, near which grew some 

 of the fan-palms, but the greater part was covered with a 

 kind of bushy tree which had few or no leaves. The straits 

 between Timor and the island called by Dampier Anabao we 



