CANOES FROM NEW GUINEA. 213 



On the 2(3th and 27th, we were beating to wind- 

 ward, in order to weather the shoals and mud- flats 

 that extended from the coast towards the east. The 

 land was everywhere low and flat, covered with 

 trees, but seemed hereabouts to be fronted by a sand 

 beach at some places. We could make out some- 

 thing like houses occasionally at the edge of the 

 woods, and saw fires on shore at night. 



April 28. — We anchored last night in five fa- 

 thoms water, muddy bottom, and remained there 

 some time this morning, waiting for the Prince 

 George and the Midge to come up. The coast was 

 quite flat, with a great line of cocoa-nuts and other 

 palms running along the beach, which appeared to 

 be sandy. Several large openings or gaps in the 

 shore were remarked, up the widest of which no 

 land could be seen from the mast-head. The water 

 was so shoal inshore of us, that we were compelled 

 to keep at a distance of eight or ten miles from the 

 land. Canoes were reported inshore, and three of 

 them came out towards us. These canoes were 

 rather small, and had an outrigger on one side only, 

 differing in this respect from those of the islands of 

 Torres Strait. One of the canoes had sixteen men 

 in it, another six, and another four. They ap- 

 proached us very cautiously, and only one came 

 within hail. We then tried them with Erroob words, 

 such as " poud ,J (peace), " boonarrce " (cocoa-nuts), 

 " toorcc" (iron), which they appeared to understand. 

 They held up cocoa-nuts, and 1 believe mentioned 



