272 
SURVEY OP THE INTERTROPICAL 
1819 . which I could compare my longitude with that 
Sept, a of Captain Baudin; and as the Peak of Peron 
Island is one of his fixed points, and is placed 
by him in 127° 34' 36", I find that my chart is in 
this part 6' 24" to the eastward. 
In order to set at rest the question of the in- 
sularity of this land, we passed within it, but not 
without difficulty, from the numerous shoals that 
are scattered over the channel. A smoke was 
seen upon the smaller island among the trees for 
a few minutes, but no people made their appear- 
ance as we passed by. The natives of this part of 
the coast were seen probably by Tasman ; for in 
Mr. Dalrymples’ Papua the following paragraph 
is found: “ In latitude 13° 8', and longitude 146° 
18' 6" E. (probably 129| E. of Greenwich, and 
answering to this part), the people are bad and 
wicked, shooting at the Dutch with arrows with- 
out provocation, when they were coming on shore. 
It is here very populous.” 
On arriving abreast of the peaked hill above- 
mentioned, a considerable shoal, connected with 
the main land, appeared to separate us from 
it; in crossing it we had three fathoms, and, as 
soon as we passed over it, the water deepened 
instantly to thirteen fathoms. We then bore up, 
and steered through the channel between the 
islands and the main, which was both narrow 
