A Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland | Page 6

making the particular map I chose to begin only with Timor, that I might not, by extending it too far, be forced to contract the scale too much among the islands, etc., of the New Guinea coast, which I chiefly designed it for.
The land by the sea on this south side is low and sandy, and full of tall straight-bodied trees like pines, for about 200 yards inwards from the shore. Beyond that, further in towards the mountains, for a breadth of about 3 miles more or less, there is a tract of swampy mangrove land which runs all along between the sandy land of the shore on one side of it, and the feet of the mountains on the other. And this low mangrove land is overflown every tide of flood by the water that flows into it through several mouths or openings in the outer sandy skirt against the sea. We came to an anchor right against one of these openings; and presently I went in my boat to search for fresh water, or get speech of the natives; for we saw smokes, houses, and plantations against the sides of the mountains, not far from us. It was ebbing water before we got ashore, though the water was still high enough to float us in without any great trouble. After we were within the mouth we found a large salt-water lake which we hoped might bring us up through the mangroves to the fast land: but before we went further I went ashore on the sandy land by the seaside, and looked about me; but saw there no sign of fresh water. Within the sandy bank the water forms a large lake: going therefore into the boat again we rowed up the lake towards the firm land, where no doubt there was fresh water, could we come at it. We found many branches of the lake entering within the mangrove land but not beyond it. Of these we left some on the right hand and some on the left, still keeping in the biggest channel; with still grew smaller, and at last so narrow that we could go no farther, ending among the swamps and mangroves. We were then within a mile of some houses of the Indian inhabitants and the firm land by the sides of the hills: but the mangroves thus stopping our way, we returned as we came: but it was almost dark before we reached the mouth of the creek. It was with much ado that we got out of it again; for it was now low-water, and there went a rough short sea on the bar; which however we passed over without any damage and went aboard.
The next morning at five we weighed and stood alongshore to the eastward, making use of the sea and land-breezes. We found the seabreezes here from the south-south-east to the south-south-west, the land-breezes from the north to the north-east. We coasted along about 20 leagues and found it all a straight, bold, even shore, without points, creeks or inlets for a ship: and there is no anchoring till within a mile or a mile and a half of the shore. We saw scarce any opening fit for our boats; and the fast land was still barricaded with mangroves; so that here was no hope to get water; nor was it likely that there should be hereabouts any European settlement, since there was no sign of a harbour.
FAULT OF THE CHARTS.
The land appeared pleasant enough to the eye: for the sides and tops of the mountains were clothed with woods mixed with savannahs; and there was a plantation of the Indian natives, where we saw the coconuts growing, and could have been glad to have come at some of them. In the chart I had with me a shoal was laid down hereabouts; but I saw nothing of it, going, or coming; and so have taken no notice of it in my map.
Weary of running thus fruitlessly along the south side of the island to the eastward I resolved to return the way I came; and compassing the west end of the island, make a search along the north side of it. The rather, because the north-north-west monsoon, which I had designed to be sheltered from by coming the way I did, did not seem to be near at hand, as the ordinary season of them required; but on the contrary I found the winds returning again to the south-eastward; and the weather was fair, and seemed likely to hold so; and consequently the north-north-west monsoon was not like to come in yet. I considered therefore that by going to the north side of the island I should there have the smooth water, as being the lee side