1767- coaft we faw no figns o f inhabitants; the land is o f a flu-
'---- .---- 1 pendous height, with mountains piled upon mountains till
the fummits are hidden in the clouds: in the offing therefore
it is almoft impoffible to eftimate its diftance, for what
appear then to be fmall hillocks, juft emerging from the
water, in eomparifon o f the mountains that are feen over
them, fwell into high hills as they are approached, and the
idiftance is found to be thrice as much as it was imagined;
perhaps this will account for the land here being fo ill laid
down, and in fituations fo very different as it appears to be in
all our Engliffi charts. We found here a ftrong current
fetting to the fouthward along the ffiore, as the land trended.
The high land that is to the north o f Saint Auguftina, becomes
gradually lower towards the Cape, a low flat point in
which it terminates, and off which, at a very little diftance,
lie two large rocks. Its latitude is 6° 13' N. and the longitude
by account 127'° 20' E.
From this Cape the land trends away W. and W. by S. for
-fix or feven leagues, and then turns up to the N. W. making
a very deep bay, the bottom o f which, as we croffed it from
Saint Auguftina to the high land on the other fide, which is
not lefs than twelve leagues, we could not fee. The coaft
on the farther fide of it, coming up from the bottom, trends
firft to the S. and S.S.W. and then to the S.W. by W. towards
the fouth extremity of the ifland.
Off this fouthern extremity, which Dam pier calls the
fouth eaft by miftake, the fputh eaft being Saint Auguftina,
at the diftance o f five, fix, and feven leagues, lie ten or twelve
iflands, though Dampier fays there are only two, and that
together they are about five leagues round. The.iflands
that I faw could not be contained in a circuit of lefs than
fifteen leagues, and from the number of boats that I faw
5 among
1767. November.
among them I imagine they are well inhabited. The large®
o f thefe lies to the S.W. o f the others, and makes in a re- -
markable peak, fo that it is firft feen in coming in with the
land, and is indeed vifible at a very great diftance. Its latitude
I make 5° 24'N. and its longitude by account raG* 37'E.
This ifland, which I called H u m m o c k I s l a n d , bears from Hummock
Saint Auguftina S. 40 W. at the diftance o f between twenty
and two and twenty leagues ; and from the fame Cape, the
fouthermoft part of the ifland Mindanao bears S.W. W. at
the diftance o f between twenty-one and twenty-three'
leagues. This fouthermoft extremity confifts o f three or
four points, which bear eaft and weft of each other for
about feven miles'. They lie in latitude 5° 34'N„ longitude
126° 2 5 'E. according to my account. The variation here'
was one point eaft.
I paffed between thefe iflands and the main, and found
the paflage good, the current fetting. to the weftward. Dam-
pier has placed his Bay and Savannah four leagues N. W.
from the eaftermoft ifland, and there I fought it, as indeed
I did on all the S. E. part o f the ifland till we came to the'
little creek which ran up to the town.-
All the fouthern part o f Mindanao is extremely pleafant,
with many fpots where the woods had been cleared for
plantations, and fine lawns o f a beautiful verdure: this part
alfo is well inhabited, as well as the neighbouring iflands;
Of the town I can give no account, as the weather was fo
thick that I could not fee i t ; neither could I fufficiently dif-
tinguifh the land to let off the points, at which I was not a
little mortified.
When I came to open the land to the weftward of the
fouthermoft point, I found it trend from that point W. N.W.
and N. W. by W. forming, firft a point at the diftance o f
about
■ M