November. eXpe<fted was Siven» ^ returned it by firing a mufquet over
them’ and they immediately dropped a-ftern and left us,
perhaps rather fatisfied with having given a tell of their courage
by twice infulting a veflel fo much fuperior to their
own, than intimidated by the fhot.
At half an hour after ten, we palled between a low flat ifland
and the main: the diftance from one to the other was about
four miles, and the depth of water from ten to twelve fathom.
The main land between this flat ifland and Mowto-
hora is of a moderate height, but level, pretty clear of
wood, and full of plantations and villages. The villages,
which were larger than any we had yet feen, were built
upon eminences near the fea, and fortified on the land fide
by a bank and ditch, with a high paling within it, which was
carried all round: befideabank, ditch, and pallifadoes, fome
o f them appeared to have out-works. Tupia had a notion
that the fmall inclofures of pallifadoes, and a ditch that we
had feen before, were Morais or places of worfhip; but we
were: of opinion that they were forts, and concluded that
thefe people had neighbouring enemies, and were always
expofed to lioftile attacks.’
At two o’clock we paired a fmall high ifland, lying four
miles from a high round head upon the main. From this
head the land trends N. W. as far as can be feen, and has a
rugged and hilly appearance. As the weather was hazy,
and the wind blew frefh on the fhore, we hauled off for the
weathermoft ifland in fight, which bore from us N. N. E.
diftant about fix or feven leagues.
Under this ifland, which I have called the M a y o r , we
Friday 3. flpent the night. At feven in the morning it bore S. 47 E.
diftant fix leagues, and a duller of fmall iflands and rocks'
boreN.iE. diftant one league, to which I gave the name of
the
the C o u r t o f A l d e r m e n . They lie in the compafs of about
half a league every way, and five leagues from the main,
between which and them lie other iflands, mod of them,
barren rocks, of which there is great variety: fome o f them
are as fmall in compafs as the Monument o f London, but rife
to a much greater height, and fome of them are inhabited.
They lie in latitude 36° 57', and at noon bore S. 60 E. diftant
three or four leagues j and a rock like a caftle, lying not far
from the main, bore N. 40 W. at the diftance of one league..
The country that we palled the night before, appeared to be
well inhabited; many towns were in fight, and fome hundreds
of large canoes lay under them upon the beach ; but
this day, after having failed about fifteen leagues, it appeared
to be barren and defolate. As far as we had yet
coafted this country from Cape Turnagain, the people ac-
knowledged one'Chief, whom they called T e r a t u , and to
whofe refidence they pointed, in a direction that we thought
to be very far inland, but afterwards found to be otherwife.
About one o’clock three canoes came off to us- from the
main, with one and twenty men on board. The canftruc-
tion of thefe veffels appeared to be more Ample than that of
any we had feen, they being nothing more than trunks of a
Angle tree hollowed by fire, without any convenience or ornament.
The people on board were almoft. naked,. and. appeared
to be of a browner complexipn ; yet naked and.
defpicable as they were, they fung their fong of defiance,
and feemed to denounce againft us inevitable deftrudtion:
they remained, however, fome time out of ftones throw,
and then venturing nearer, with lefs appearance of hoftility,
one of our men went to the fhip fide, and was about to hand
them a rope; this courtefy, however, they thought fit to return
by throwing a lance at him, which having miffed him,
they