1770. yerfed with him by figns, but very little of the meaning of
September. t i i . _ _ ° >----' either party could be iinderitood by the other. In a fhort
on ay ' 7 ' time he returned with this report, and, to our great mortifi- '
cation, added, that there was no anchorage for the fliip. I
fent him however a fécond time, with both money and
goods, that he might, if poflible, purchafe Tome refrefh-
ments, at lead; for the fick ; and Dr. Solander went in the
boat with him. In the mean time I kept Handing on and off
with the fhip, which at this time was within about a miie
of tire fhore. Before the boat could land, we faw two other
horfemen* one of whom was in a complete European drefs,
confiding of a blue coat, a white waiftcoat, and a laced hat:
rhefe people, when the boat came to the fhore, took little
notice of her, but fauntered about, and feemed to look with
great curiofity at the fhip. We faw however other horfe-
taen, and a great number of perfons on foot, gather round
our people, and, to our great fatisfacftion, perceived feveral
cocoa-nuts carried into the boat, from which we concluded
that peace and commerce were eftablifhed between us.
After the boat had" been alhore about an hour and a half,,
ihe made the lignai for having intelligence that there was a
bay to leeward, where we might anchor Sj we Hood away
diredlly for it, and the boat following, foon came on board.
The Lieutenant told us, that he had feen fome of the principal'people,
who were drefled in fine linen, and had chains
of gold round their necks : he faid, that he had not been
able to trade, becaufe the owner of the cocoa-nuts was ab-
fent, but that about two- dozen had been fent to the boat as
a prefent, and-that fome linen had been accepted in return.
The people, to give him the information that he-wanted,.,
drew a map upon the fand, in which they, made a rude re-
prefentation of a harbour to leeward, and a town near it:
they alfo gave him to underfland, that flieep, hogs, fowls,
• and:
and fruit might there be procured in great plenty. Some of 177°-
September.
them frequently pronounced the word Portuguefe, and faid <--- -— u
fomething of Larntuca upon the ifland of Ende : from this " y ''
circumflance, we conjectured that there were Portuguefe
fomewhere upon the ifland, and a Portuguefe, who was in
our boat, attempted to converfe with the Indians in that language,
but foon found that they knew only a word or two
of it by rote: one of them however, when they were giving
our people to underftand that there was a town near the
harbour to which they had directed us, intimated, that as a
token of going right, we fhould fee fomewhat, which he
exprefied by crofling his fingers, and the Portuguefe inftantly
conceived that he meant to exprefs a crofSi Juft as. our
people were putting off, the horfeman in the European drefs
came up, but the officer not having his commiflion about
him, thought it beft to decline a conference.
At feven o’clock in the evening, we came to an anchor in
the bay to which we had been directed, at about the diftance
of a mile from the fhore, in thirty-eight fathom water, with
a clearTandy bottom. The north point of the bay bore N.
30 E. diftant two miles and an half, and the fouth point, or
weft end of the ifland, bore S. 63 W. Juft as we got round
the north point, and entered the bay, we difcovered a large
Indian town or village, upon which we flood on, hoifting a
jack on the fore top-maft head: foon after, to our great fur-
prize, Dutch colours were hoifted in the town, and three
guns fired ; we, flood on, however, till we had foundings,
and then anchored.
As fpon as it was light in the morning, we faw the fame ToefJ g>.
colours hoifted upon the beach, abreaft of the fliip; fup-
pofing therefore that the Dutch had a fettlement here, I fent
Lieutenant Gore afliore, to wait upon the Governor, or the
L 1 2 chief