Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/388

330 which was a great appearance of salt-water creeks and many mangroves. In parts, however, were many cocoanut trees. Close down to the beach the flat land seemed to extend in some places two or three miles before the rise of the first hill. We saw no appearance of plantations or houses near the sea, but the land looked most fertile, and from the many fires we saw in different parts we could not help having a good opinion of its population.

14th. Infinite albecores and bonitos were about the ship, attended, as they always are when near land, by some species of Sterna. These were Dampier's New Holland noddies, which flew in large flocks, hovering over the shoals of fish. Many man-of-war birds also attended, and entertained us by very frequently stooping at albecores so large that twenty times their strength could not have lifted them, had they been dexterous enough to seize them, which they never once effected.

15th. About a mile up from the beach began the plantations, and houses almost innumerable standing under the shade of large groves of palms, appearing like the fan-palm (Borassus). The plantations, which were in general enclosed with some kind of fence, reached almost to the top of the hills, but near the beach were no certain marks of habitations seen. But what surprised us most was that, notwithstanding all these indisputable marks of a populous country, we saw neither people nor any kind of cattle stirring all the day, though our glasses were almost continually employed.

16th. Soon after breakfast the small island of Rotte was in sight, and a little later the opening appeared plainly, which at last convinced our old unbelievers that the island we had so long been off was really Timor. Soon after dinner we passed the straits. Rotte was not mountainous or high like Timor, but consisted of hills and vales. On the east end of it some of our people saw houses, but I did not. The north side had many sandy beaches, near which grew some of the fan-palms, but the greater part was covered with a kind of bushy tree which had few or no leaves. The straits between Timor and the island called by Dampier Anabao we