0 miles. In the night we lay by,
for fear of overshooting this headland, between which and Cape St. Manes
the land is high, mountainous and woody, having many points of land
shooting out into the sea, which make so many fine bays; the coast lies
north-north-east and south-south-west.
The 9th, in the morning a huge black man came off to us in a canoe, but
would not come aboard. He made the same signs of friendship to us as the
rest we had met with; yet seemed to differ in his language, not using any
of those words which the others did. We saw neither smoke nor
plantations near this headland. We found here variation 1 degree east.
In the afternoon, as we plied near the shore, three canoes came off to
us; one had four men in her, the others two apiece. That with the four
men came pretty nigh us, and showed us a cocoa-nut and water in a bamboo,
making signs that there was enough ashore where they lived; they pointed
to the place where they would have us go, and so went away. We saw a
small round pretty high island about a league to the north of this
headland, within which there was a large deep bay, whither the canoes
went; and we strove to get thither before night, but could not; wherefore
we stood off, and saw land to the westward of this headland, bearing west-
by-south-half-south distance about ten leagues, and, as we thought, still
more land bearing south-west-by-south, distance twelve or fourteen
leagues, but being clouded, it disappeared, and we thought we had been
deceived. Before night we opened the headland fair, and I named it Cape
St. George. The land from hence trends away west-north-west about ten
leagues, which is as far as we could see it; and the land that we saw to
the westward of it in the evening, which bore west-by-south-half-south,
was another point about ten leagues from Cape St. George; between which
there runs in a deep bay for twenty leagues or more. We saw some high
land in spots like islands, down in that bay at a great distance; but
whether they are islands, or the main closing there we know not. The
next morning we saw other land to the south-east of the westernmost
point, which till then was clouded; it was very high land, and the same
that we saw the day before, that disappeared in a cloud. This Cape St.
George lies in the latitude of 5 degrees 5 minutes south; and meridian
distance from Cape Mabo 1,290 miles. The island off this cape I called
St. George's Isle; and the bay betw
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