ain take our Departure from the Island.

Next night we put into a little cove, which, from the great quantity of red
wood found there, we called Red-wood Cove. Leaving this place in the
morning, we had the wind southerly, blowing fresh, by which we made much
way that day to the northward. Towards evening we were in with a pretty
large island. Putting ashore on it, we found it clothed with the finest
trees we had ever seen, their stems running up to a prodigious height,
without knot or branch, and as straight as cedars; the leaf of these trees
resembles the myrtle leaf, only somewhat larger. I have seen trees larger
than these in circumference on the coast of Guinea, and there only; but for
a length of stem, which gradually tapered, I have no where met with any to
compare to them. The wood was of a hard substance, and if not too heavy,
would have made good masts; the dimensions of some of these trees being
equal to a main-mast of a first-rate man of war. The shore was covered with
drift wood of a very large size, most of it cedar, which makes a brisk
fire; but is so subject to snap and fly, that when we waked in the morning,
after a sound sleep, we found our clothes singed in many places with the
sparks, and covered with splinters.

The next morning being calm, we rowed out, but as soon as clear of the
island, we found a great swell from the westward; we rowed to the bottom of
a very large bay which was to the northward of us, the land very low, and
we were in hopes of finding some inlet through, but did not, so kept along
shore to the westward. This part, which I take to be above fifty leagues
from Wager Island, is the very bottom of the large bay it lies in. Here was
the only passage to be found, which, if we could by any means have got
information of it, would have saved us much fruitless labour. Of this
passage I shall have occasion to say more hereafter.

Having at this time an off-shore wind, we kept the wind close on board till
we came to a head-land: it was near night before we got abreast of the
head-land, and opening it discovered a very large bay to the northward, and
another head-land to the westward, at a great distance. We endeavoured to
cut short our passage to it by crossing, which is very seldom to be
effected in these overgrown seas by boats; and this we experienced now, for
the wind springing up, and beginning to blow fresh, we were obliged to put
back towards the first head-land, into a small cove,