It is remarkable that Schovten had made the same observation with respect
to the driftwood forced by the rivers into the sea. He likewise observed
that there was so copious a discharge of fresh water, that it altered the
colour and the taste of the sea. He likewise says that the burning
island is extremely well peopled, and also well cultivated. He
afterwards anchored on the coast of the continent, and endeavoured to
trade with the natives, who made him pay very dear for hogs and cocoa-
nuts, and likewise showed him some ginger. It appears from Captain
Tasman's account that he was now in haste to return to Batavia, and did
not give himself so much trouble as at the beginning about discoveries,
and to say the truth, there was no great occasion, if, as I observed, his
commission was no more than to sail round the new discovered coasts, in
order to lay them down with greater certainty in the Dutch charts.



CHAPTER XVII: COMES TO THE ISLANDS OF JAMA AND MOA.


On the 27th, being in the latitude of 2 degrees 10 minutes south, and in
the longitude of 146 degrees 57 minutes, we fancied that we had a sight
of the island of Moa, but it proved to be that of Jama, which lies a
little to the east of Moa. We found here great plenty of cocoa-nuts and
other refreshments. The inhabitants were absolutely black, and could
easily repeat the words that they heard others speak, which shows their
own to be a very copious language. It is, however, exceedingly difficult
to pronounce, because they make frequent use of the letter R, and
sometimes to such a degree that it occurs twice or thrice in the same
word. The next day we anchored on the coast of the island of Moa, where
we likewise found abundance of refreshments, and where we were obliged by