Here two or three canoes came off full of black naked people, who spoke a language differing entirely from that before heard. On seeing the boat sounding they attacked her with their slings, but, frightened by a few shots, quickly took to flight. During the night fires were seen burning along the coast, probably as alarm signals. Soon after it was dark more canoes came off, and kept lurking about the ship; but though the Dutch tried to make them understand that they wished to be friendly and were anxious to purchase provisions, the savages only replied by the most horrible noises and outcries. The _Unity_ anchored that night off a bay in forty-five fathoms. In the morning a fleet of canoes came off, full of savages armed with clubs, wooden swords, and slings. The Dutch tried to propitiate them by offering them trinkets and toys, but this had not the slightest effect on the savages, who began hurling their missiles and approaching so near--one of the Dutchmen being wounded, the first who had been hurt during the voyage--that it became necessary to fire at them. Not, however, until several of them had been killed did they take to flight, when they leapt overboard, and dived and swam for their lives. On this the Dutch, pursuing them in their boat, with what was certainly wanton cruelty, knocked several on the head, and took three prisoners and four of their canoes, the latter serving as fuel, of which they were in want. Having made, one of the wounded men understand that if his countrymen would bring off hogs and bananas the rest of the prisoners would be set at liberty, they sent him on shore, telling him that ten hogs must be paid as a ransom for each of the others; but as the natives refused to agree to this arrangement, one of the captives, who was named after the wounded Dutchman Moses, was carried off. They here procured some beautiful birds, the plumage of which was entirely red. From the appearance of the people they concluded that they were Papuans. Sailing on along the coast, they saw three other high islands, being then in 3 degrees 20 minutes south latitude. On the night of the 29th, as the ship was sailing calmly on, she was suddenly shaken so violently that the crew rushed up on deck, fully expecting to find that she had run aground; but on sounding, no bottom was found, and it was seen that no rocks nor shallows were in the neighbourhood. They therefore came to the conclusion that the shaking had been caused by a submarine earthquake, such as often takes place in that volcanic region. The following night the same fearful phenomenon again occurred, accompanied by terrific claps of thunder, while the lightning darted so fiercely from the sky that, had not a heavy downpour of rain come on there seemed every probability that the ship would have been set on fire.