Under this island, which I have called the MAYOR, we spent the night. At seven in the morning it bore S. 47 E., distant six leagues, and a cluster of small islands and rocks bore N. ½ E., distant one league, to which I gave the name of the COURT OF ALDERMEN. They lie in the compass of about half a league every way, and five leagues from the main, between which and them lie other islands, most of them barren rocks, of which there is great variety: some of them are as small in compass as the Monument of London, but rise to a much greater height, and some of them are inhabited. They lie in latitude 36° 57ʹ, and at noon bore S. 60 E., distant three or four leagues; and a rock like a castle, lying not far from the main, bore N. 40 W., at the distance of one league. The country that we passed the night before appeared to be well inhabited, many towns were in sight, and some hundreds of large canoes lay under them upon the beach; but this day, after having sailed about fifteen leagues, it appeared to be barren and desolate. As far as we had yet coasted this country from Cape Turnagain, the people acknowledged one chief, whom they called TERATU, and to whose residence they pointed, in a direction that we thought to be very far inland, but afterwards found to be otherwise. About one o’clock, three canoes came off to us from the main, with one-and-twenty men on board. The construction of these vessels appeared to be more simple than that of any we had seen, they being nothing more than trunks of a single tree hollowed by fire, without any convenience or ornament. The people on board were almost naked, and appeared to be of a browner complexion; yet naked and despicable as they were, they sung their song of defiance, and seemed to denounce against us inevitable destruction: they remained, however, some time out of stone’s throw, and then venturing nearer, with less appearance of hostility, one of our men went to the ship’s side, and was about to hand them a rope; this courtesy, however, they thought fit to return by throwing a lance at him, which having missed him, they immediately threw another into the ship: upon this a musket was fired over them, which at once sent them away. About two, we saw a large opening, or inlet, for which we bore up; we had now forty-one fathom water, which gradually decreased to nine, at which time we were one mile and a half distant from a high towered rock which lay near the south point of the inlet: this rock, and the northernmost of the Court of Alderman being in one, bearing S. 61 E.