full of rich valleys and pleasant fresh-water brooks; the mould in the
valleys is deep and yellowish, that on the sides of the hills of a very
brown colour, and not very deep, but rocky underneath, yet excellent
planting land; the trees in general are neither very straight, thick, nor
tall, yet appear green and pleasant enough; some of them bear flowers,
some berries, and others big fruits, but all unknown to any of us; cocoa-
nut trees thrive very well here, as well on the bays by the sea-side, as
more remote among the plantations; the nuts are of an indifferent size,
the milk and kernel very thick and pleasant; here are ginger, yams, and
other very good roots for the pot, that our men saw and tasted; what
other fruits or roots the country affords I know not; here are hogs and
dogs, other land animals we saw none; the fowls we saw and knew were
pigeons, parrots, cocadores, and crows, like those in England; a sort of
birds about the bigness of a blackbird, and smaller birds many. The sea
and rivers have plenty of fish; we saw abundance, though we catched but
few, and these were cavallies, yellow-tails, and whip-wreys."

This account is grounded only on a very slight view, whereas De Quiros
resided for some time in the place he has mentioned. In another place
Captain Dampier observes that he saw nutmegs amongst them, which seemed
to be fresh-gathered, all which agrees perfectly with the account given
by De Quiros; add to this, that Schovten had likewise observed, that they
had ginger upon this coast, and some other spices, so that on the whole
there seems not the least reason to doubt that if any part of this
country was settled, it must be attended with a very rich commerce; for
it cannot be supposed that all these writers should be either mistaken,
or that they should concur in a design to impose upon their readers;
which is the less to be suspected, if we consider how well their reports
agree with the situation of the country, and that the trees on the land,
and the fish on the coast, corresponding exactly with the trees of those