Laoet, is a word in the language of Malaca, signifying Sea, and this island was named by the inhabitants of that country.  The south part of it lies in latitude 8 deg. 15’ S., longitude 228 deg. 10’ W., but in the charts the south point is laid down in various latitudes, from 8 deg. 30’ to 9 deg. 30’:  It is indeed possible that the land we saw might be some other island, but the presumption to the contrary is very strong, for if Timor Laut had lain where it is placed in the charts, we must have seen it there.  We were now in latitude 9 deg. 37’ S.; longitude, by an observation of the sun and moon, 233 deg. 54’ W.; we were the day before in 233 deg. 27’; the difference is 27’, exactly the same that was given by the log:  This, however, is a degree of accuracy in observation that is seldom to be expected.  In the afternoon, we stood in shore till eight in the evening; when we tacked and stood off, being at the distance of about three leagues from the land, which at sun-set extended from S.W. 1/2 W. to N.E.:  At this time we sounded, and had no ground with 140 fathom.  At midnight, having but little wind, we tacked and stood in, and at noon the next day, our latitude, by observation, was 9 deg. 36’ S. This day, we saw smoke on shore in several places, and had seen many fires during the night.  The land appeared to be very high, rising in gradual slopes one above another:  The hills were in general covered with thick woods, but among them we could distinguish naked spots of a considerable extent, which had the appearance of having been cleared by art.  At five o’clock in the afternoon, we were within a mile and a half of the shore, in sixteen fathom water, and abreast of a small inlet into the low land, which lies in latitude 9 deg. 34 S., and probably is the same that Dampier entered with his boat, for it did not seem to have sufficient depth of water for a ship.  The land here answered well to the description that he has given of it:  close to the beach it was covered with high spiry trees, which he mentions as having the appearance of pines; behind these there seemed to be salt-water creeks, and many mangroves, interspersed however with cocoa-nut trees:  The flat land at the beach appeared in some places to extend inward two or three miles before the rise of the first hill; in this part, however, we saw no appearance of plantations or houses, but great fertility, and from the number of fires, we judged that the place most be well peopled.

[Footnote 104:  Little is known of this island.  Timor is said to have been discovered by the companions of Magellan in 1522, when it was found full of white sandal wood.  The Portuguese very early settled in it as a place of refuge from the Dutch, who however soon followed them, and in 1613, drove them from Cupan, their principal town, at the west end of the island.  The possession of this island might be made more valuable than it seems as yet to have been.  With scarcely any help from human industry, its products in useful articles are considerable.  We shall have to treat of it hereafter.—­E.]