These pages are inverted in the volume and should be read from 157v-154r.
The journal entries take the form of notes and contain many ethnographic observations, including details of the islanders’ dress, adornments, customs and traditions.
The islanders are described, for example, as ‘Very good looking persons & very much tattooed in various forms’ [RGO 14/62: 157v]. Gooch observes that they were ‘ignorant of the use of iron’ as beads were considered equally (or more) valuable [RGO 14/62: 156v]. He also notes that they were ‘offended’ by the taste of wine, sugar and cheese, but were ‘very handy’ at assisting the men to haul the boats [RGO 14/62: 156r].
Gooch records incidents of thieving and of shooting at thieves, and curious moments such as the arrival of a chief bearing with ‘a roasting pig’s head on the end of a stick’ [RGO 14/62: 155v]. He also lists local produce [RGO 14/62: 154v], crops given to the islanders to plant [RGO 14/62: 156r], and items traded with local chiefs. In his final remarks, Gooch notes the ‘contemptuous behaviour of the women’, adding that the men were ‘much the better looking persons’ [RGO 14/62: 154r].