The Puzzling Presence of Dogs

When the Dutch explorers Schouten and LeMaire crossed the Pacific in 1616, they happened upon a number of small islands which they named according to what they found: Vliegen Island, where the landing party returned covered from head to foot with flies; Waterlandt, where they found fresh water in a pit; Sondergrondt, where the sea was so deep they could not anchor; and Honden Island, where they were puzzled to discover dogs but no people. Later in this same voyage, the explorers stopped at islands in the western Pacific, including one they called Cocos, where they traded for coconuts, yams, bananas, chickens, and pigs, and another called Verraders, or Traitors, Island, where they were unexpectedly attacked.