The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606-1765 Part 18

On the 7 th do. [of July] we arrived in the road-stead of Batavia at nightfall.

G.o.d be thanked and praised.

B.

_Diurnal anotations on my [PELSAERT'S] second voyage to the South-land, by order of the Hon. Lord Governor-general Jan Pietersen Coen, with the Yacht Sardam, for the purpose of rescuing and bringing hither the men belonging to our lost s.h.i.+p Batavia, together with the ready money and the goods that it shall be found possible to salve._

This day the 15th Of July We set sail in the morning with the land-wind...

This day the 1st of September at noon we were in 29 16' Southern Lat.i.tude [*], with a variable wind, so that we found it impossible to get to eastward.

[* The s.h.i.+p had already sailed farther south than Houtman's Abrolhos.]

On the 2nd do. the wind went round to the north with a top-gallant gale; at noon we were in 30 16' S.L. and found we had drifted a long way to southward; in the evening the wind turned to the north-west; course held N.E. by north.

On the 3rd do. in the morning the wind was blowing from the west; we saw a good deal of rock-weed floating about and also a number of cuttle-bones. We therefore turned our course to eastward, and at noon we saw the mainland of the South-land, extending N.N.W. and S.S.E.; we were at about 3 miles' distance from it and saw the land extending southward for 4 miles by estimation, where it was bounded by the horizon. We sounded here in 25 fathom, fine sandy bottom. It is a treeless, barren coast with a few sandy dunes, the same as to northward; we were in 29 16' Southern Lat.i.tude, turned our course to north-west, the wind being W.S.W., but the hollow seas threw us close to the land, so that in the evening we had to drop anchor at one mile's distance from it; at two gla.s.ses in the first watch our anchor was broken in two, so that we had to bring out another in great haste.

On the 4th do. in the morning the wind was S.W. by S., still with a very hollow swell. During the day the wind went round to S.S.W., upon which we weighed anchor and got under sail before noon. We stood out to sea on a W.N.W. course in order to get off the lee-sh.o.r.e. At noon we were in 28 50' S.L., where the land began to fall off one point, to wit North by west and South by east. In the afternoon the wind went round to the south, and we shaped our course westward. Towards evening we became aware of a shoal straight ahead or west of us, at only a musket-shot's distance, we being in 25 fathom fine sandy bottom. We turned the rudder and ran off it half a mile to E.S.E., where we came to anchor in 27 fathom fine bottom; from noon till the evening we had been sailing on a W.N.W. course, and we were now at 5 miles' distance from the mainland. In the night it fell a dead calm with fine weather and a south-by-east wind.

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On the 5th do. in the morning the wind being S.S.E. with lovely weather, we weighed anchor and sailed S.S.W. for an hour, at the end of which we observed more breakers, shallows and islets ahead of us and alongside our course; the wind then turned more to eastward, so that we could run to the south and S.S.E. This reef or shoal extended S.S.W. and N.N.E.; along it we sounded in 27, 28 and 29 fathom sandy bottom; at 11 o'clock in the forenoon we had lost sight of the mainland; at noon we were in 28 59' S.

Lat., the extremity of the reef lying W.S.W. of us, and we being in 50 or 60 fathom, foul steep bottom. In the afternoon the wind began to abate, but the current carried us to the west, while the rocks here fell off far to westward, we being at about 87 miles' distance from the mainland by estimation. We had a dead calm the whole night and drifted along the rock, on which we heard the waves break the whole time.

On the 6th do. in the morning we had lost sight of the rocks; about 10 o'clock the wind began to blow from the W.N.W., so that we ran nearly in the direction of the rocks. At noon we were in 28 44' S. Lat.; it began to blow hard from the N.W., so that in the afternoon we kept tacking off and on, and found ourselves carried northward by the current. In the evening we stood out to sea away from the rocks again, and sounded in 40 fathom foul rocky bottom; this shallow here extends seaward S.E. and N.W.

In the evening it began to blow very hard, so that we had to run on with shortened mainsails, the wind being variable.

On the 7th do. in the morning the wind abated, so that we made sail again; at noon we found our lat.i.tude to be 29 30'; we went over to northward to get sight of the mainland again, but the wind suddenly turned sharply to W.N.W., so that we had to stand out to sea again.

On the 8th do. at noon we were in 29 7' S. Lat., course held N.E. In the evening we saw the breakers again. We therefore stood out to sea on a west-south-west course the whole night with a north-west-wind; and it began to blow so hard that we had again to take in the topsails.

On the 9th do. in the morning we shaped our course to the land again; at noon we were in Lat. 29 and for the rest of the day we kept tacking off and on; towards the evening there blew a storm from the N.W., so that we could hardly keep our main-sails set.

On the 10th do. we made sail again in the morning; at noon we were in 29 30' S. Lat., with a westerly wind and a top-gallant gale.

On the 11th do. it was calm in the morning, but with a very hollow sea, while the wind blew from the W.N.W., so that we could not get to the north, if we did not wish to come upon or near the rocks. At noon we were in 28 48' S. Lat. The wind continued variable, so that in the night we had to drift with our foresail set until daybreak.

On the 12th do. we made sail again at daybreak, shaping our course to the east. We ran on till noon, when we found ourselves to be in in 28 13' S.

Lat. We therefore ran somewhat more to the south again, in order to reach the lat.i.tude Of 28 20' exactly; the wind was south-west with a heavy swell of the sea. In the afternoon, two hours before sunset we again sighted the rocks, which we estimated to be still two miles from us. We cast the lead in 100 fathom fine sandy bottom, but when we had come to half a mile's distance, we sounded 30 fathom foul rocky bottom. In the night we shaped our course two points more to seaward, and in the daywatch made for the land again.

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On the 13th do., three hours after sunrise we again sighted breakers ahead, and having made up our reckoning, we found we had lost a mile north, since the wind had been S.S.E. This proved to be the northernmost extremity of the Abrolhos. Therefore, since I found we always came too high or too low, and it was very dangerous to touch at them from the outside owing to the high swells and foul bottom, I resolved to keep tacking off the outermost shoal. After this we went over again nearly to weatherward with a S.S.E. wind, keeping an eastern course. When we had got inside a small distance, we directly had a fine sandy bottom in from 30 to 35 fathom; at noon we were in 28 S. Lat., shortly after we again saw the mainland of the Southland. In the evening, as it began to blow hard, we came to anchor at about 2 miles' distance from the land in 30 fathom, fine bottom.

On the 14th do. there was a stiff gale from the S.S.E., so that we could not get in our anchor, and remained here all day.

On the 15th do. the wind was still equally strong, but towards noon it got somewhat calmer, so that we could get in our anchor. At noon we were in 27 54' S. Lat. We kept tacking the whole day with a S.S.E. wind, in order to gain the south, and at night found we had gained two miles. When it got dark, we again came to anchor in 30 fathom fine bottom.

On the 16th do. at daybreak we again weighed anchor; the wind being W.S.W., we went over nearly to southward. At noon we were in Lat.i.tude...degrees...minutes [*]. The wind then turned first to the west and afterwards to the north, so that we could sail on a south-west course; towards the evening we saw the rocks on which our good s.h.i.+p Batavia had miscarried, and I was sure I saw the high Island, but our steersmen contended that it was other land. Two hours after sunset we again came to anchor in 26 fathom fine sandy bottom.

[* Left blank.]

On the 17th do. at daybreak we again weighed anchor with a northerly wind; we were now still about 2 miles from the high island and made for it. When at noon we had got near the island we saw smoke rising up from a long island, two miles to westward of the wreck, and also from another islet [*], close to the wreck, at which we were all of us greatly rejoiced, hoping to find the greater part [**] or almost all the people alive. Therefore, when we had come to anchor, I went in a boat to the highest island, which was quite close to us, taking with me a cask of water, a cask of bread, and a small keg of wine; when I had got there I did not see any one, at which we were greatly astonished. I sprang ash.o.r.e...

[* This islet was named Batavia's Kerkhof [Churchyard] by the survivors; another of the rocks got the name of Robben-eiland [Seals' island].]

[* This proved actually to be the case. I have thought it needless to print those parts of the journal which tell the adventures of the castaways, since they have repeatedly been narrated in other works.]

On the 15th [of November, 1629] the wind was S.S.W., with seemingly fine weather. Therefore, in the name of G.o.d, we weighed anchor and set sail from these luckless Abrolhos for the mainland on an East-north-east course, for the purpose of seeking there the skipper and four other men, who on the 14th last were with their boat cut off from s.h.i.+p by a storm, after which we had resolved to continue our return-voyage to Batavia with the utmost expedition. The spot where the s.h.i.+p or wreck lies, is in 28 36' or 40', and the place near the high Island where we have been at anchor with the Yacht, in 30 or 32 minutes, north-north-west of the wreck. But after the s.h.i.+pwreck the steersmen had in one of the islands taken the lat.i.tude Of 28 degrees 8 minutes, and 28 degrees 20 minutes, which mistake has caused no little loss of time and misunderstanding on our part in seeking out these places...

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The sea abounds in fish in these parts; they are mainly of three kinds, but very different in shape and taste from those caught on other coasts.

All the islands about here are low-lying atolls or coral-islets and rocks, except two or three large islands, in one of which, a long time before we came here, they had found two pits filled with water, but during the time we were here, the water in these pits became very brackish or salt, so as to be unfit for human consumption. In the other island, near which the Yacht lay at anchor, after burning away the brushwood or thicket, we also came upon two pits filled with water, which were discovered quite by accident...since they had only a small hole at top, that would admit a man's arm, but below we found a large cistern or water-tank under the earth; after which with mattocks and sledge-hammers we widened the hole so as to be able to take out the water conveniently.

Besides, we found in these islands large numbers of a species of cats, which are very strange creatures; they are about the size of a hare, their head resembling the head of a civet-cat; the forepaws are very short, about the length of a finger, on which the animal has five small nails or fingers, resembling those of a monkey's forepaw. Its two hind-legs, on the contrary, are upwards of half an ell in length, and it walks on these only, on the flat of the heavy part of the leg, so that it does not run fast. Its tail is very long, like that of a long-tailed monkey; if it eats, it sits on its hind-legs, and clutches its food with its forepaws, just like a squirrel or monkey. Their manner of generation or procreation is exceedingly strange and highly worth observing. Below the belly the female carries a pouch, into which you may put your hand; inside this pouch are her nipples, and we have found that the young ones grow up in this pouch with the nipples in their mouths. We have seen some young ones lying there, which were only the size of a bean, though at the same time perfectly proportioned, so that it seems certain that they grow there out of the nipples of the mammae, from which they draw their food, until they are grown up and are able to walk. Still, they keep creeping into the pouch even when they have become very large, and the dam runs off with them, when they are hunted.

In these two islands we also found a number of grey turtle-doves, but no other animals. Nor is there any vegetation beyond brushwood, and little or no gra.s.s. This and what has hereinbefore been related is all that we have experienced and met with about these Abrolhos.

We shall therefore now shape our course for the mainland of the Southland, to which we are navigating. About noon we were close insh.o.r.e, running along the coast with small sail at about half a mile's distance from it, in order to see if we could not descry any men or signs of men, until the afternoon, when we saw a small column of smoke rise up from the higher land, but it soon vanished. Nevertheless we anch.o.r.ed there in 21 fathom fine sandy bottom, in order to look for the skipper with his men, but the smoke did not appear again, and no one showed on the beach, from which we concluded that the smoke had been made by the natives, who now did not venture to show themselves. As it blew very hard, we remained at anchor here for the night.

On the 16th do. in the morning we weighed anchor again with a S.S.E. wind and a top-gallant gale. We again ran close along the land with small sail at about a howitzer's shot's distance from the surf. Towards noon we sighted the inlet which we had meant to run into on the 8th of June last, when we were seeking water with the pinnace, and {Page 62} where we were befallen by a storm from the north-west, which would certainly have sent us to destruction, if G.o.d had not miraculously saved us. Here we saw divers smoke-clouds rising up, which gladdened us all with the hope that our men might be there. I therefore sent the pinnace ash.o.r.e directly for the purpose of getting certain information regarding the place and the clouds of smoke we had seen; the men in her, after rounding a steep point, where we had suspected the presence of water, discovered a running streamlet, of which the water was brackish near the sea, but quite fresh higher up; they also found a great many human footprints and continuous footpaths leading to the mountains, and saw numerous clouds of smoke, but the blacks kept themselves in concealment, and no human being was seen.

Formerly, when we were sailing about here with the pinnace, we had also been close insh.o.r.e, but did not then see any men or smoke-clouds at this place. Thinking this a fitting opportunity, I have here sent on sh.o.r.e the two condemned delinquents [*] Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de By, of Bemmel, in a sampan provided with all necessaries. G.o.d grant that this punishment may ultimately redound to the service of the Company, and that the two delinquents may come off with their lives, so as to be able to give trustworthy information about these parts. This inlet is in 27 51'.

In the afternoon, seeing there was no hope or chance of finding the skipper, we made sail and shaped our course to north-west, two points off the land, because it began to blow hard, and in the evening we turned to west-north-west...[**].

[* They had been sentenced to being marooned.]

[* The s.h.i.+p returned to Batavia on the 5th of December.]

XXIV.

(1635). [*] FURTHER SURVEYINGS OF THE WEST-COAST OF AUSTRALIA BY THE s.h.i.+P AMSTERDAM UNDER COMMANDER WOLLEBRAND GELEYNSZOON DE JONGH AND SKIPPER PIETER DIRCKSZ, ON HER VOYAGE FROM THE NETHERLANDS TO THE EAST INDIES.

[* In 1629 the west-coast of Australia in the neighbourhood of Dirk Hartogsz Roads was touched at by Dutch vessels, and in 1632 the Trialls were pa.s.sed by Dutch s.h.i.+ps on the outward voyage. What we know about these two points is of no interest as regards our subject.]

_Journal of Commander WOLLEBRAND GELEYNSZOON DE JONGH._ [*]

[* I know this journal only from what LEUPE extracts from it in his "Zuidland", pp. 62 ff. (the pa.s.sages in question being given above), and from certain written notes from Leupe's hand. From the latter I have learned _inter alia_, the name of the skipper, the date of departure from the Texel (December 26, 1634), and the date of arrival at Batavia (June 24, 1635).]

...[May 25] Last night when two gla.s.ses of the first watch were out, we got a slight breeze from the N.W., which gradually stiffened, so that there was a fair breeze at the latter end of this watch, which kept blowing through the night till the following forenoon, when the wind turned to W. by N. and W.N.W. with a squall of rain, it blowing a strong top-gallant gale until the evening, course kept E. by N. until one hour after daybreak when we sighted the South-land.

We went over to port directly, keeping a N.E. and N.E. by E. course until noon, when we stood out to sea from the land, on a W. and W. by S. course with a top-gallant gale. We took the lat.i.tude, which we found to be 25 16' South, but of {Page 63} this we are not quite sure; we were not able to take the sun's azimuth, either in the morning or in the evening; we sailed 20 miles until we saw the land, from which we were at 4 or 4 miles' distance by estimation, on an E. by N. course, and on various courses during the day, course N.N.E. for 6 or 7 miles.