which they got out of another well that they dug in a place a mile off,
and about half as far from the shore; but this water was not fit to
drink. However we all concluded that it would serve to boil our oatmeal
for burgoo, whereby we might save the remains of our other water for
drinking, till we should get more; and accordingly the next day we
brought aboard four hogsheads of it: but while we were at work about the
well we were sadly pester’d with the flies, which were more troublesome
to us than the sun, tho’ it shone clear and strong upon us all the
while, very hot. All this while we saw no more of the natives, but saw
some of the smoaks of some of their fires at two or three miles
distance.
The land hereabouts was much like the part of New Holland that I
formerly described (vol. i, p. 463); ’tis low, but seemingly barricado’d
with a long chain of sandhills to the sea, that lets nothing be seen of
what is farther within land. At high water, the tides rising so high as
they do, the coast shows very low; but when ’tis low water it seems to
be of an indifferent heighth. At low water-mark the shore is all rocky,
so that then there is no landing with a boat; but at high water a boat
may come in over those rocks to the Sandy Bay, which runs all along on
this coast. The land by the sea for about five or six hundred yards is a
dry sandy soil, bearing only shrubs and bushes of divers sorts. Some of
these had them at this time of the year, yellow flowers or blossoms,
some blue and some white, most of them of a very fragrant smell. Some
had fruit-like peascods, in each of which there were just ten small
peas: I opened many of them, and found no more nor less. There are also
here some of that sort of bean which I saw at Rosemary Island, and
another sort of small, red, hard pulse, growing in cods also, with
little black eyes like beans. I know not their names, but have seen them
used often in the East Indies for weighing gold; and they make the same
use of them at Guinea as I have heard, where the women also make
bracelets with them to wear about their arms. These grow on bushes; but
here are also a fruit like beans, growing on a creeping sort of
shrub-like vine. There was great plenty of all these sorts of cod fruit
growing on the sandhills by the sea side, some of them green, some ripe,
and some fallen on the ground; but I could not perceive that any of them
had been gathered by the natives, and might not probably be wholesome
food.
The land farther in, that is lower than what borders on the sea, was, so
much as we saw of it, very plain and even, partly savannahs, and partly
woodland. The savannahs bear a sort of thin coarse grass. The mould is
also a coarser sand than that by the sea side, and in some places ’tis
clay. Here are a great many rocks in the large savannah we were in,
which are five or six foot high, and round at the top like a haycock,
very remarkable, some red and some white. The woodland lies farther in
still, where there were divers sorts of small trees, scarce any three
foot in circumference; their bodies twelve or fourteen foot high, with a
head of small knibs or boughs. By the sides of the creeks, especially
nigh the sea, there grow a few small black mangrove trees.
There are but few land animals. I saw some lizards, and my men saw two
or three beasts like hungry wolves, lean like so many skeletons, being
nothing but skin and bones: ’tis probable that it was the foot of one of
those beasts that I mention’d as seen by us in N. Holland (vol. i, p.
463). We saw a rackoon or two, and one small speckled snake.
The land fowls that we saw here were crows (just such as ours in
England), small hawks, and kites, a few of each sort; but here are
plenty of small turtledoves, that are plump, fat, and very good meat.
Here are two or three sorts of smaller birds, some as big as larks, some
less; but not many of either sort. The sea fowl are pelicans, boobies,
noddies, curlews, sea-pies, etc., and but few of these neither.
The sea is plentifully stock’d with the largest whales that I ever saw,
but not to compare with the vast ones of the northern seas. We saw also
a great many green turtle, but caught none; here being no place to set a
turtle net in; here being no channel for them, and the tides running so
strong. We saw some sharks and paracoots, and with hooks and lines we
caught some rock fish and old wives. Of shell fish here were oysters,
both of the common kind for eating and of the pearl kind; and also
wilks, conchs, muscles, limpits, perriwinkles, etc.; and I gather’d a
few strange shells, chiefly a sort not large, and thick-set all about
with rays or spikes growing in rows.
And thus, having ranged about a considerable time upon this coast,
without finding any good fresh water or any convenient place to clean
the ship, as I had hop’d for; and it being, moreover, the heighth of the
dry season, and my men growing scorbutick for want of refreshments, so
that I had little incouragement to search further; I resolved to leave
this coast, and accordingly in the beginning of September set sail
towards Timor.
A WRITTEN DETAIL OF THE DISCOVERIES AND NOTICEABLE OCCURRENCES IN THE
VOYAGE OF THE FLUYT “VOSSENBOSCH,” THE SLOOP “D’WAIJER,” AND THE
PATSJALLANG “NOVA HOLLANDIA,”
DESPATCHED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, Aº. 1705, FROM BATAVIA BY WAY OF
TIMOR TO NEW HOLLAND; COMPILED AS WELL FROM THE WRITTEN JOURNALS AS FROM
THE VERBAL RECITALS OF THE RETURNED OFFICERS, BY THE COUNCIL
EXTRAORDINARY, HENDRICK SWAARDECRON AND CORNELIS CHASTELIJN,
COMMISSIONED FOR THAT PURPOSE, AND FORMING THEIR REPORT TO HIS
EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR GENERAL, JAN VAN HORN AND THE COUNCIL OF INDIA.
My Lords.—Before entering into a detail of matters of note occurring on
the abovementioned voyage, it may not perhaps be superfluous to offer a
few preliminary observations, in order to throw a clearer light upon the
subject; briefly these:—that the above mentioned vessels having, in
accordance with the instructions delivered to their crew by your
excellency, on the twentieth of January of this year, weighed anchor
from the port of Batavia on the 23rd of the same month, heard on their
way, at Rembang on the east coast of Java, how the sloop _Doriados_,
which had been destined for this voyage instead of the _Waijer_, had
been disabled, but has been helped on its way by friendly vessels to
Timor, and thence to New Holland.
They arrived on the twelfth of February before Copang, on the island of
Timor, where they were obliged, by bad weather, to remain for twenty
days, until the second of March. A month later, namely, on the second of
April, they explored the north-west corner of Van Diemen’s land, without
having so far observed anything remarkable on this voyage, except that
for fifty or sixty miles straight north and south from this point, the
land is elevated, and along the whole of this coast there was
continually found from fifty to twenty, and fewer fathoms’ water;
besides, that on the passage from Timor, the compasses were on the sixth
of March affected by the thunder and lightning to such a degree, that
the north-end of the needle pointed due south, and was brought home in
that position.
This point of Van Diemen’s land having been thus explored, they occupied
themselves, from the second of April to the twelfth of July, in visiting
the bays, head lands, islands, rivers, etc., to the best of their
ability according to their instructions. But not being sufficiently
provided with fresh provisions for so long a voyage, many men on board
began to suffer and also to die, from severe sickness, principally
fever, acute pains in the head and eyes, and above all, dropsy, so that
they were compelled to resolve upon returning, and to direct their
course to Banda; the patsjallang however alone arrived there; the fluit
_Vossenbosch_, and the sloop _Waijer_, being forced by unfavourable
weather and the weakness of the crew, to pass that government, and to
hold on towards Macassar, as your nobilities will have already learnt by
the papers from Banda and Macassar. The skipper, upper and under
steersman, with most of the petty officers and sailors of the
_Vossenbosch_ being already dead, and their incomplete journals alone
having reached us, the new maps moreover, made by the direction of the
skipper Martin van Delft, having been improperly detained at Macassar,
we are not at present in a position to forward the same complete
information on the subject, which the arrival of these maps would have
enabled us to give, as they contain many new names, which could not
possibly be found in the limited compass of the Company’s former charts.
According to their own accounts, they have only been able to visit a
strip of land of about sixty miles along the coast E. and W., including
merely a very small portion of that great bay, which it was recommended
to them to sail over and explore as much as possible.
The daily courses, winds, currents, depths, reefs, soundings, variations
of the compass, and the like observations, more especially depending
upon the art of the steersman, are to be found in the above-mentioned
journals, and shall here be passed over as out of place, in a
compendious report like the present. We shall here principally follow
the logbook of the skipper Martin van Delft, of the _Vossenbosch_, and
that of the under steersman Andries Roseboom, of the sloop _Waijer_, as
the journals of the captain of the patsjallang, Pieter Fredericks of
Hamburg, and of the steersman of the _Vossenbosch_, notwithstanding
their general usefulness, do not afford any additional information, as
they merely describe the same subject.
Besides the journals, some depositions and other papers of the same kind
have reached us, referring to the loss of anchors, ropes, sails, the
courses and bearings of the ship as recorded on board the _Vossenbosch_,
none of them however of a nature to call for further observation here.
At the same time we cannot omit to mention two papers, written by the
captain of the patsjallang, and entered in the register of Banda, under
the letters D. E., containing brief notes of the ship’s course, the
names of, and dates of departure from, the places visited during the
voyage, together with the currents encountered, which documents could be
forwarded to you, if desired, together with the above-mentioned journals
of the skipper of the _Vossenbosch_, and the captain of the _Waijer_,
and the new maps, should they arrive here from Macassar, since the maps
of the patsjallang have not been drawn up with due regard to the proper
soundings, distances and other requisites, and are, therefore, not to be
depended upon.
Continuing our summary of the voyage, we would observe, that from the
commencement of the exploration of Van Diemen’s land, they noticed at
several points on the strand signs of men, such as smoke and the like.
The first inlet within the north point of that land, which was visited
by them and called the Roseboom’s Bay, runs dead inland, throwing out
several branches on both sides. No fresh water is found here. At that
time they saw no men, but merely some signs of inhabitants. However, on
their leaving the bay, some of the natives were caught sight of, running
away with their children and dogs, as soon as they perceived our
countrymen; and no opportunity was obtained of getting speech of any of
them.
The coast here is level. The names Casuaris and Varckenshoek, were given
to the points E. and W. of this bay; of two other projecting points on
the W. side, which turned out to be islands, one was named the Goede
Hoop, and the other the Kuijle Eijland; they found on the former of them
a little water, but brackish, and in small quantity.
Between these two islands or headlands, some natives were met by the men
on the thirty-first of April, who did not retire, but ran hastily
towards an eminence, and with signs and gestures attempted to drive them
away. No one was able to understand their language, which, according to
the skipper Martin van Delft, seems to resemble in some respects that of
Malabar; but even this is by no means clear. The colour and stature of
these men, appears from the description given to resemble most that of
the Indians of the east; but they go stark naked, without any regard to
age or sex, as was constantly observed by our sailors from the
above-mentioned date, until their departure. The only exception to this
rule were the women who had children with them, these alone wearing a
slight covering of leaves or such-like over their middle. The whole
number of these islanders did not exceed fourteen or fifteen men; seeing
that our people could not be induced by their grimaces, violent
gestures, yelling and flourishing of assegais, and all kinds of weapons,
to retreat from the shore, they were imprudent enough to throw some of
their assegais, or rather sharpened sticks, at our men, with the
intention of wounding and intimidating them; but their chief, or one who
at least appeared to be so, being hit by a ball from the single musket
which was fired at them in return, the rest began to run quickly away,
being very agile and well made.
The women are tall and slim, with very large mouth and small eyes; the
head of both sexes is curly, like that of the Papuan islanders, and a
yellow or red ointment, prepared with turtle fat, seems to be used as an
ornament. The nature of these tribes is foul and treacherous, as was
apparent at the last moment, when our people were on the point of
departing. Eight islanders attacked and wounded two sailors, with the
hope of seizing upon their clothes, and that after having conversed with
these men for weeks, eaten and drunk with them, visited them on board,
and being allowed to examine everything to their great admiration, after
having received presents, and also on their part regaled our people with
fish and crabs. Besides this, their bad disposition came to light in the
case of the man who had been previously wounded by our party as before
mentioned; when he afterwards was assisted and bandaged, and had every
possible attention shown him by our men, he tore the linen to pieces and
threw it away into a corner; notwithstanding that at other times these
natives appeared particularly greedy after linen, knives, beads, and
such toys.
They however possess nothing which is of value themselves, and have
neither iron nor anything like mineral ore or metal, but only a stone
which is ground and made to serve as a hatchet. They have no
habitations, either houses or huts; and feed on fish, which they catch
with harpoons of wood, and also by means of nets, putting out to sea in
small canoes, made of the bark of trees, which are in themselves so
fragile, that it is necessary to strengthen them with cross-beams.
Some of them had marks on their body, apparently cut or carved, which,
as it seemed to our people, were looked upon by them as a kind of
ornament. They eat sparingly and moderately, whereby they grow up always
active and nimble; their diet seems to consist of fish, and a few roots
and vegetables, but no birds or wild animals of any kind are used as
food, for though animal food exists, and was found by our men in
abundance, the natives appeared to be indifferent to it.
According to the notes of the captain of the sloop _Waijer_, from the
14th of June, about five hundred people with women and children, were
met on one occasion about two miles inland; at night also they were
descried sitting round several fires among the bushes; nothing however
was seen in their possession of any value. Our men might also easily
have taken and brought over to Batavia with them, two or three of the
natives who daily came on board, but the skipper of the _Vossenbosch_,
following out his instructions to the letter, would not allow them to be
taken without their full consent, either by falsehood or fraud, and as
no one understood their language, nothing was to be done in the matter;
consequently they remained in their own country.
The country here is for the most part level, and no mountains are to be
seen, except a remarkable eminence, which at a distance has the
appearance of three mountains, as noted in the journal of the skipper,
under date May the 25th. The soil seems productive, if cultivated, but
the whole extent of the coast is bordered by sands or downs. In no part
were any remarkable trees noticed, much less any of an aromatic and
spice kind.
The second bay after the Rooseboom’s Bay just described, between Tigers
and Wolfs-point, visited by our countrymen, has the appearance of a wide
river, but is salt; as however nothing remarkable was found there, we
shall let the journal of the skipper, on the date May 12th, speak for
itself, it being described in the account of the commander of the
_Waijer_, under the name of the Bessia River.
The third inlet visited by the expedition is rather large, its E. point
being named Kaijmans, and its W. Oranjes-hoek. The tide flows here with
great force, and the _Patsjallang_ sailed between eight and ten miles
inland, without finding any diminution in the saltness of the water. As
the bottom, and the general aspect still remain the same, it was
supposed by our people, that this inlet runs right through to the south
side of New Holland, and not only this, but also others both E. and W.
of the angle of Van Diemen’s land.
From this it seems to follow, that the South Land in a great measure
consists of islands,—a supposition not at all improbable, considering
how on its south side, from the point called Leeuwin, or the land
visited by the Leeuwin in the year 1622, to Nuyts-land, discovered in
1627, it is entirely girt and surrounded by innumerable islands,
although these things had better be left to a more accurate examination
of the country, and a more matured judgment. But there is another
consideration in favour of this supposition, namely, the rude and
barbarous character, and malicious disposition of the above-mentioned
islanders, as it has been frequently remarked, that such serious defects
are much more generally found among islanders, than among the
inhabitants of continents. However, be this as it may, we shall only
further remark, that the _Patsjallang_, owing to the strength of the
current, was not able to proceed, but was obliged to return to the
_Vossenbosch_, having first discovered within this inlet an island, five
miles in circumference, on which was found very good drinking-water and
a tiger was met with; a number of snipes also were seen on another
island, which lay at the entrance of this strait, and of which more is
said in the journal of the sloop _Waijer_, under the date of the
eighteenth and nineteenth of May. The weather here was observed to
become much colder.
The fourth inlet of those visited by the expedition, called Delft Bay,
runs five or six miles inland, and demands little further notice than as
to its position and depths, both which are to be found clearly stated in
the journals and maps, also that it is called on one side of its mouth,
Rustenburg, and on the other side in the old maps, it is known under the
name of Maria’s land, in which district the inhabitants were so stupid,
that they attempted to tow the patsjallang, while lying at anchor, with
three little canoes, but seeing that no progress was made, they tried to
effect their object by tugging at the anchor. This also proving
ineffectual, they returned to the shore. Our men employed themselves
daily in fishing, the fish here being plentiful, but of no great size,
and attempted to arrest the increasing sickness on board.
The fifth and last inlet E. visited by our people, is bounded on one
side by the promontory of Lonton, on the other side by the point of
Callemore, (names given to them by the crew), although the last
mentioned point may rather be called an island than a promontory, since
the inlet runs round it and again joins the sea. In front of the point
Lonton, also an island was found, called by them Schildpads island;
nothing remarkable is to be recorded of this place, except that at night
by moonlight, an immense number of black birds, as large as pigeons,
were met by the patsjallang _Hollandia Nova_, which flock continued to
pass for half an hour; also that the inhabitants became so much
accustomed to our people, that they assisted them in procuring and
carrying water; but afterwards they could not conceal their malicious
disposition, as we have already narrated.
This last inlet is called Vossenbosch Bay, and also has before the
promontory of Calice a small island, where stands a solitary tree, by
which it may be recognized.
Thus, thinking we have briefly stated the origin, the adventures, the
results, and the return of this expedition, so far as they could be
investigated, we shall here conclude.
We are, etc.,
HK. SWAARDECROON,
CS. CHASTELIJN.
(S.) J. S. CRAINE.
Batavia Castle, Oct. 6, 1705.
THE HOUTMAN’S ABROLHOS IN 1727, TRANSLATED FROM A PUBLICATION ENTITLED
“DE HOUTMAN’S ABROLHOS,”
AMSTERDAM, 1857, 8vo. BY P. A. LEUPE, CAPTAIN OF MARINES IN THE DUTCH
NAVY.
The ten years which elapsed between 1720 and 1730 were a period replete
with disaster to the East India Company, arising from the losses they
experienced of ships and men, both on their passage out to India and on
their return.[35] Among the number is the Zeeland ship _Zeewyk_, which,
built in 1725, sailed from the roads of Rammekens to Batavia, under
command of the skipper Jan Hijns, on the 7th of November, 1726. After
peculiar mishaps the _Zeewyk_ came to anchor on the 22nd of March, 1727,
before the fort of Good Hope in Table Bay, and, after taking in fresh
provisions there, pursued her voyage on the 21st of April, until, on the
9th of June, when by the carelessness of the skipper, she was wrecked on
the Houtman’s Abrolhos.
By the instructions[36] for the sailing in the autumn from the
Netherlands to Java, amongst other things it is also enjoined: “The Cape
of Good Hope being doubled, it is thought good that you sail in an E.
direction between 36° and 39° S. lat., until you have reached a point
eight hundred miles E. of the Cape of Good Hope; that you then direct
your course as much N. as E., in such a manner that, on reaching 30° S.
lat., you should find yourself about 950 or 1000 m. from the Cape of
Good Hope.
“These 950 or 1000 m. from the Cape being attained, it is advisable—wind
and weather permitting—that you bear down upon the land Eendraght at 27°
S. lat., or more to the N., so as to take thence such a course as will
enable you to clear the Tryals Shoals,[37] lying about 20° S. lat.,
without danger, and to touch at the south coast of Java with ease, in
order to have the weather-gage of the Straits of Sunda, and thus reach
these straits without loss of time. It must be understood that this is
about the time when the east monsoon blows south of the line, and that
the said 900 or 1000 miles E. of the Cape may be reached between the
beginning of March and the end of September. Observe, that the distance
between the Cape and the land of Eendraght is, in reality, much shorter
than the chart shows; and it may happen, by the aid of currents, that
the route may be found even shorter than it really is, so that the land
might be reached in much less time than we are led to expect. Remember,
also, that the land of Eendraght has, south of 27° lat., many perilous
sandbanks, and that the soundings are of sharp rocks. Consequently
extreme caution, and the constant use of the lead at night and in stormy
weather is indispensably necessary, as at seven, six, or five miles from
the coast the soundings are found to be one hundred, eighty, or seventy
fathoms.”
To these “perilous sandbanks and soundings of sharp rocks” belong also
the Frederick Houtman Abrolhos, which, according to Horsburgh,[38] lie
at 29° 10´ S. lat., and 113° 57´ E. long., and upon which many a ship of
the company will have perished; since, in addition to the _Batavia_ in
1629, the _Vergulde Draeck_ in 1656, the _Ridderschap van Holland_ in
1693, and the _Zuysdorp_ in 1711, two others occur in the list here
subjoined as lost between the Cape of Good Hope and Batavia.
The Englishmen who visited these sandbanks in 1840 found several remains
of wrecked ships; thus writes Mr. Crawford Pako:[39]
“I will relate a few circumstances which were of great interest to us,
as marking the position of ancient voyagers, who two hundred years
before were similarly engaged to ourselves, and undergoing trial and
probation such as we were then exposed to.