On the first the wind was W. by N. with rain: we find that in these
latitudes the southern and northern moon makes high water; at noon we
weighed anchor and drifted with the current, which set strongly to
westward.
On the second the wind was west with fair weather, with which we found it
impossible to weather the land; in the evening we were in Lat. 6° 45'.
In the morning of the third the wind was W., with a strong gale and rain;
at noon we had fair weather so that myself and the council determined to
set sail on a Northern course in order to seek the yacht Aernem; when we
had run on the said course for the space of 5 glasses, we saw the said
yacht N.W. of us, but since the current ran very strong in our teeth, we
dropped anchor in 10 fathom.
In the morning of the 4th the wind was north, with which we set sail in
order to get near the Aernem; but when we had sailed for an hour, the
headwind and counter-current forced us to drop anchor.
The yacht aforesaid, which was lying above the wind and the current, now
weighed her anchor and dropped the same near the Pera, after which the
skipper of the Aernern came on board of us in the pinnace, and informed
me that they had very nearly lost the yacht in the storm before
mentioned, since all the seas they had shipped had found their way into
the hold, which got so full of water that the greater part of their rice,
powder and matches had become wet through; this same day I sent the
skipper and the steersman of the Pera on board the yacht Aernem in order
to inquire into her condition, and ascertain whether she was so weak and
disabled as had been reported to me; since the persons committed reported
that the yacht was very weak and disabled above the waterline, it has
been resolved that the main-topmast, which they had already taken down by
way of precaution, should not be put up again provisionally.
{Page 28}
The same day we set sail again with the wind as before, course held S.W.,
and after running on for two miles, we cast anchor again in 11 fathom.
In the morning of the 5th we set sail again, with a W. wind; course held
S.S.W. when we had run on for two miles we got change of weather with
variable winds, in the evening we came to anchor in 13 fathom...
* * *
On the 6th we set sail again before daybreak, the wind being West; course
held S.S.W., sailed three miles; about noon, the wind blowing straight
for the coast, we cast anchor in 5Ω fathom at a mile's distance from the
coast, and, in conformity with the resolution, fetched a light anchor
from the yacht Aernem.
(Keerweer, formerly mistaken for island.)
In the morning of the 7th we set sail again, the wind being N.E., course
held W., in order to get a little farther off the land; when we had run a
mile, we dropped anchor in 5Ω fathom, and I went ashore myself with two
well-manned and armed pinnaces, because on the 6th aforesaid we had seen
4 or 5 canoes making from the land for the yachts; when we got near the
land we saw a small canoe with three blacks; when we rowed towards them,
they went back to the land and put one of the three ashore, as we
supposed, in order to give warning for the natives there to come in great
numbers and seize and capture our pinnaces; for as soon as we made
towards them, they tried to draw us on, slowly paddling on towards the
land; at last the "jurebass"(?) swam to them, with some strings of beads,
but they refused to admit him; so we made signs and called out to them,
but they paid little or no attention, upon which we began to pull back to
the yacht without having effected anything; the blacks or savages seeing
this, slowly followed us, and when we showed them beads and iron objects,
they cautiously came near one of our pinnaces; one of the sailors in the
pinnace inadvertently touching the canoe with one of his oars, the blacks
forthwith began to attack our men, and threw several callaways into the
pinnace, without, however, doing any damage owing to the caution used by
the men in her; in order to frighten them the corporal fired a musket,
which hit them both, so that they died on the spot; we then rowed back to
the yachts. To the place on the coast where the aforesaid incident took
place, we have given the name of Keerweer (= Turn again) in the new
chart, seeing that the land here trends to S.W. and West; its latitude
being 7°.
On the 8th we had a strong gale from the S.S.W. the whole day, with rain
and unsteady weather, so that we thought it best to remain at anchor.
In the morning of the 9th the weather was fair, and the wind west, so
that we set sail on a N.N.W. course; when we had run one mile we saw two
groups of canoes putting off from shore and making for us, one consisting
of 7, and the other of 8 small canoes; as we were lying close to the wind
and could not weather the land with it, we came to anchor in 3 fathom;
one of the canoes aforesaid came so near us, that we could call out to
her, but the second group aforesaid kept quiet, upon which the canoe
which had been near us, paddled towards this second group; from their
various gestures we saw and understood sufficiently that their intentions
had from the first been anything but peaceable, but God's Providence
prevented them from carrying their wicked plans into effect; in the
evening we set sail again with the current, the wind being west and our
course held N.N.W. in the first watch we turned our course S.W. and S.W.
by W., on which we sailed the whole night, until about daybreak we found
the water shallowing and dropped anchor in 2Ω fathom, having sailed 5
miles.
[* _Scil._ by the men of the ship Duifken (see the extract
below).--Princess Marianne Strait and Prince Frederik Hendrik island.
(There is no reference in the text for this footnote--Ed.)]
{Page 29}
In the morning of the 10th we set sail again, the wind being W.N.W., on a
S.W. course; at noon we were in Lat. 7° 35'; in the evening we came to
anchor in 3 fathom muddy bottom, at about 1Ω mile's distance from the
land.
* * *