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Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.Major, Richard Henry

History

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Name: Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.
Author: Major, Richard Henry

Major, Richard Henry

Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography -- Portuguese; Voyages and travels

On the 30th of June following both these vessels returned, and informed
the governor that, having reached the Flat Point in about 4½ degrees of
south latitude on the 18th of April, they had determined to send some of
their people on shore to take a view of the country. The Commander Pool,
desirous to see everything himself, resolved to be of the party, and
took with him his steward, Andries Schiller, a native of Nuremberg. They
were scarcely landed, when a large body of wild Southlanders, who at
first appeared friendly, but acted afterwards in a hostile manner,
surrounded them, in so much that it was not in their power to escape.
The Commander Pool perceiving the danger greater than he at first
expected, was still in hopes to escape; but he found himself attacked
one of the first, and received a blow with a hazegay, which immediately
brought him to the ground. When he recovered his senses and saw that his
steward was still defending himself, he called out to him that he would
do better to try to make his escape, as otherwise he would not be able
to do it, for the savages were coming on in yet greater numbers. He did
so, but was likewise soon knocked down.

The wild Southlanders, perceiving the hanger which the Commander Pool
had in his hand, forced it from him and cut these two men to pieces, and
carried them into the wood; but it never could be discovered what they
did with them, nor what became of the two sailors who were likewise
missing.

The crew could only tell, that these Southlanders have a very black
skin, much like the Caffers of Angola, but with long black hair on their
head, and were much stouter and taller in stature than any Europeans,
and quite naked, with the exception of their middle. They also reported
that one of them, appearing to be a chief, had a rough skin of some wild
beast wrapped round his neck; and that they were armed partly with
hazegays, and a kind of javelins with sharp iron points; and partly with
bows and arrows.




ACCOUNT OF THE WRECK OF THE SHIP “DE VERGULDE DRAECK” ON THE SOUTHLAND,
                    AND THE EXPEDITIONS UNDERTAKEN,
BOTH FROM BATAVIA AND THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, IN SEARCH OF THE SURVIVORS
AND MONEY AND GOODS WHICH MIGHT BE FOUND ON THE WRECK, AND OF THE SMALL
                      SUCCESS WHICH ATTENDED THEM.

 _Drawn up and Translated from Authentic MS. Copies of the Logbooks in
                   the Royal Archives at the Hague._

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Major, Richard Henry

Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography -- Portuguese; Voyages and travels

On the 30th of June following both these vessels returned, and informed
the governor that, having reached the Flat Point in about 4½ degrees of
south latitude on the 18th of April, they had determined to send some of
their people on shore to take a view of the country. The Commander Pool,
desirous to see everything himself, resolved to be of the party, and
took with him his steward, Andries Schiller, a native of Nuremberg. They
were scarcely landed, when a large body of wild Southlanders, who at
first appeared friendly, but acted afterwards in a hostile manner,
surrounded them, in so much that it was not in their power to escape.
The Commander Pool perceiving the danger greater than he at first
expected, was still in hopes to escape; but he found himself attacked
one of the first, and received a blow with a hazegay, which immediately
brought him to the ground. When he recovered his senses and saw that his
steward was still defending himself, he called out to him that he would
do better to try to make his escape, as otherwise he would not be able
to do it, for the savages were coming on in yet greater numbers. He did
so, but was likewise soon knocked down.

The wild Southlanders, perceiving the hanger which the Commander Pool
had in his hand, forced it from him and cut these two men to pieces, and
carried them into the wood; but it never could be discovered what they
did with them, nor what became of the two sailors who were likewise
missing.

The crew could only tell, that these Southlanders have a very black
skin, much like the Caffers of Angola, but with long black hair on their
head, and were much stouter and taller in stature than any Europeans,
and quite naked, with the exception of their middle. They also reported
that one of them, appearing to be a chief, had a rough skin of some wild
beast wrapped round his neck; and that they were armed partly with
hazegays, and a kind of javelins with sharp iron points; and partly with
bows and arrows.




ACCOUNT OF THE WRECK OF THE SHIP “DE VERGULDE DRAECK” ON THE SOUTHLAND,
                    AND THE EXPEDITIONS UNDERTAKEN,
BOTH FROM BATAVIA AND THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, IN SEARCH OF THE SURVIVORS
AND MONEY AND GOODS WHICH MIGHT BE FOUND ON THE WRECK, AND OF THE SMALL
                      SUCCESS WHICH ATTENDED THEM.

 _Drawn up and Translated from Authentic MS. Copies of the Logbooks in
                   the Royal Archives at the Hague._

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

Early Voyages to Terra Australis, Now Called Australia:: A Collection of Documents, and Extracts from Early Manuscript Maps, Illustrative of the History of Discovery on the Coasts of That Vast Island, from the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century to the Time of Captain Cook.

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