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.
Major, Richard Henry
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Discoveries in geography -- Portuguese; Voyages and travels
including the upper steersman, and that in a manner but too reckless, as
it afterwards proved and as we shall presently show. The boat having
been sent to land, and not returning within twenty-four hours, they
concluded that it must have been dashed against the cliffs and all hands
perished; the more so as, on returning to the same place five days
afterwards, and firing several signal-guns landwards, no men or signs of
men were seen. But from the report of four of their number who
afterwards arrived at Japara by way of Mataram, it appeared that the
unfortunate men, seeing themselves abandoned by their ship and finding
no other resource left, resolved at last to steer for the coast of Java.
Accordingly having repaired their boat, as best they might, with
sealskins, and provided themselves with a little water and seals’ flesh,
they set out on the 10th of April, and arrived on the 28th of the same
month on the south side of that island. But of their number at that time
eleven only remained, three having perished of thirst on the way, whilst
four others in the first instance, and afterwards two, who had been made
to swim ashore in search of water, had not returned, either from
obstinacy or because they were killed by the natives. On the following
day the boat was dashed to pieces on the beach by a heavy sea, when the
above four men, without having met either with the seven above-mentioned
or any other men, took their way westward along the coast and continued
to march for two months in a very weak and exhausted condition, until
they at last met with men who brought them to Mataram.
Among the number of those who returned was the upper steersman, Abraham
Leeman van Santwigh. Of the remaining seven nothing more was heard.
It afterwards appeared from the diaries of the before-mentioned galliots
that, notwithstanding the strong injunctions to that effect laid down in
their instructions, proper care had not been taken by them to keep
together, so as to render assistance to each other in case of accident,
and to combine in using the most effectual means for landing and
exploring the coast.
The Fiscal of India was ordered to consult further with the Council of
Justice on the subject, but the General and Council were of opinion that
the unfortunate men from the ship _De Draeck_ must one and all have
perished long ago, since no traces of them had been discovered
throughout the whole length of the coast. Consequently all thoughts of
any further special expeditions were given up, the more so as the two
former ones had proved so disastrous. Orders, however, were given that
any galliot or light fly-boat should seize any opportunity of touching
there in favourable weather once more on their way from this country, to
see if any clue to the missing men might perchance be found.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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