HocKEN. — Abel Tasviaii aud Jiis Journal. 125 



fullness of sagacious advice and command. Even to-day tliey 

 would well serve as models to copy. The vessels of the expedi- 

 tion were two — the ship or yacht Heemskerck, aud a smaller 

 vessel, the flyboat Zeehaen, the former having a crew of 

 sixty, the latter of fifty men. They were victualled for twelve 

 months. 



Towards the better understanding of the Journal, I would 

 here explain that Tasman begins and ends his day at mid- 

 night — that is, it is the same as our civil day. He reckons 

 his course and the distance run from noon to noon, at which 

 time he took his latitude and longitude. His watches were 

 — the day or morning watch, from 4 to 8 ; the forenoon or 

 noon watch, from 8 to 12 noon ; the afternoon watch, from 

 12 to 4 ; the flatfoot, or, as we call them, the dog watches, 

 from 4 to 6 and 6 to 8 ; the first watch, 8 to 12 midnight ; 

 and the second or hound watch, 12 midnight to 4 in the 

 morning. It is curious that of all Teutonic-speaking sailors 

 the English alone use the term " dog-watch " as signifying 

 the hours between 4 and 8 p.m. Other Teutons use the 

 equivalent hund-, hunde-, or honde-ivacht, as signifying the 

 second watch — that between midnight and 4 a.m. ; and to 

 express their dog-watches, between 4 and 8 p.m., they use 

 plattfuss, jjlattfoden, oxplatvoet, meaning " flatfoot." The neo- 

 Latin or Italic speaking sailors had no such words as "dog- 

 watch" or "flat-foot," but spoke of the second watch, or of 

 the watch from 4 to 6 or 6 to 8 in the evening. I do not 

 know the underlying meaning of these words, but can fancy 

 they contain the idea of the most restful part of a ship's day, 

 when a dog would be sufficient guard, and when any work on 

 deck would be done without running— all heel and toe, as the 

 pedestrians have it — a flat foot. 



The vessels sailed from Batavia on the 14th August, 1642, 

 with instructions to make in the first instance for the island 

 Mauritius, where they were to take in fresh provisions and 

 otherwise refit. At this time Mauritius belonged to the Dutch, 

 and w^as a convenient recruiting-place for their vessels as they 

 sailed to and fro between Holland and the Batavian settle- 

 ment. Tasman commences thus : "Journal or description by 

 me, Abel Jansz. Tasman, of a voyage made froui the City 

 of Batavia, in the East Indies, for making discoveries 

 of the unknown South Land, in the year 1642, the 14th 

 August. May God Almighty be pleased to give hereto His 

 blessing. Amen." Mauritius, a distance of about 3,000 

 miles, was reached, after a splendid run for those days, on 

 the 5th September. This would give an average of about 

 120 miles a day sailed. Here a month's stay was made, 

 during which the vessels were thoroughly refitted, and pigs, 

 goats, wild-fowl, firewood, and fresh water were brought on 



