264 Ah Historical Account of the Formation, <§<•. 



Salt river, and the erection of a small turf fort, this affair, and 

 every thing connected with it, occupied the whole of the Com- 

 mander's thoughts, and formed the special object of all his 

 exertions. 



Brackenier having been condemned to be dropped three 

 times from the yard into the sea, and to receive 100 lashes 

 before the mast, the sentence was put into execution on the 

 3d of this month ; and to prevent his raising further disturbances 

 amongst the people, he was employed on board the yacht. 

 Shortly afterwards, the four deserters returned to the fort, 

 begging for mercy and forgiveness. Jan Blank had kept a 

 journal with red chalk, from the day of their departure, the 

 24th of September, to the 30th of the same month, which is 

 deserving of notice, this being the first journey towards the 

 interior of the settlement. 



It is singular enough that the writer began it in the name of 

 our Lord Jesus Christ.* He states, " that on the 24th Septem- 

 ber, they, being four in number, set out for the purpose of pro- 

 ceeding to Mosambique, having with them four swords, two 

 pistols, and a dog. On the 25th, they took flight from a 

 rhinoceros, when they lost one sword and a hat : their dog was 

 also severely wounded by a porcupine. The following day, 

 they kept along the beach, in the direction of Cape L'Aguillas, 

 subsisting upon young birds and shell fish. On the 27th they 

 came to a high mountain, close to the sea shore, and laid 

 themselves down to rest. On the 28th, they supplied them- 

 selves with food and water, with the intention of crossing the 

 mountain ; and on the 29th, they set out for that purpose , but 

 two of them had already begun to repent. They, however, 

 pursued their journey till the next day, when they resolved to 

 return to the fort, hoping for mercy and pardon in the name of 



Taking all these circumstances into consideration, it is pro- 

 bable these men did not proceed farther than the Fish Hoek 

 and the mountains of Hottentots Holland ; yet, from this event, 

 was derived the first knowledge of the country in an easterly 

 direction. 



The inquiry respecting the misconduct and the intentions of 

 these persons, and several others who were implicated in this 

 business, was carried on till the 10th of the month, when Van 

 Riebeck and his Council, who resolved also " In God's name" 

 to terminate this case, sentenced the runaways to be punished 

 as follows : — " Jan van Leyden, as having first instigated the 

 others to desert, to be bound to a stake, and (he, as well as 

 Jan Blank, being by the intercession of many persons, absolved 

 from the punishment of death,) to have a ball fired over hisli 

 head. And, Jan Blank, as leader or guide, to be keel-haled, j 



* See Zuid Atrikaansche Tydschrift, vol, 1, page itii. 



