THE VOYAGE OF JAN CARSTENSZ 29 



*' Meliszoon, without knowledge of myself or the sub- 

 " cargo or steersman of the said 3'acht, unadvisedly^ 

 " went ashore to the open beach in the pinnace, taking 

 " with him fifteen persons, both officers and common 

 '' sailors, and no more than four muskets, for the purpose 

 " of fishing with a seine-net. There was great disorder 

 " in landing, the men running off in different directions, 

 " until at last a number of black savages came running 

 " forth from the wood, who first seized and tore to 

 " pieces an assistant named Jan Willemsz Van den 

 " Briel who happened to be unarmed, after which they 

 " slew with arrows, callaways, and with the oars which 

 '' they had snatched from the pinnace, no less than 

 " nine of our men, who were unable to defend them- 

 " selves, at the same time wounding the remaining 

 " seven (among them the skipper, who was the first to 

 " take to his heels) ; these last seven men at last returned 

 " on board in very sorry plight with the pinnace and 

 ** one oar, the skipper loudly lamenting his great want 

 " of prudence, and entreating pardon for the fault he 

 " had committed." 



The incautious skipper died of his wounds on the 

 following day and so he did not take a part in the most 

 momentous discovery of the voyage. " In the morning 

 " of the i6th (February) we took the sun's altitude 

 " at sunrise, which we found to be 5° 6' ; the preceding 

 " evening ditto 20° 30' ; the difference being divided 

 " by two comes to 7° 42' ; increasing North-easterly 

 " variation ; the wind N. by E. ; we were at about 

 " one and a half mile's distance from the low-lying 

 " land in 5 or 6 fathom, clayey bottom ; at a distance 



