VOYAGE OF THE " PERA " AND " AERNEM " 37 



" On the 19^, course E. andwind W., having VALSCH CAEP NNE., 5 miles [20 minutes] 

 off, the land extending N. by W. The water being now 24 fathoms deep here, went 

 over to ENE., making 4 miles [16 minutes], got 6 fathoms, so we cast anchor about 

 4 miles from the land. 



" On the 2Oth 9 wind NNE., good weather, course as before, in 6 fathoms. In the 

 evening we anchored in 5^- fathoms, having this day sailed 7^ miles [30 minutes]. 



" On the morning of the 2ist t we again set sail, the wind NNW. and the course 

 NE., for 4 miles [16 minutes], in 4 fathoms. In the afternoon we made 8 miles E. 

 In the evening anchored in 7 fathoms, just beyond an island lying a mile or more south 

 of the mainland. 1 A quarter of a mile N. by E., and S. by W. of the islet is a rock, 

 on which two leafless trees are standing. 



" On the 22nd, the Council having been convened, it was finally resolved to land 

 with the two boats properly manned and armed, seeing that the coast here is covered 

 with coco-nut trees, and is also higher, better looking and more fruitful than any 

 country which we have seen hitherto : afterwards when we failed to get ashore because 

 of mud-flats, we rowed to the before-mentioned islet, and let go the anchor in order 

 to visit it. While we were so engaged, the yacht ' Aernem ' got adrift, owing to the 

 force of the current and the wind, and ran foul of the bows of the * Pera* much damage 

 being done to both ships. . . . This prevented any further sailing for some days, 

 and indeed had God not specially looked after them, both yachts would have gone 

 ashore. 



" On the 23rd, good weather, and the Council having been convened once more, 

 I proposed to try every possible means to get the ' Aernem ' into sailing trim again 

 and in the first place another rudder so as not to delay the voyage, but there was 

 absolutely no means of doing this because in neither of the yachts were there any spare 

 rudders or old ones which could be cut down. Prevented thus from making a proper 

 job of it, it was finally resolved (to expedite the voyage and not have the yacht lagging 

 behind) that with the materials available a rudder should be constructed Javanese or 

 Chinese fashion. For this purpose the l Pera ' will have to give up her main topmast, 

 the rest of the required wood to be fetched from the land, and we shall stay here until 

 the rudder has been made. 



" On the 24^ (while the rudder was being made) the subcargo, 2 with both the 

 boats, went to the aforesaid island to get water for the ' Aernem ' (which was very short 

 of it) and came on board in the evening with four firkins full, after great trouble. 



" On the 2$th, the yacht * Aernem * again seaworthy (Praise God !) with good 

 weather and a favourable wind got under sail once more, course E., in 5^, 6 and 6J 

 fathoms along the land. In the evening, in 2\ fathoms and 2 miles off the land, we 

 cast anchor, having sailed ten miles [40 minutes] this day. 



" NOTE that the island hereinbefore mentioned lies in 8 8' S. lat. [8 1 6' according 

 to modern charts. R. L. J.] about a mile N. and S. [*.<?., S.] of the mainland, as 

 aforesaid, is pretty high and is well timbered with wild trees on the east side and 

 quite bare on the west. It is about a quarter of a mile in circumference and is sur- 

 rounded by many boulders and rocks (on which plenty of oysters grow). The soil 

 is very good and suitable for all sorts of plants and cereals. It carries, by our estimate, 

 upwards of 100 full-grown coco-nut trees, with many young ones coming on, and 

 also some bananas and oubis, with fresh water, which comes trickling through the 

 clay in small rills and may be caught in pits dug for the purpose. There are also 

 ft great many bats (vleermuijsjen) which live in the trees, for which reason in the 

 new chart we have given the island the name of VLEERMUIJS EIJLANDT. We have 

 seen no huts or human beings on it, but found unmistakable signs that men had 

 been there before. [The island appears on modern charts as Habeeke Island. R. L. J.] 



1 The wording (" near an island lying a mile or more south and north of the main- 

 land ") is ambiguous, but the island, which was afterwards named Vleermuijs Eijlandt 

 (Bat I.) must have been south of the land. The island and rock are easily identified on 

 modern charts as Habeeke Island and Sametinke Rock. R. L. J. 



* Ondercoopman, Under Trader, Sub-Cargo, or Assistant Supercargo. 



