THE "BUIJS" (ASSCHENS) 77 



Carstenszoon had named the Carpentier River in 1623, and which 

 is now known as the Skardon River. 



The " Duyjken " had passed this inlet in 1606, and the 

 " Aernem " (once) and the " Per a " (twice) in 1623, without 

 observing it. The records of the " Duyjkerfs " voyage have been 

 lost, and it may be conjectured that the " Buijs " either sailed 

 closer to the land, or approached it in a better light, than the 

 " Pera " or the " Aernem" The supposed island was, no doubt, 

 a sandbank visible at low tide, 3 miles off the mouth of Port 

 Musgrave. 1 



Without landing at the new river, the " Buijs " sailed on to the 

 north. At noon on the zyth, the latitude was roughly estimated 

 at 11 38'. Smoke was observed on the land, and apparently 

 the mouth of Carstenszoon's CARPENTIER RIVER was not seen. 

 The " Buijs " anchored in the afternoon. At noon on the 2%th 

 she was in 11 29'. At noon on the 29^ she was in 11 3'. 

 (SEE MAP A.) Two hours later, the anchor was dropped in 

 8 fathoms, the navigators believing themselves to be close to the 

 VAN SPULT RIVER named by Carstenszoon in 1623. In this belief 

 they were quite correct, the solar observation at noon on the 

 3Oth giving 10 56'. They were, in fact, on the Inskip Banks or 

 the " extensive sandy shoals " south of the Banks which are 

 indicated by modern charts. 



It had become necessary to take in water and firewood, both of 

 which were running short. The charted Watering-place at the 

 Van Spult River naturally suggested itself to Asschens, but the 

 uncharted shoals called for prudent action. Accordingly, on 

 3Oth April, a boat with eight men was sent out to take soundings 

 towards the land. The BOAT was lost sight of before nightfall 

 and was NEVER SEEN OR HEARD OF AGAIN. Whether it was wrecked 

 among the shoals or the crew fell into the hands of the natives 

 must remain a mystery. The " Buijs " waited for the boat till 

 I2tb May, when the scarcity of water and firewood compelled 

 her to sail westward for TIMOR LAUT,* which was reached on 

 2Oth May. No attempt appears to have been made to search 

 the land for the boat's crew, and it may have been that there 

 were too few men left on the " Buijs " to furnish a landing party 

 and risk its loss. 



From the cartographer's covering letter, it appears that the 

 sailing orders of the " Rijder " and " Buijs " enjoined some ex- 

 ploration of the interior, and Asschens probably intended to carry 

 out this instruction when the overwhelming disaster overtook him. 



1 Mr. J. T. Embley, who has sailed frequently along this coast, and seen it from 

 probably the same distance as the " Buijs," writes me under date i8th July, 1916 : 

 " The Batavia has a little island about three miles out from the mouth, but it is only a 

 high sandbank covered at high tide. . . . The mouth of the Batavia is plainly visible 

 to any boat travelling from the north at a distance of 15 or 20 miles before you come to 

 it. No boat could pass it in the daytime without seeing it." 



3 The largest island of the Tenimber group, and now known as Yamdena. 



