252 THE DISCOVERY OF AUSTRALIA 



be carried to Batavia. Their numbers were large, and 

 treasure was on board. It was decided that delay would 

 be dangerous, and the prisoners were tried, condemned, 

 and executed. Then Pelsart sailed from " these luckless 

 Abrolhos." They managed to land on the coast, and 



Criminals put ashore two criminals ; " God grant that this 



e ' punishment may ultimately redound to the service of the 



Company, and that the two delinquents may come off 



with their lives, so as to be able to give trustworthy 



information about these parts." 



Thus concludes a horrid story that seems to establish 

 the bad character, not only of D'Eendrachtsland, but 

 also of the service of the Dutch Company. In Pelsart's 

 narrative there is only one pleasant remark. He saw 



Kangaroos, on the islands, he says, " a species of cat, which are very 

 strange creatures ; they are about the size of a hare, 

 their head resembling the head of a civet-cat ; the fore- 

 paws are very short, about the length of a finger. Its 

 hind legs are upwards of half an ell, and it walks on these 

 alone." Thus for the first time is introduced to the 

 European reader the tribe of Kangaroo. 



