31 



In case of Tasman's death the skipper of the Ileemskerck, 

 Ide Tjercxszoon, was to succeed to the command. 



The Instructions conclude : — " We commend you to the 

 blessing of the Almighty, whom we pray to endue you with 

 manly courage for the accomplishment of the proposed dis- 

 coveries, and to bring you back in safety, to the increase of 

 His glory, the reputation of the Fatherland, the service of the 

 Company, and your own immortal honour." 



They are dated Fort Batavia, 13th August, 1642, and 

 signed by the Governor-General and his Council — Van der 

 Lyn, Maetzuycker, Sohouten, Sweers, Witsen, and Boreel. 



3. The Voyage of 1642. 



The next day (14th August) the ships sailed from Batavia, 

 and on this day Tasman's Journal begins as follows: — ■ 

 " Journal or description by me, Abel Jansz Tasman, of a 

 voyage made from the Town of Batavia, in the East Indies, 

 for the discovery of the Unknown Southland, in the year 

 Anno 1642, the 14th August. May it please Almighty God 

 to grant his blessing thereto ! Amen." 



Sailing through the Sunda Strait, the ships carried the south- 

 east trades with them to Mauritius, where they arrived 5th 

 September, after an exceptionally quick passage of 22 days. 

 An entry in Tasman's journal shows us how hopelessly abroad 

 the best sailors in those days were in regard to longitude. 

 He says, " By our reckoning we were still 200 miles to the 

 east of Mauritius when we saw it." And he mentions the 

 arrival at the same time of another ship, the Arenf, outward 

 bound, which had made the Island of Rodrigues in the belief 

 that it was Mauritius, because it lay in nearly the same latitude, 

 though 300 miles to the eastward. 



They had other difficulties to contend with. A letter from 

 Van der Stel, the Dutch Commandant at Mauritius, to the 

 Governor-General at Batavia, states that the ships arrived in a 

 very bad condition, and wanting almost everything. The 

 Zeehaen was partly rotten, and in need of extensive repairs. 

 Both ships were leaky, their rigging was old and weak, their 

 yards and other spars frequently giving way. To refit the 

 ships, caulk the seams throughout, strengthen the rigging, cut 

 and ship spare spars, took the crews nearly a month. Mean- 

 time they took in supplies of water, firewood, and other stores ; 

 and added to their stock of provisions by shooting wild hogs, 

 wild goats, and other game abounding in the woods. Van 

 der Stel gave to Tasman journals and maps relating to the 

 Solomon Islands, and vocabularies of the languages of those 

 islands and of New Guinea, The ships were ready for sea on 



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