328 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



fiand, they would hibernate at St. Helena. They sailed east- 

 ward, and spent three months in searching for the island ; but in 

 vain. At the end of May, they unexpectedly found themselves 

 again upon the coast of Brazil; but the Portuguese opposed 

 their landing. On the 18th of June, the council of war sen- 

 tenced two men, a constable and a gunner, "to be abandoned in 

 any strange country where they could hereafter be of service," 

 for mutiny; and another seaman was sentenced to be fastened, 

 by a knife through the hand, to the mast, there to remain till he 

 should release himself by slitting his hand through the middle. 

 This barbarous sentence was carried into execution. 



After burning one of the yachts which proved unfit for service, 

 the fleet proceeded towards the Strait, and, on the 4th of No- 

 vember, anchored off Cape Virgin. Here Van Noort's ship 

 lost three anchors, and the admiral wrote to the vice-admiral to 

 furnish him one of his. The latter refused, saying that he was 

 as much master as Van Noort, — a piece of impertinence which 

 the admiral declared he would punish upon the first convenient 

 opportunity. The vessels entered the Strait four times, and 

 were as often forced back by the violence of the wind. On the 

 27th, they arrived at the two Penguin Islands. It was here 

 that the transaction occurred to which we have alluded under 

 Sebald de Weert. It happened as follows : 



On the smallest of the islands some natives were seen, who 

 \made signs to the Dutch not to advance, and threw them some 

 penguins from the cliffs. Seeing that the strangers continued 

 to approach, they shot arrows at them, which the Dutch re- 

 turned with bullets. The savages fled for refuge to a cavern 

 where they had secreted their women and children. The Dutch 

 pursued them, and used their fire-arms with unrelenting ferocity, 

 receiving little or no damage from the feeble missiles of the 

 natives. The latter continued to fight in defence of their women 

 and children with undiminished courage, and not till the last 

 man of them was killed did the Hollanders obtain an entrance. 



