Chap. L 
BEL jAftSEN'T AS M A N, 
between brown and yellow* their Hair long, and a] mold 
as thick as that of the JapMefe , combed up* and fixed on 
the Top of their Heads, with a Quill, or fome fuch thing* 
that was thickeft in the Middle, in the very fame manner 
the' Japonefe fattened their Hair, behind their Heads. 
Thele People cover the Middle of their Bodies, fome with a 
kind of Mat, others with a fort of Woollen Cloth-, but, 
as for their upper and lower Parts, they leave them alto- 
gether naked. 
On- the 19th of December , thefe Savages began to grow 
a little bolder, and more familiar, infomuch that at Jafl 
they ventured on board the Heemskirk , in order to trade with 
thofe in the Veffel : As foon as I perceived it, being ap- 
prehenfive that they might attempt to furprife that Ship, 
I fent my Shallop, with feven Men, to put the People in 
the Heemskirk upon their Guard, and to diredt them not to 
place any Confidence in thofe People. My feven Men, 
being without Arms, were attacked by thele Savages, who 
killed three of the feven, and forced the other four to fwim 
for their Lives * which occafioned my giving that Place the 
Name of the Bay of Murderers. Our Ship’s Company would, 
undoubtedly, have taken a fevere Revenge, if the rough 
Weather had not hindered them. From this Bay we bore 
away Eaft, having the Land in a manner all round us. 
This Country appeared to us rich, fertile, and very well Situ- 
ated * but as the Weather was very foul, and we had at 
this time a very ftrong Weft Wind, we found it very dif- 
ficult to get clear of the Land. 
6 . On the 24th of December , as the Wind would not 
permit us to continue our Way to the North, as we knew 
not whether we Should be able to find a Paflage on that 
Side, and as the Flood came in from the South-eaft, 
we concluded that it would be the belt to return into the 
Bay, and feek fome other Way out but, on the 26th, 
the Wind becoming more favourable, we continued our 
Route to the North, turning a little to the Weft. On the 
4th of January 1643, being then in the Latitude of 34 0 
35' South, and in the Longitude of 1 9 1 0 9', we failed 
quite to the Cape, which lies North-weft, where we found 
the Sea rolling in from the North-eaft -, whence we con- 
cluded, that we had at laft found a Paflage, which gave us 
no fmall Joy. There was in this Streight an Ifland, which 
we called the Ifland of the Three Kings * the Cape of 
which we doubled, with a Defign to have refrefhed our- 
felves * but, as we appoached it, we perceived on the 
Mountain thirty or five-and-thirty Perfons, who, as far 
as we could difcern at fuch a Diftance, were Men of very 
large Size, and had each of them a large Club in his 
Hand they called out to us in a rough ftrong Voice, but 
we could not underftand any thing of what they faid. We 
obferved, that thefe People walked at a very great Rate, 
and that they took prodigious large Strides. We made 
the Tour of the Ifland* in doing which, we faw but very 
few Inhabitants * nor did any of the Country feetn to be 
cultivated: We found indeed a frefh- water River * and 
then we refolved to fail Eaft, as far as 220° of Longitude * 
and from thence North, as far as the Latitude of 1 7 0 South * 
and thence to the Weft, till we arrived at the Ides of Cocos 
and Horne , which were difcovered by William Schovten , 
where we intended to refrefh ourfelves, in cafe we found 
no Opportunity of doing it before * for, though we had 
actually landed on Van Diemen’ s Land , we met with no- 
thing there * and, as for New Zeland , we never fet Foot 
on it; 
In order to render this Paflage perfectly intelligible, it 
is neceffary to obferve, that the Ifland of Cocos lies in the 
Latitude of 15 0 10' South* and, according to Schovten’ s 
Account, is well inhabited, and well cultivated, abounding 
with all Sorts of Refrefhments * but, at the fame time, he 
defcribes the People as treacherous and bafe to the laft De- 
gree. As for the Hands of Horne , they lie nearly in the 
Latitude of 1 5 0 * are extremely fruitful, and inhabited 
by People of a kind and gentle Difpofition, who readily 
bellowed on the Hollanders whatever Refrefhments they 
could afk. It was no wonder therefore, that, finding 
themfelves thus diftrefied, Captain Tafman thought of re- 
pairing to thefe Hands, where he was lure of obtaining Re- 
frefhments, either by fair Means, or otherwife * which 
4 
Defign, however, he did not think fit to put in Exe- 
cution. 
7. On the 8th of January , being in the Latitude of 
30° South, and in the Longitude of 192 0 20°, we ob- 
ferved the Variation of the Needle to be nine Degrees for- 
wards the Eaft * and, as we had an high rolling Sea from 
the South- weft, I conjed-ured there could not be any Land 
hoped for on that Side. On the 12th, we found ourfelves 
in 30° 5' South Latitude, and in 195 0 27' of Longitude, 
where we found the Variation 9 0 30' to the Eaft, a rolling 
Sea from the South-eaft, and from the South-weft. It is 
very plain, from thefe Obfervations, that the Pofition laid 
down by Dr. Halley , that the Motion of the Needle is not 
governed by the Poles of the World, but by other Poles, 
which move round them, is highly probable * for other- 
wife it is not eafy to underftand, how the Needle came 
to have, as our Author affirms it had, a Variation of near 
2 7 0 to the Weft, in the Latitude of 45 0 47'', and then 
gradually decreafing till it had no Variation at all* after 
which it turned Eaft, in the Latitude of 42 0 37', and fo 
continued increafing its Variation Eaftwardly to this time* 
8. On the 16th we were in the Latitude of 26° 2 9' 
South, and in the Longitude of 199 0 32', the Variation 
ol the Needle being 8°. Flere we are to obferve, that the 
Eaftern Variation decreafes * which is likewife very agree- 
able to Dr. Halley’ s Hypothecs * which, in few Words, is 
this : That a certain large folid Body contained within, and 
every way feparated from, the Earth, (as having its own 
proper Motion) and being included like a Kernel in its 
Shell, revolves circularly from Eaft to Weft, as the exterior 
Earth revolves the contrary Way in the diurnal Motion : 
Whence it is eafy to explain the Pofition of the four mag- 
netical Poles which he attributes to the Earth, by allowing 
two to the Nucleus, and two to the exterior Earth. And, 
as the two former perpetually alter the Situation by their 
circular Motion, their Virtue, compared with the exterior 
Poles, mull be different at different times * and, confe- 
quently, the Variation of the Needle will perpetually 
change. The Dodlor attributes to the Nucleus an Euro- 
pean North Pole, and an American South one, on account 
of the Variation of Variations obferved near thefe Places, 
as being much greater than thofe found near the two other 
Poles. And he conjecftures, that thefe Poles will finifti 
their Revolution in about feven hundred Years * and, after 
that time, the fame Situation of the Poles obtain again, as at 
prefent * and, confequently, the Variations will be the 
fame again over all the Globe * fo that it requires feveral 
Ages before this Theory can be thoroughly adjufted. Fie 
affigns this probable Caufe of the circular Revolution of the 
Nucleus* That the diurnal Motion, being impreffed from 
without, was not fo exadtly communicated to the internal 
Parts, as to give them the fame precife Velocity of Rotation 
as the external : Whence the Nucleus, being left behind by 
the exterior Earth, feems to move fiowly in a contrary Di- 
redlion, as from Eaft to Weft, with regard to the external 
Earth, confidered as at Reft in refpedl of the other. But to 
return to our Voyage. 
9. On the 19th of January , being in the Latitude of 
22 0 35' South, and in the Loqgitude of 204° 15', we had, 
7 0 30' Eaft Variation. In this Situation we difcovered an 
Ifland, about two or three Miles in Circumference, which 
was, as far as we could difcern, very high, fteep, and 
barren. We were very defirous of coming nearer it, but 
were hindered by South-eaft and South South-eaft Winds * 
we called it the He of Pyljiaart , becaufe of the great 
Number of that Sort of Birds we faw flying about it * and 
the next Day we faw two other Hands. 
10. On the 2 ift, being in the Latitude of 2 1° 20' South, 
and in the Longitude of 205° 29', we found our Variation 
7 j to the North-eaft. W r e drew near to the Coaft of the 
moft Northern Hand, which, though not very high, yet 
was the larger of the two * we called one of thefe Hands 
Amjlerdam , and the other Rotterdam. Upon that of Rot- 
terdam, we found great Plenty of Hogs, Fowls, and all 
Sorts of Fruits, and other Refrefhments. Thefe Handers 
did not feem to have the Ufe of Arms, inafmuch as we 
faw nothing like them in any of their Hands : While we 
were upon the Ifland, the Ufage they gave us was fair and 
