They Spent All The
19th In Examining The Rest Of The Prisoners, And In Confronting Them
With Those Who Escaped From The Massacre.
On the 20th they sent several kinds of refreshments to Weybhays's
company, and carried a good quantity of water from the isle.
There
was something very singular in finding this water; the people who
were on shore there had subsisted near three weeks on rainwater, and
what lodged in the clefts of the rocks, without thinking that the
water of two wells which were on the island could be of any use,
because they saw them constantly rise and fall with the tide, from
whence they fancied they had a communication within the sea, and
consequently that the water must be brackish; but upon trial they
found it to be very good, and so did the ship's company, who filled
their casks with it.
On the 21st the tide was so low, and an east-south-east wind blew so
hard, that during the whole day the boat could not get out. On the
22nd they attempted to fish upon the wreck, but the weather was so
bad that even those who could swim very well durst not approach it.
On the 25th the master and the pilot, the weather being fair, went
off again to the wreck, and those who were left on shore, observing
that they wanted hands to get anything out of her, sent off some to
assist them. The captain went also himself to encourage the men,
who soon weighed one chest of silver, and some time after another.
As soon as these were safe ashore they returned to their work, but
the weather grew so bad that they were quickly obliged to desist,
though some of their divers from Guzarat assured them they had found
six more, which might easily be weighed. On the 26th, in the
afternoon, the weather being fair, and the tide low, the master
returned to the place where the chests lay, and weighed three of
them, leaving an anchor with a gun tied to it, and a buoy, to mark
the place where the fourth lay, which, notwithstanding their utmost
efforts, they were not able to recover.
On the 27th, the south wind blew very cold. On the 28th the same
wind blew stronger than the day before; and as there was no
possibility of fishing in the wreck for the present, Captain Pelsart
held a council to consider what they should do with the prisoners:
that is to say, whether it would be best to try them there upon the
spot, or to carry them to Batavia, in order to their being tried by
the Company's officers. After mature deliberation, reflecting on
the number of prisoners, and the temptation that might arise from
the vast quantity of silver on board the frigate, they at last came
to a resolution to try and execute them there, which was accordingly
done; and they embarked immediately afterwards for Batavia.
REMARKS.
This voyage was translated from the original Dutch by Thevenot, and
printed by him in the first volume of his collections. Pelsart's
route is traced in the map of the globe published by Delisle in the
year 1700.
As this voyage is of itself very short, I shall not detain the
reader with many remarks; but shall confine myself to a very few
observations, in order to show the consequences of the discovery
made by Captain Pelsart. The country upon which he suffered
shipwreck was New Holland, the coast of which had not till then been
at all examined, and it was doubtful how far it extended. There had
indeed been some reports spread with relation to the inhabitants of
this country, which Captain Pelsart's relation shows to have been
false; for it had been reported that when the Dutch East India
Company sent some ships to make discoveries, their landing was
opposed by a race of gigantic people, with whom the Dutch could by
no means contend. But our author says nothing of the extraordinary
size of the savages that were seen by Captain Pelsart's people; from
whence it is reasonable to conclude that this story was circulated
with no other view than to prevent other nations from venturing into
these seas. It is also remarkable that this is the very coast
surveyed by Captain Dampier, whose account agrees exactly with that
contained in this voyage. Now though it be true, that from all
these accounts there is nothing said which is much to the advantage
either of the country or its inhabitants, yet we are to consider
that it is impossible to represent either in a worse light than that
in which the Cape of Good Hope was placed, before the Dutch took
possession of it; and plainly demonstrated that industry could make
a paradise of what was a perfect purgatory while in the hands of the
Hottentots. If, therefore, the climate of this country be good, and
the soil fruitful, both of which were affirmed in this relation,
there could not be a more proper place for a colony than some part
of New Holland, or of the adjacent country of Carpentaria. I shall
give my reasons for asserting this when I come to make my remarks on
a succeeding voyage. At present I shall confine myself to the
reasons that have induced the Dutch East India Company to leave all
these countries unsettled, after having first shown so strong an
inclination to discover them, which will oblige me to lay before the
reader some secrets in commerce that have hitherto escaped common
observation, and which, whenever they are as thoroughly considered
as they deserve, will undoubtedly lead us to as great discoveries as
those of Columbus or Magellan.
In order to make myself perfectly understood, I must observe that it
was the finding out of the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, by the
Portuguese, that raised that spirit of discovery which produced
Columbus's voyage, which ended in finding America; though in fact
Columbus intended rather to reach this country of New Holland.
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