Very Happily For
Them, They Were No Sooner On Shore Than They Discovered A Fine
Rivulet At A Small Distance, Where, Having Comfortably Quenched
Their Thirst, And Filled All Their Casks With Water, They About Noon
Continued Their Course For Batavia.
On the 29th, about midnight, in the second watch, they discovered an
island, which they left on their starboard.
About noon they found
themselves in the height of 6 degrees 48 minutes. About three in
the afternoon they passed between two islands, the westernmost of
which appeared full of cocoa trees. In the evening they were about
a mile from the south point of Java, and in the second watch exactly
between Java and the Isle of Princes. The 30th, in the morning,
they found themselves on the coast of the last-mentioned island, not
being able to make above two miles that day. On July 1st the
weather was calm, and about noon they were three leagues from
Dwaersindenwegh, that is, Thwart-the-way Island; but towards the
evening they had a pretty brisk wind at north-west, which enabled
them to gain that coast. On the 2nd, in the morning, they were
right against the island of Topershoetien, and were obliged to lie
at anchor till eleven o'clock, waiting for the sea-breeze, which,
however, blew so faintly that they were not able to make above two
miles that day. About sunset they perceived a vessel between them
and Thwart-the-way Island, upon which they resolved to anchor as
near the shore as they could that night, and there wait the arrival
of the ship. In the morning they went on board her, in hopes of
procuring arms for their defence, in case the inhabitants of Java
were at war with the Dutch. They found two other ships in company,
on board one of which was Mr. Ramburg, counsellor of the Indies.
Captain Pelsart went immediately on board his ship, where he
acquainted him with the nature of his misfortune, and went with him
afterwards to Batavia.
We will now leave the captain soliciting succours from the Governor-
General, in order to return to the crew who were left upon the
islands, among whom there happened such transactions as, in their
condition, the reader would little expect, and perhaps will hardly
credit! In order to their being thoroughly understood, it is
necessary to observe that they had for supercargo one Jerom
Cornelis, who had been formerly an apothecary at Harlem. This man,
when they were on the coast of Africa, had plotted with the pilot
and some others to run away with the vessel, and either to carry her
into Dunkirk, or to turn pirates in her on their own account. This
supercargo had remained ten days on board the wreck, not being able
in all that time to get on shore. Two whole days he spent on the
mainmast, floating to and fro, till at last, by the help of one of
the yards, he got to land.
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