Quotation from: The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606-1765Written by: J.E. Heeres |
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On the 14th do. in the morning there was a faint breeze, but during the day it fell a dead calm. At noon we were in Lat. 24 deg.; course held N., with a S.E. wind; during the whole of the day the current carried us northward against our will, for we {Page 57} were running along the land with small sail. In the afternoon we saw smoke rising up from the land; we accordingly rowed to shore in order to land if possible, with our spirits somewhat raised, for I concluded that if there were men, there must be water too. Coming near the shore, I found it to be a steeply rising coast, full of rocks and stones, with the surf running violently; nevertheless 6 of our men swam ashore, and we remained at anchor with the pinnace in 25 fathom outside the surf. The men now searched for water everywhere until nightfall, without, however, finding any; they also saw four men coming up to them, creeping on all fours, but when our men all of a sudden emerged from a depression of the ground, and approached them, they sprang to their feet, and ran off in full career, all which we could distinctly see from the pinnace. They were black men, stark naked, without the least covering. In the evening our men swam on board again, all of them grievously wounded by the rocks on which they been dashed by the breakers. We therefore weighed anchor again to seek a better place for landing, and ran on during the night with small sail close along the shore, but out of the reach of the surf.
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