in drawing up reckonings, seeing that the plane chart involves serious drawbacks; the same might well be done to eastward of the Cape, in such fashion as Your Worships’ cartographers and other experts, such as Master C. J. Lastman, shall find to be most expedient for the Company’s service.  Seeing that we had nothing to do near the coast, and there was a fair wind blowing for us to make use of, we deemed it advisable that night to run north-west, and the next morning, having got north into 20 degrees S. Lat., from there to hold a north by-west course for Java, whither God Almighty may in safety conduct ourselves and those who shall come after us.

[* Left blank.]

On the 27th do. in the evening, when it had got dark, the water suddenly turned as white as butter-milk, a thing that none of those on board of us had ever seen in their lives, and which greatly surprised us all, so that, concluding it to be caused by a shallow of the sea, we set the foresail and cast the lead, but since we got no bottom, and with the rising moon the water again resumed its usual colour, we made all sail and ran on full speed, satisfied that the strange colour had been caused by the sky, which was very pale at the time.  On the 28th in the morning very early, the water became thick, and shortly after we sighted land, being two islands, each of them about 2 miles in length; at 4 miles’ distance from the land we cast the lead in 65 fathom sandy bottom.  At noon in Latitude 8 deg., three miles off shore, we found ourselves to have run too far to eastward, wherefore we held our course to westward up to the 2nd of October, when by God’s grace we passed the Princen islands, and arrived off Bantham on the 9th do.  By estimation the land of d’Eendracht is marked in the chart fifty miles too far to eastward, which should also be rectified...

Done in the ship ’t Wapen van Hoorn, November 8, A.D. 1627, lying at anchor before Batavia.

Your Worships’ obedt.  Servant
J. V. ROOSENBERGH.

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{Page 54}

XXI.

(1628) DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF AUSTRALIA BY THE SHIP VIANEN (VIANE, VIANA), COMMANDED BY GERRIT FREDERIKSZOON DE WITT.—­DE WITT’S LAND.

A.

Letter of the Governor-General and Councillors to the Managers of the E.I.C.  November 3, 1628.

...[We] thought fit to give orders for the ship Vyanen [*] to sail to the strait of Balamboan. [She] sailed [from Batavia] thither on the 14th of January, and from there stood out to sea on the 25th do.  She was by head-winds driven so far to south-ward that she came upon the South-land beyond Java where she ran aground, so that she was forced to throw overboard 8 or 10 lasts of pepper and a quantity of copper, upon which through God’s mercy she got off again without further damage...

[* That commander Gerrit Frederikszoon De Witt, was on board this ship, is proved by an original letter of his, dated August 6, 1628 (Hague State Archives).]