Page:Early voyages to Terra Australis.djvu/271

 OF AVILLEM DE VLAMINGH. 115

tiule, was found a pole, nearly decayed, but still standing upright, with a common middle-sized tin plate, which had been beaten flat and attached to the pole, and which was still lying near it. On this plate the following engraved words were still legible : —

"Anno 1616, the 25th of October, arrived here the ship De Eendraght, from Amsterdam, the upper-merchant Gilles Mibais from Luijck, Captain Dirck Hartog from Amster- dam ; the 27 th ditto set sail for Bantam, under-merchant Jan Hijn, upper-steersman Pieter Dockes from Bil. Anno 1616."

This old plate, brought to us by AVillem de Vlamingh, we have now handed over to the commander, in order that he might bring it to Your Nobilities, and that you may marvel how it remained there through such a number of years un- affected by air, rain, or sun. They erected on the same spot another pole, with a flat tin plate as a memorial, and wrote on it as to be read in the journals.^

And since we are desirous to afford Your Nobilities all possible information and satisfaction with respect to this voyage, we have given permission to its former chief. Cap- tain Willem de Vlamingh the elder, with his upper-steersman Michel Blom, to return with the last return ships. As they have not come back yet from Bengal with their vessels the Geelvinch and Nijptang, but are expected daily, we shall leave this for the present and refer you for further informa- tion to their own verbal reports.

1 " Further : ' 1697, February 4th. Arrived here the ship Geelvinch, of Amsterdam : captain commandant, Wiihem van Vlaming, of Vlie- landt ; assistant, Jan van Bremen, of Copenhagen ; first pilot, Micheel Bloem van Estight, of Bremen; the hooker the Ni/ftangh : captain Gerrit Collaert, of Amsterdam ; assistant, Theodorus Heermans, of the same place ; first pilot, Gerrit Gerritz, of Bremen ; then the galliot Weseltje : commander, Cornelis van Vlaming, of Vlielandt ; pilot, Coert Gerritzs, of Bremen. Sailed from here with our fleet on the 12th, to explore the south land, and afterwards bound for Batavia.' "